“The Creature” came to Stegeman Coliseum Sunday.

Senior Gym Dog Abby Stack waddled onto the floor with her legs through the sleeves of a polka-dotted lime green sweatshirt and antennae on her head, helping the Gym Dogs kick off their annual Sneak-A-Peek exhibition.

“It’s definitely reflective of my personality,” Stack said. “It’s crazy, it’s wild, it’s not normal.

I think that pretty much describes me, and I think it was just kind of a fun way to loosen everyone up.”

“I think we had more fun than the fans,” said head coach Suzanne Yoculan. “The girls were really getting into the red and the black and the decorations and the T-shirts and The Creature.”

The Gym Dogs were separated into red and black squads for the “competition” part of the Sneak-A-Peek, with the “Red Riot,” led by Stack, claiming the victory on scored bars and beam routines.

“It really is just for fun, and I think it allows us to get into the meet a little more,” Stack said. “We made T-shirts and we made signs.

All in all, we’re a big team and we’re going to compete as a team. But, the red did win.”

Two-time NCAA all-around champion Courtney Kupets also returned to the floor for the first time since tearing her Achilles tendon in March. She fell during her beam routine, but she said health-wise, everything was fine.

“It was so nice to just be back out there,” she said. “It was good to just get back out in front of people and get that nervous feeling again.”

Nerves might have been a trend for the afternoon.

Freshmen Gina Nuccio, Kathryn Ding and Amber Trani looked somewhat timid during their first performances in front of a half-filled Stegeman Coliseum.

“They were shaking, those poor freshmen doing balance beam,” Yoculan said, laughing.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like for them when they have to do it in front of 10,000 people, but you would have thought they were in the middle of Yankee Stadium or something.”

Yankee Stadium or not, a certain mascot may stick around for a while.

“The Creature’s awesome,” Kupets said. “We love it.”