© Scott Bruhn, Nebraska Media Relations

Courtney Kupets of Athens, Ga., just won the Honda Sports Award as the country’s top female gymnast. A senior at the University of Georgia, Kupets led the GymDogs to Georgia’s fifth consecutive NCAA team title and 10th overall. Kupets, who was a member of the 2004 Olympic silver-medal team and a former U.S. all-around champion, also won her third career all-around NCAA title.

After missing the second half of the 2008 season with an Achilles injury, Kupets was the nation’s most dynamic gymnast in 2009. She won the all-around, bars, beam and floor competitions at the NCAA Championship, giving her a record nine individual national titles in just three seasons. She also became the first gymnast in NCAA history to win a national title in each event. Moreover, Kupets paced the Gym Dogs to their fifth straight and 10th overall national championship.

Kupets earned five All-America honors in 2009, giving her the maximum of 15 for the three years in which she participated in the NCAAs. She was named the AAI National Senior, SEC and Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year. Kupets recorded seven perfect 10.0s, including at least one in each event to become just the third Gym Dog to accomplish that feat.

Kupets also is an academic standout for Georgia. She was named to the Fall Semester Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, was chosen as Georgia’s recipient of the Boyd McWhorter Scholarship and won UGA’s Marilyn Vincent Award as the senior female student-athlete with the highest grade point average. She has a 3.8 GPA in Housing.

USA Gymnastics: How did it feel to win the Honda Award this year, for the second time?
Courtney: Wow, it is an honor. When I got it two years ago I was so excited, and this time it is also so special because it is my last year of college gymnastics.

USA Gymnastics: You’ve been through a lot of adversity in the last couple of years. What made you want to continue and does this award make the win that much sweeter?
Courtney: What made me want to always continue gymnastics is my love for the sport. The training, the competitions, the hard times, all make the accomplishments much sweeter and well worth the time and energy I put in. The Honda Award does reflect for me the work that I have put in, not only this past year, but in my whole career.

USA Gymnastics: What was it like competing for a collegiate team for four years – and winning the team title every year that you competed?
Courtney: AMAZING! To not know what it’s like to lose at NCAA’s is incredible, and I feel very blessed because of it and I do not take it for granted. All four years our team really put their heart into the team and so it wasn’t a piece of cake, but we all strived toward the same goal, which makes it more attainable.

USA Gymnastics: What has been the secret to success at the University of Georgia?
Courtney: The secret success at Georgia? I can’t tell you that! Seriously our team is committed. And at the beginning of each year, it is stressed to us that to have a common goal, communicate through the process, and respect everyone involved is what is most important. Of course you need talent, but if you don’t have the other traits then the talent isn’t enough.

USA Gymnastics: Compare competing in the 2004 Olympic Games with competing at the NCAA Championships?
Courtney: The Olympics is for most a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete at the highest level in your sport, and for me to be a part of that will forever stay with me as an amazing accomplishment. And then on top of just going to the Olympics, winning two medals is incredible in my mind. But there is no comparison to the excitement that comes along with the NCAA Championships. You train all year with these 14 other girls and experience everything together, and your routine is their routine and vice versa. It is just a time in my life where I had to put everything out there, not for me but for my team. And it really pushed me everyday mentally and physically more than I can ever explain. I have enjoyed every moment of collegiate gymnastics and I’m so glad I got to be a part of both arenas of gymnastics.

USA Gymnastics: You have been dominant in all levels of gymnastics that you have participated. How does that make you feel?
Courtney: (Laugh) Dominant? Not so sure about that, but it has been an amazing ride. All I can say is that God has really looked out for me and been my strength through the years and is the one, I believe, that allowed me such success. It is crazy for me to think about really how much I have done in one sport, but for me that’s normal. I know all gymnasts don’t go to the Olympics and not all collegiate gymnasts win championships, but since that is what I have done, it doesn’t feel any more special to me than it would to a Level 8 winning their state championships. It’s all relative, and I work hard each year for what I have accomplished. It shows me that hard work and commitment and desire do pay off.

USA Gymnastics: Suzanne (Yoculan) has called you “a mental giant.” How have you developed this mental toughness over the years and what advice would you give others on mental toughness?
Courtney: Mental toughness is the name of the game. Through the years I have been lucky enough to observe other amazing gymnasts like Dominique Dawes, Elise Ray, and my sister Ashley Kupets – watch them train, and see that it is all about the drive and the commitment to the sport, and no matter what obstacles you face, tomorrow is another day that you can overcome. I also learned a lot from my club coach Kelli Hill. I was never easy to handle, and we did butt heads here and there, but through her style of coaching, I became the gymnast I am today, one that doesn’t stop until I get it right.

USA Gymnastics: When do you graduate from the University of Georgia and what will be your degree?
Courtney: I will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Housing. Yes, many people ask, so what does that mean, and it’s basically classes that I have taken to understand personal finance, taxes, the housing trends and another years’ worth of other classes! I started with an interior design degree and just recently switched over.

USA Gymnastics: Jay (Clark) told me that you’ve been awarded a post-graduate scholarship. Can you talk about your plans for that?
Courtney: Plans for that are still up in the air. Yes, I will be attending graduate school, but not sure of all the details yet. Either I will go to law school and work really incredibly hard, or I will go to grad school and come out with something in business that can help with anything in my future.

USA Gymnastics: Was it difficult to maintain such a high GPA and excel academically, as well as athletically? How did you balance the two?
Courtney: At times it was hard, but for me that is all I know. Whatever it is I am doing, I like to give my best. At times it made me socially boring, but I’m here for school and gymnastics, and the social aspect had to take the back seat. I was okay with that because I know I’m setting up for my future by how I act now.

USA Gymnastics: What career path do you hope to take in the future?
Courtney: I have a few possible career paths. One would be to own my own company and go all over the country putting in new housing developments (Dream Job). Or I could see myself being a real estate lawyer, helping companies get new facilities. And the third option is to stay open to whatever comes my way.

USA Gymnastics: Are you finished with gymnastics or will you continue to be involved in some way?
Courtney: I don’t think I will ever be “finished” with gymnastics. It has been such a big part of my life that I will always be involved in some way, even if it is just helping out at summer camps. I want to give back to the gymnastics community. But, in terms of coaching, I don’t think I will be a coach for long term.

USA Gymnastics: How long have you been involved with gymnastics and what do you look forward to with no scheduled practice to attend?
Courtney: I have been in gymnastics since age 3, and lots of afternoons after school and classes have been spent in the gym, so I am most looking forward to having the time to do random things whatever time of the day I want!

USA Gymnastics: How do you think your body will react once it realizes you are not doing gymnastics any longer?
Courtney: I think my body will thank me. Ha ha. I mean I will still be working out but not doing gymnastics. It will be a nice change.

USA Gymnastics: What advice do you have for girls who are deciding if they want to do collegiate gymnastics or not?
Courtney: I say go for it. It is not a piece of cake but the team experience is so worth it.

USA Gymnastics: Anything new and exciting with your family?
Courtney: Everything is exciting with my family. My younger brother Chris is still improving his game in basketball. My older brother Mark is just now graduating from law school. My sister Ashley is in Las Vegas, performing at the Wynn Hotel in the Le Reve’ show, which is amazing. And my parents, Mark and Patti, are as funny as ever. They embarrass me at times but I know I will be the same way!!!!!!