“Y’all are in GREAT hands!” Simone Biles had nothing but this to say to the Georgia gymnasts ahead of her ex-coach, Cecile Landi’s new role with the team. She was so confident that there couldn’t have been a more deserving person to lead the Gymdogs in the NCAA than her elite mentor. But is Georgia really on its way to reclaim its lost glory under the former WCC coach? Honestly, the odds are currently stacked against this. One of the Bulldogs has just made a blunder on the big SEC stage. Can it cost them the title?

The 2025 SEC gymnastics Championships are on. Eight teams are competing, starting with Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia in session 1 before the following four teams take to the mats in the evening. And as session 1 proceeds while we speak, Georgia fans are hoping that they rise above their SEC curse. The Gymdogs have been finishing last for the past 3 SEC Championships, after all.

But redemption is looking tough even today, despite being led by a coach who trained the GOAT, Simone Biles herself. Because in rotation 2, something disastrous happened, and it’s not favorable for Georgia’s chances. March 22, in the Legacy Arena, rotation 2 of the SEC Championships’ session 1 was on. That’s when Georgia gymnast Kara Eaker happened to have made two major errors on the beam.

Yup, that’s true, and it included a fall as well. After nearly failing to mount the beam, and later falling, Eaker earned a season-low 8.200. Guess today was just not her day. No wonder her performance affected the current standings at the end of rotation 2. Alabama is now at the top of the table with 98.550, Auburn in second with 98.350, Kentucky in third place with 98.250, and Cecile Landi’s Georgia last with 98.025.

This was not how Georgia had entered the second rotation. Although even rotation 1 was not drastically good for them. Yes, in rotation 1, UGA, the side led by Simone Biles’ ex-coach, Cecile Landi did struggle on the bars. Their gymnast Holly Synder had hit the bar on release and Ady Wahl had gone over on a handstand. Still, they’d managed to move forward with a second spot and a 49.200 total. But after Kara’s fall in rotation 2, that’s changed. And they slipped down from second to the last place.

Also, Kara Eaker’s mistake in the SEC Championships has now taken Georgia to a low score that they never wanted on their resume. At least Simone Biles’ ex-coach, Cecile Landi, would not have wanted it in her debut year as the team’s NCAA gymnastics coach. And what is that? Well, after Kara’s fall, Georgia recorded its second-lowest beam score of the season with a 48.825 and the first sub-49 since their first meet.

Well, this is not something that Landi would have wanted. Unfortunately, even after the third rotation, the Gymdogs have not been able to recover from their lost lead. At the end of three rotations, they are still last among the 4 teams with 146.950. Meanwhile, the rest of the lot has all 147+ scores. Eventually, they ended up taking another hard loss.

Despite Simone Biles’ elite coach, Georgia loses out SEC title

The final standings from the SEC session 1 were as follows: Alabama was first with 197.100 on the final table. Kentucky was second with 196.775, and Georgia and Auburn were tied for the third spot with 195.950. This means, once again, Georgia is out of the race to win the SEC title. The Gymdogs did put a great show on the vault, with freshman Nyla Aquino bagging a 9.875, followed by juniors like Ja’free Scott scoring a 9.800 and Nicole King securing a 9.725.

However, even despite Simone Biles’ coach Cecile joining them, the SEC, upset for Georgia, continues. The last they’d won the SEC title was in 2008. Yes, they are 16-time SEC champions, but this 17th win is taking longer than usual. Also, as per Inside Gymnastics, the team incurred a 0.2 team deduction in the session. The reason for this remains unconfirmed as of now.

But yes, in all, it was a day of blunders for the side. A similar result had come in at the start of the 2025 season. Although Cecile Landi had confirmed, “I’ve always said I wanted to be an NCAA coach one day.” But turns out, it’s not ending all too well for Simone Biles’ ex-mentor. What do you think?