Take a bow: Rachel Dickson ecstatic to nearly master vault routine made iconic by UGA coach

Moments prior to Rachel Dickson bursting down the vault runway, her teammate Sabrina Vega thought this routing might bring a special result.

“When you stick your landing, you will take a bow,” Vega told Dickson as the pair of Georgia gymnasts prepared to compete on the team’s strongest event against Missouri.

Vega was clear in her word choice: when, not if and will, not should. Dickson mimicked Vega’s words in a much-more-sarcastic tone of voice, at least based on what Vega portrayed.

At least one of those demands held true as Dickson flew through the air.

“It was sort of that peak moment we’ve been waiting for,” Vega said. “She didn’t bow, but it’s fine. She stuck it and it was the highlight of our season, honestly.”

She stuck her landing, and performed the vault routine to near-perfection in the GymDogs’ win at Missouri. She received a 9.975 and one of the judges awarded the junior with a perfect score, and Dickson’s persistence and confidence paid off. After modeling her Yurchenko full on half-pike after her head coach Courtney Kupets Carter (who had mastered it), Dickson’s result mirrored that of someone she aspires to be.

Georgia went into its vault rotation against the Tigers in need of a statement. As has been the case during away meets, the GymDogs struggled to open with the bar rotation and scored a 48.725 (second-lowest behind a 48.250 at Oklahoma). Despite the tough start, Dickson remembered a teammate yelling for the GymDogs to “show their heart,” and the all-around gymnast did that with a cleanly-executed routine.

All of the GymDogs thought it was a perfect 10, because why wouldn’t they vouch for their teammate? Kupets Carter admitted a 9.975 was probably the perfect score, and Dickson believed there was a “debate,” depending on how it was viewed. During self-evaluation, the only flaw Dickson saw was a minor lack of height during the routine.

“Everyone was really excited for me to find that landing, because they all know I can do it,” Dickson said. “I just have to put it together, and I was even shocked myself.”

Despite the unique challenged with the vault made famous by Kupets Carter (with Georgia, at least), Dickson has been amped and confident since the season opened in January.

That hasn’t always been the case. Dickson went through fall practices without the technicalities of the routine coming together. Kupets Carter originally had a September timeline for Dickson to be competition-ready, but there was such dedication to get the routine right that it was pushed back as far as November 20.

Once concerned as to whether Georgia coaches would let her keep the routine, Dickson had it ready at the last intrasquad.

“This vault is perfect for her, because she is so talented and does what we ask of her,” Kupets Carter said. “It’s amazing to me to see her follow through with this and learn it so quickly.”

Dickson’s biggest setback with her vault has been the hop on the landing. It’s been miniscule in some meets, but as significant as extending her arms for balance in others. Her lowest score came against Ohio State with a 9.775, and the closest tally prior to the Missouri meet was a 9.9 on Jan. 25 against Auburn. But this far and away exceeded any of the previous attempts, and Dickson would go on to post an all-around 39.600 (tied with Sydney Snead for the highest this season).

Dickson credits her improvements on vault to the same source as the rest of the team: Jason Vonk, formerly at George Washington, has led a heroic-like progression on vault for the GymDogs. He is tasked with learning-and-teaching a host of freshmen, working with the rare Yurchenko double-twisting full with Rachael Lukacs and tinkering with a lineup that has slightly changed from week-to-week.

“He instills a lot of confidence in us, even if it’s warm-ups and you aren’t having a great one,” Dickson said. “He has all of the confidence in me, and for our team to do good vaults in practice makes it more comfortable in the meets.”

Once the steady progress culminated into a memorable score, it was an unforgettable moment for the Georgia coaching staff. Kupets Carter threw her hands up as she experienced a similar thrill to nailing a vault routine during her competing days, but she wasn’t the only one. It was a multi-faceted effort as there was desire and input from Vonk, assistant coach Josh Overton and volunteer coach Suzanne Yoculan Leebern in order for Dickson to see it come to fruition.

They all saw it, however, in December and it served as a testament to Dickson’s talent as a third-year GymDog.

“She did it on our firmest surface and I knew she had it,” Vonk said. “She had it technically from the beginning, but that is a mentally-challenging vault. At the first look, we thought she would have it throughout the season and it was only going to get better.”

As Dickson’s teammates watched from the far side of the runway at the Hearnes Center, they became the loudest cheerleaders in a hostile environment. For the one who predicted it, Vega took the bow instead.

“That was the best vault I’ve seen her do,” Vega said. “I had a feeling she would stick it.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 11:55 AM.