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COACHING STAFF
ASSISTANT COACH 25TH SEASON
Doug McAvinn, a coaching veteran with more than three decades of experience under his belt, enters his 25th season with the Georgia gymnastics team. The mild-mannered McAvinn has been instrumental in leading Georgia to all 10 of its national championships. He was recognized for his outstanding accomplishments at Georgia when he was honored by his peers as the first NCAA National Assistant Gymnastics Coach of the Year in 1998. Last season, his efforts as Georgia’s vault coach helped Courtney Kupets and Tiffany Tolnay garner All-America honors. Kupets had perfect 10s on vault in the NCAA Southeast Regional, then again in the NCAA Super Six. In 2008, McAvinn guided Katie Heenan and Marcia Newby to First-Team All-America honors on vault, while Heenan recorded a perfect 10.0 on vault in the win over ArkanArkan sas. Heenan also won the SEC title and Tolnay took the NCAA Regional title on vault. In 2007, he guided Kupets to the NCAA vault championship and had four All-Americans in the event in Kupets, Megan Dowlen, Newby and Tolnay. At the conclusion of the regular season, his vault vault-ing squad was No. 1 nationally in RQS rankings. As Georgia’s head coach on vault, the Buffalo, N.Y., native has produced six NCAA vault Champions, most recently Kupets’ title in 2007. Others include Hope Spivey in 1991, Heather Stepp in 1992 and 1993, Leah Brown in 1996 and Cory Fritzinger in 2001. Over the last 20-plus years, McAvinn’s lineups have consistently been ranked as the best in the nation. Along with six individual national vaulting champions, he has produced a total of 59 vaulting All-Americans. Since 1993, McAvinn’s vaulting teams have scored a 49.00 (9.8 average) or higher in 265 of 287 competitions, including all 16 meets last year. In 1996, Georgia set an incredible NCAA vaulting team record score of 49.925 at Auburn. During that same year McAvinn coached Gym Dog Kim Arnold to an NCAA first – a perfect vault season RQS of 10.00. Arnold actually repeated the feat in 1997. Also that season, Brown matched Arnold with a perfect 10.00 RQS of her own. Brown became the first gymnast to vault a front layout with a 1/2 twist in collegiate competition. The vault earned her a bronze medal at the 1997 World University Games in Italy. Apart from being head vault coach, McAvinn oversees the Gym Dogs practices and new skills development. He also plays an important part in all uneven bars and floor exercise training. He and Suzanne Yoculan team up to coach floor exercise and have produced 61 All-Americans and eight NCAA champions. McAvinn helped coach the U.S. team in the 1995 World University Games in Fukuoka, Japan, with Florida coach Judi Markell. The U.S. earned a silver-medal finish, just behind Russia. McAvinn helped guide Karin Lichey to the then-highest allaround finish by an American gymnast in the event’s history – a silver medal – and former Arizona gymnast Heidi Hornbeek to a silver medal on the uneven bars and a bronze medal on the balance beam. In 1993, McAvinn was selected as the assistant coach of the U.S. Team at the World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y. He teamed with U.S. National coach Cheryl Jarrett of Capital Gymnastics in Austin, Texas, to guide the team to a silver medal, finishing just 0.5 away from the heavily favored Ukraine team. Spivey Spivey won a bronze medal on vault and Massachusetts gymnast Tammy Marshall took a silver medal on floor exercise. Before joining the Georgia program in 1985, McAvinn coached at the Chat Chatun-tooga Gymnastics School in Marietta, Ga. He began his coaching career in 1974 un der Fred Martinez at the Academy of Sports in Lithonia, Ga., working with Olympic bronze medalist Kathy Johnson. McAvinn has an impressive background as a gymnast himself. In four years at Georgia Southern, he was a national qualifier on three events: floor exercise, vault and horizontal bar. He has experience at the international level, competing against the Soviet and German national teams. McAvinn also has a flair for art and design. His life-sized murals of Gym Dogs All-Americans color the Georgia gymnastics practice facility in the Suzanne Yoculan Center. He also publishes and illustrates elementary and middle grade educational materials.
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2010 GEORGIA GYMNASTICS
• Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y. • Coaching Experience: 1974-76 ........Academy of Sports 1976-85 ....Chattanooga Gymnastics 1985-present................... Georgia • U.S. Asst. Coach for 1993 and 1995 World Games • Four-year gymnast at Ga. Southern