During her time at the University of Georgia, the Georgia women's gymnastics team won four straight NCAA national championships from 2006 to 2009. During the 2009–10 season, Kupets was a student assistant coach to the team's new head coach, Jay Clark. On May 9, 2017, Kupets-Carter was announced as the new head coach of the Georgia Gym Dogs.[2] She was relieved as head coach of Georgia Gymnastics on April 19, 2024.[3]
Kupets began gymnastics in 1989, earned a place on USA Gymnastics' TOPs developmental team in 1994, and reached the elite level in 1999. At her first U.S. National Championships in 1999, she placed eighth in the junior division and became a member of the junior national team.
In 2003, Kupets won the U.S. Classic and then became the national champion for the first time. She was named to the U.S. team for the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, California, and competed well in the qualifying round, contributing to the USA's high placement and qualifying to the all-around and uneven bars finals. However, during a practice session before the team finals, she tore her left Achilles tendon on a double Arabian somersault and was forced to withdraw from the event, returning home to Maryland immediately for surgery. The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal. Kupets was still considered a member of the squad and received credit and a medal for her contributions in the preliminaries.
In 2004, Kupets became co-national champion with Patterson. A few weeks later, she placed first at the Olympic Trials, earning a spot on the Olympic team.
2004 Olympic Games
At the Olympics in Athens, the U.S. women won a silver medal. Kupets was expected to compete on bars, beam and floor in the team final; but a leg injury (later discovered to be a stress fracture in her hip) caused her to be suddenly withdrawn from the beam lineup. Mohini Bhardwaj took her place on the event, and Kupets competed only on bars and floor in the team final. She received the team's highest score on bars (9.662), putting the U.S. temporarily ahead of eventual winner Romania in the standings. But she also received the lowest score on floor exercise (9.187) after faltering on a dance combination while trying to turn on the opposite leg from the one she normally used.
Kupets competed in the individual all-around after placing fourth, with a total score of 37.937, in the qualifying round. In the final, she finished ninth with a total of 37.112 after stepping out of bounds on floor exercise and nearly falling on beam. However, she won the bronze medal in the uneven bars final with a score of 9.637, behind Émilie Le Pennec of France (9.687) and fellow American Terin Humphrey (9.662). She finished fifth in the balance beam final with a score of 9.375.
After returning from Athens, Kupets traveled across the United States with other gymnasts on an exhibition tour sponsored by T.J. Maxx.
During the 2007 season, she received a 10.00 on the uneven bars while competing against the University of Alabama. It was the first 10.00 on the bars for Georgia since 2002 and the first of Kupets' career. Her bar routine featured a toe-on Tkatchev (Ray) to immediate bail and is considered[who?] one of the most difficult bar routines ever attempted in NCAA competition.
At the 2007 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships, Kupets tied teammate Katie Heenan for the all-around gold with a total of 39.600, and earned the vault and bars titles with scores of 9.975 and 9.925, respectively. In the team competition, Georgia lost to the University of Florida after winning the conference title for the previous three years. After this, Kupets led the team to the North Central Regional title and won the all-around despite the distraction of her older sister, Ashley Kupets, tearing her Achilles tendon during the warmup for floor exercise.[4]
Two weeks later, Georgia upset Florida to win the preliminary session at Nationals. Kupets scored 39.75 on Day 1, with a 9.9 on beam and 9.95 on bars, floor, and vault, earning her second consecutive NCAA all-around title. In the Super 6 finals, Georgia totaled 197.85 and earned a third-consecutive NCAA team championship, the team's eighth overall. Kupets also won the individual vault title, along with silver medals on bars and floor and a bronze on beam. She was the only gymnast to medal on all four events.
Performing on floor during a meet against Arkansas in March 2008, Kupets tore her right Achilles tendon, the second such injury she had suffered in her career. She was out for the remainder of the season.[5]
At the start of 2009, Kupets was named SEC Gymnast of the Week for the first four weeks of the season and won the all-around at seven straight meets.[6] Against Alabama, she recorded a career-best 39.825 to win the all-around and scored perfect 10s on uneven bars and beam.[7] At a home meet against Florida, she scored the first perfect 10 of her career on floor en route to winning the all-around with another career best of 39.850. Though Georgia faltered at the SEC Championships and suffered their only defeat of the season, Kupets again claimed the all-around title and was named SEC Gymnast of the Year. She led Georgia to a win at Regionals with a 10.00 on vault, giving her at least one 10 on each apparatus in the 2009 season.
At the 2009 NCAA Championships, Kupets became national all-around champion for a record-tying third time, earning a 10 on beam and defeating runner-up Kristina Baskett of Utah with a total score of 39.800.[8] The next night, she helped Georgia win its fifth consecutive and tenth overall NCAA championship, posting a career-best 39.900. She scored perfect 10s on the uneven bars and vault, bringing her season total to seven and her career total to eight. In the individual event finals, she won the bars and beam titles (beating fellow Gym Dog and 2004 Olympic teammate Courtney McCool on beam), tied to win floor, and placed third on vault, setting an NCAA record of nine individual titles to end her college career.
Kupets is the first NCAA gymnast ever to win the all-around and every individual event. On June 22, 2009, she was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup, which is given to the top female college athlete.[9][10][11]
Career perfect 10.0
Season
Date
Event
Meet
2007
February 10, 2007
Uneven Bars
2009
January 23, 2009
Balance Beam
Georgia vs Alabama
Uneven Bars
February 28, 2009
Floor Exercise
Georgia vs Florida
April 4, 2009
Vault
Regional Championships
April 16, 2009
Balance Beam
NCAA Semi-finals
April 17, 2009
Uneven Bars
NCAA Championships
Vault
Floor music
2006 (NCAA): "Shake Break Bounce" by The Chemical Brothers
Kupets joined the Las Vegas based dance and acrobatics show Le Reve in 2014. Kupets joined her husband, Chris Carter, and sister Ashley as a performer in the show.[12] In July 2016, Kupets began coaching full-time at Oconee Gymnastics & Cheer.[13] Also in 2016, Kupets appeared on NBC's digital program, The Daily Dismount, as a gymnastics commentator for NBC's Olympic coverage.[14] She was named head coach of University of Georgia's women's gymnastics team in May 2017.[15]
Personal life
She is distantly related to the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack. She also is cousins with current Rams wide receiver Ben Skowronek. Former NFL quarterback Trent Green is related by marriage.[16] She married Chris Carter, a former acrobatic gymnast for Great Britain, in 2014.[12][13] The couple have three daughters, Brooklyn, Savannah, and Charlotte, and a son Bentley together.[13]
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