Georgia's won its first National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships team title since 1999 at the national meet held at Auburn April 21-23.

The Bulldogs finished with a final score of 197.825, and the lowest score posted was a 9.800 on the balance beam. They narrowly defeated Alabama, which posted a final score of 197.400. The Crimson Tide struggled through a poor showing on the beam, but the team was buoyed in large part by junior Ashley Miles, who scored two consecutive perfect scores on the floor and the vault. It was the first time Miles had earned two 10.0 scores in the same meet.

Georgia's top gymnast was freshman Katie Heenan, who finished with a season-high all-around score of 39.725. Heenan won the balance beam event during team competition, while teammate Kelsey Ericksen won the uneven parallel bars. UCLA's Kristen Maloney won the floor exercise.

Tasha Schwikert of UCLA won the all-around title, edging teammate Maloney by 0.1 points. Utah's Ashley Postell and Alabama's Miles tied for third.

Utah placed third in the team standings with a final score of 197.275. UCLA, Michigan and Nebraska rounded out the top six.

Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan said the Bulldogs didn't let a low qualifying score and a string of losses earlier in the season deter them from their goal of winning the national championship.

"We went from worst to first," Yoculan said. "I don't know if any team has ever gone from the 12th seed to winning it all. After the fourth loss of the season, things really started to turn around for us. We were forced to improve on some things and the girls responded well. We knew the stars had to align for Georgia to win tonight. This championship isn't just for this group of girls; this one is for every girl that has been on our teams since the championship team in 1999."

In individual competition, Maloney won the first two events -- vault and beam -- both with scores of 9.9375. Maloney, who has competed internationally at the Olympics, said she wanted to perform well at her final collegiate competition.

"College gymnastics is just more fun. Tonight, I really wanted to let it go. So I did the hardest possible routine I could because I knew that if I missed, it did not matter -- it was just me competing," she said. "I was very happy that I was able to hit my routines and win the individual title. I enjoy these skills and am happy that I am able to go out on top."

North Carolina's Courtney Bumpers repeated as national champion in the floor exercise with a perfect score.

Alabama freshman Terin Humphrey won the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.9375. Humphrey's national title wraps up a season in which she won that event 10 times.

Humphrey, another Olympian, said she felt her experience in international competition put more pressure on her to perform well.

"I'm proud to be a part of Alabama gymnastics and I feel as though this is a reflection of not only myself, but my teammates and coaches," she said. "I had been so dedicated on being successful that it was hard to get into a fun mind-set. The coaches and my teammates were a lot of help and I am excited that the year ended like this."

Georgia's victory in the team competition came after a year in which the Bulldogs had to replace eight scholarship gymnasts and recover from four consecutive losses -- to championship contenders Florida, LSU, Oklahoma and Alabama. The field also was full of Olympians -- UCLA had three, and Alabama and Michigan each had one. Yoculan said it wasn't the number of Olympians that mattered -- it was the group that could work together as a team.

"We really emphasize that we have a total team. The team just believed. They believed right from the beginning that we could win this thing," she said. "The adversity really forced them to improve."

Team results

1. Georgia, 197.826; 2. Alabama, 197.400; 3. Utah, 197.275; 4. UCLA, 197.150; 5. Michigan, 196.575; 6. Nebraska, 196.425.

Individual results

All-around: 1.Tasha Schwikert, UCLA, 39.725; 2. Kristen Maloney, UCLA, 39.625; 3. (tie) Ashley Postell, Utah; and Ashley Miles, Alabama, 39.575; 5. (tie) Kelsey Ericksen, Georgia; and Katie Heenan, Georgia, 39.525; 7. (tie) Annabeth Eberle, Utah; and Terin Humphrey, Alabama, 39.400; 9. April Burkholder, LSU, 39.475; 10. Tabitha Yim, Stanford, 39.450.

Vault: 1. Kristen Maloney, UCLA, 9.9375; 2. Janet Anson, Iowa State, 9.9000; 3. April Burkholder, LSU, 9.8875; 4. Ashley Miles, Alabama, 9.8500; 5. Alisha Robinson, Missouri, 9.7938; 6. Annabeth Eberle, Utah, 9.7688; 7. Katie Heenan, Georgia, 9.7563; 8. Jenny Deiley, Michigan, 9.7375; 9. Brittany Smith, Georgia, 9.6563.

Uneven bars: 1. Terin Humphrey, Alabama, 9.9375; 2. Kelsey Ericksen, Georgia, 9.9250; 3. (tie) Tasha Schwikert, UCLA; Ashley Postell, Utah; and Rachel Tidd, Utah; 9.8875; 6. Tabitha Yim, Stanford, 9.8750; 6. Ashley Miles, Alabama, 9.8500; 8. Lauren Mirkovich, Michigan, 9.8375; 9. Lisa Rennie, LSU, 9.8250; 10. Dana Filetti, Alabama, 9.7750; 11. (tie) Annie Gagnon, LSU; and Elise Ray, Michigan, 9.3375; 13. Katie Heenan, Georgia, 9.3250.

Balance beam: 1. Kristen Maloney, UCLA, 9.9375; 2. (tie) Kristi Esposito, Nebraska; and Elise Ray, Michigan, 9.9125; 4. Kate Richardson, UCLA, 9.9000; 5. (tie) Terin Humphrey, Alabama; and Tasha Schwikert, UCLA, 9.8625; 7. Tabitah Yim, Stanford, 9.8375.

Floor exercise: 1. Courtney Bumpers, North Carolina, 10.0000; 2. Ashley Miles, Alabama, 9.9750; 3. (tie) Emily Parsons, Nebraska and Tabitha Yim, Stanford, 9.9250; 5. (tie) Kelsey Ericksen, Georgia; Michelle Emmons, Georgia; and Terin Humphrey, Alabama, 9.8750; 8. (tie) Laura-Kay Powell, Iowa State; and Annabeth Eberle, Utah. 9.8375; 10. Gritt Hoffman, Utah, 9.8000; 11. Kristen Maloney, UCLA, 9.7625; 12. Kate Richardson, UCLA, 9.3375; 13. April Burkholder, LSU, 9.2625.