Women's Gymnasts of the Week – Jan. 22-28, 2024

Gymnast of the Week awards are given by conference offices.

Gymnast of the Week
Emily Shepard – NC State
Shepard registered two scores of 9.925 in NC State’s dual-meet victory over Pitt, using her season-best scores on bars and floor to help the Wolfpack secure season-high team totals on each event. The Olathe, Kansas, native’s score of 9.925 on bars matched her career high, while her second total of 9.925 on floor, plus a 9.875 on vault and 9.750 on beam gave her the best all-around total of her season to this point at 39.475. The fifth-year senior tabbed four podium finishes on Friday night, finishing first place on bars and in the all-around, while tying Chloe Negrete for first place on both vault and floor. Shepard’s two scores of 9.925 additionally gave her the honor of being the first gymnast in NC State history with 40 9.9+ scores in her career.

Specialist of the Week
Brie Clark – Clemson
Clark recorded two individual podium finishes for Clemson in the Tigers’ win over North Carolina, their second-straight ACC victory. The Daphne, Alabama, native tied her career-high on beam with a 9.900 and took her third-straight title on floor with 9.925. The redshirt sophomore has scored a 9.900 or higher on floor in every meet through the season so far.

Newcomer of the Week
Ashley Knight – NC State
Knight helped lead NC State to its program best score in a home opener by earning the first podium finish of her career after placing third on vault. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native scored a 9.825 in the Pack’s first rotation to land in third place, while later tabbing a 9.700 on floor.

Gymnast of the Week
Skyla Schulte – Michigan State

• Won her second straight all-around title against Iowa, tying her season-high with a score of 39.600
• Captured her second straight beam title, winning it outright with a 9.900, the only 9.900 on the event of the week
• Earned a share of her second straight bars title with a 9.900 while placing second on floor with a season high 9.950
• Finished fifth on vault with a 9.875
• Helped Michigan State to its best score of the season on any event with a 49.625 on floor and to its second-best score of the season (197.400)
• Collects her seventh career Big Ten honor and second Gymnast of the Week honor

Co-Event Specialists of the Week
Mya Hooten – Minnesota

• Took home two event titles against No. 20 Iowa on Jan. 22
• Posted scores of 9.950 in both the vault (season-high) and on the floor
• Delivered a team high 9.850 on the bars
• Took home an event title in the vault against Maryland on Jan. 27, tying her season best 9.950, before taking fourth on the bars with a 9.800
• Ranks fifth nationally in floor with a 9.938 average
• Collects her third career Event Specialist of the Week award

Nikki Smith – Michigan State

• Scored a 10.000 on floor in a win over Iowa on Jan. 28
• The perfect score was the first floor 10.000 in Michigan State history and sixth overall
• Became the only Michigan State gymnast to hold multiple perfect 10.000s
• Also compete on vault (9.825) and bars (9.850)
• Her floor score helped lead Michigan State to a season high 49.625, which ranks in a tie for second in program history and ties for fifth best floor score in the NCAA
• Collects her ninth career Big Ten honor and first Event Specialist of the Week honor

Co-Freshmen of the Week
Eva Volpe – Iowa

• Competed in the all-around in all three meets last week
• Improved her all-around score in each meet, posting a season best 39.175 against Michigan State on Jan. 28
• Earned a share of the title on bars against Southern Utah with a season- and personal-best 9.850
• Posted a season and personal best on vault against Michigan State with a score of 9.800
• Recorded a 9.800 on three out of four events against Michigan State
• Recorded a season best (9.825) on beam against Minnesota
• Earns her first career Freshman of the Week award

Natalie Martin – Maryland

• Led the Terps on vault with a 9.850
• Notched the second best score on beam with a 9.850 and anchored the Terps on floor with a 9.850
• Helped Maryland rank first in the Big Ten and eighth in the country on beam, along with a No. 21 national ranking
• Earns her first career Freshman of the Week award

Gymnast of the Week
Jessica Hutchinson – Denver
Hutchinson claimed the Conference’s highest all-around score last week with a 39.725 and the title in the meet at Oklahoma. The reigning Big 12 Gymnast of the Year set her career-best in the all-around during the meet and tied for the ninth-highest score in program history. She finished her vault, beam and floor routines with a 9.950, earning first-place finishes in two of the three events. This marks the fourth Gymnast of the Week and sixth career weekly accolade for the physiology in health and disease major.

Specialist of the Week
Jurnee Lane – West Virginia
Lane surpassed her season-high in floor with a 9.925 and claimed her first career event win when the Mountaineers competed at Kent State. The freshman studying sport management tallied WVU’s first 9.9 or higher score in any event this season. Lane is the first WVU gymnast to earn a weekly award in 2024.

Newcomer of the Week
Madison Ulrich – Denver
Ulrich posted personal bests in bars (9.900) and floor (9.925) while setting a career-best 39.550 in the all-around. Against Oklahoma, she had podium finishes in bars (tied for third) and placed third in the all-around. She is the first Pioneer to be awarded three Newcomer of the Week awards in the same season since Alexis Vasquez during the 2019 season.

Gymnast of the Week
Kendall Whitman – George Washington
Whitman placed first overall in all-around with a score of 39.200 at the Towson quad meet. She posted a 9.900 on floor to place second overall, marking her fourth meet in a row with the top floor score for George Washington.

Specialist of the Week
Sarah Zois – George Washington
Zois tied for first overall in vault at the Towson quad with a career-high 9.925, which currently ranks her second in EAGL.

Rookie of the Week
Brooke Izzo – George Washington
Izzo won beam with a career high 9.850 at the Towson quad meet, which currently is the second highest score on the team.

Gymnast of the Week
Lola Sepulveda – Bridgeport
At the Purple Knights’ home opener & alumni night, Lola tallied three career high scores on the bars with a 9.825, the floor with a 9.85, and the all-around with a 39.225! All three of which were good for 1st place finishes. Coach Lorraine Galow says “Lola has improved significantly and works extremely hard in the gym to fine-tune the details of her gymnastics. She is an extremely fierce competitor that helps to inspire the rest of our competitive lineup.” She also took 4th on vault with a 9.725, and 2nd on beam with a 9.825.

Specialist of the Week
Jessica Lin – Brown
In her collegiate debut, Lin posted the No. 2 all-time mark in program history on beam, surpassing Olympian Alicia Sacramone ’07 (who now sits T-4th). She received scores of 9.95 and 9.85 for an average of a 9.9, which was good for 1st place in the meet. Her score was critical in helping Brown edge out Alaska Anchorage and SCSU in Brown’s home-opening tri-meet.

Newcomer of the Week
Sophia Paris – Penn
Paris took the bar title with a 9.875 in the Quaker’s dual competition versus Yale. Her impressive bar routine led the Quakers to a season high 49.0 on the event, the 5th highest score in program history. Her contributions also helped lead the Quakers to its 3rd highest team score in program history of 195.55.

Gymnast of the Week
Zoe Middleton – Ball State
Sophomore Zoe Middleton won the all-around with a score of 39.325 to help guide Ball State to a 196.600-193.200 victory over Bowling Green Monday. It was her second consecutive all-around victory of the season and included scores of 9.875 on both vault and floor, a 9.825 on bars and a 9.750 on beam.

Specialist of the Week
Amanda Gruber – Western Michigan
Gruber turned in a career-best performance on floor in WMU’s win over Bowling Green. She recorded a score of 9.950, getting a 10.0 and a 9.0 from the judges, to finish in the top spot. She also took fourth place on beam with a 9.825, her second score of at least 9.8 so far this season.

Gymnast of the Week
Angela Labat – Illinois State
The Chesapeake, Virginia, native was the top finisher for the Redbirds on three of the four events on the night, including a tie for second on vault with a 9.825. Her consistency throughout the meet against the Cyclones helped her score a season-high 39.200 to pick up her first all-around victory of the year.

Performance of the Week
Gayla Griswold – Lindenwood
Griswold, a graduate student from Baton Rouge, La., posted a 9.850 during her floor routine last weekend taking home first place in Denton, Texas against MIC opponent Texas Woman’s. It marked her third consecutive win in that event this season.

Newcomer of the Week
Emma Brkljacic – Texas Woman’s
Emma Brkljacic returned to the lineup this week and returned with a fervor. In just her second meet with TWU, after transferring from Northern Illinois University, Brkljacic competed on vault, beam and floor. Starting on vault, Brkljacic matched her career high of a 9.800 to tie for second overall on the event. She followed vault up with a strong 9.625 on beam. Then, in her first time competing on floor, Brkljacic tied for second with a career high 9.825.

Coaches’ Choice Award
Lainey Hunt – Texas Woman’s
Hunt, who has exhibitioned for the Pioneers on bars this season, entered the lineup in the lead-off spot for the first time in her career. A long road of injuries and setbacks culminated in a joyful moment for Hunt, who scored a career high 9.600 on bars and helped guide the Pioneers to their win on Saturday.

Gymnast of the Week
Niya Randolph – Southern Utah
Southern Utah freshman Niya Randolph (Las Vegas, NV) took the all-around title on the road against No. 20 Iowa (Jan. 26), setting a new career-best with an MPSF season-high 39.325. Randolph tied for first on the bars with 9.850 and tied for second on vault, scoring 9.825. Randolph also scored a 9.875 floor, matching her career-high and tying for second. This is the second career MPSF weekly award for Randolph.

Specialist of the Week
Keanna Abraham – UC Davis
UC Davis junior Keanna Abraham (Bakersfield, CA) tied her career-high on vault with 9.925, which also tied for 3rd in MPSF history, as the Aggies totaled 194.600 against Gustavus-Adolphus (Jan. 28). Abraham placed first on vault as well as beam (9.775). Her strong floor performance secured second-place in the event, scoring 9.875. This is the sixth career MPSF weekly award for Abraham, including a repeat of last week.

Freshman of the Week
Brinlee Christensen – Southern Utah
Southern Utah freshman Brinlee Christensen (South Jordan, UT) helped the T-Birds score 195.425 at No. 20 Iowa (Jan. 26). She recorded a 9.750 on bars and tied her career-best 9.825 on the floor, as SUU reached its highest floor total of the season of 49.125. This is the first career MPSF award for Christensen.

Gymnast of the Week/Freshman of the Week
Maggie Slife – Air Force

• Scored a 39.300 for the top all-around score in the MW this week to repeat as the MW Gymnast of the Week.
• Scored a 9.875 on beam, the highest mark by a freshman on any event in the MW this week, to finish first on the event in the Falcons’ meet at Utah State.
• Slife also earned MW Freshman of the Week for the second time in as many weeks.

Vault – Jaudai Lopes, San Jose State; Nyla Morbito, Utah State
Uneven Bars – Katherine Weyhmiller, San Jose State
Balance Beam – Maggie Slife, Air Force; Katherine Weyhmiller, San Jose State
Floor Exercise – Jada Mazury, San Jose State

All-Around Gymnast of the Week
Olivia Keyes – Rhode Island College
Keyes finished third on beam (9.775) and in the all-around (38.275), eighth on floor (9.700), 18th on bars (9.400) and 20th on vault (9.400) as the Anchorwomen finished fourth at a quad-meet hosted by Bridgeport on Jan. 26. She tied for sixth on bars (9.000) in limited action as RIC won at Springfield, 186.200-184.775, on Jan. 28.

Specialist of the Week
Emma Tucker – Rhode Island College
Tucker tied for fourth on beam (9.750) and was fifth on vault (9.700) at the Bridgeport Quad. Tucker finished first on both vault (9.625) and beam (9.700) and was third on floor (9.725) vs. Springfield.

Gymnast of the Week
Mya Lauzon – California

• Captures back-to-back Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors after three event titles and a share of the all-around title in California’s Pac-12 home win over No. 16 Oregon State (197.950 – 196.775).
• Won the vault (9.925), beam (9.975), and floor (9.975) and tied with teammate eMjae Frazier for first in the all-around (39.700).
• Helped the Bears post their second-best score in program history on beam (49.675), the second-best score on the event in the nation in 2024.
• Her performance also helped the Bears to a season-high 197.950, which is fourth-best in the country and ranks sixth-best all-time in Cal history.
• First Cal gymnast to earn the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award in consecutive weeks since Kyana George in 2020 (Feb. 4, Feb. 12).
• Fourth career weekly honor (Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week – Jan. 23, 2024; Pac-12 Specialist of the Week – Jan. 10, 2023, March 14, 2023).

Specialist of the Week
Chae Campbell – UCLA

• Scored a pair of meet-high 9.95s to help No. 15 UCLA win its Pac-12 home opener over Washington (196.300) with a season-high score of 197.825.
• Took first on vault with her 9.95 Yurchenko layout full vault her second perfect score on vault in four meets and seventh of her career.
• Tied for first on floor with a season-high 9.95 and added a 9.85 on bars in the leadoff spot to tie for fourth in the event.
• Contributed to team season-high totals on vault (49.4), bars (49.3) and floor (49.625).
• Second career Specialist of the Week honor (Feb. 21, 2023) and seventh weekly award overall.

Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
Katelyn Rosen – UCLA

• Made her all-around debut for the Bruins in their home win over Washington (197.825 – 196.300), finishing third overall with a score of 39.250.
• Posted a pair of top-two finishes, recording a career-high on vault (9.9) and a 9.875 on bars.
• Tied her career-best on beam with a 9.85 to finish tied for sixth and added a 9.625 on floor to finish 12th in the event.
• First career weekly honor and first Bruin to earn the award since teammate Selena Harris did so six times last season.

Coaches’ Choice
Porsche Trinidad – Stanford

• Made her Stanford debut at Arizona last weekend, stepping into the lineup for for the first time in her career to anchor the beam.
• The sophomore returned from an ACL injury she suffered at the beginning of her freshman year.
• Posted a 9.800 in her first career event, tying for seventh.

Gymnast of the Week
Luisa Blanco – Alabama
Blanco, a graduate student from Dallas, Texas, won the all-around with a final score of 39.700 in the win at No. 8 Florida. Blanco also claimed the event title on the balance beam with a season-high 9.95 and a share of first place on the uneven bars with a 9.925. As the Crimson Tide’s anchor on beam, her top score helped her team clinch the meet and hand the Gators their first loss at home since 2019. Rounding out the night, Blanco tied for third place on both vault (9.95) and floor (9.875).

Specialist of the Week
Makenzie Wilson – Kentucky
Wilson, a junior from Clinton, Tenn., scored a perfect 10 on vault in the win over No. 18 Georgia. It was Wilson’s first career 10 and the first 10.0 recorded in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. It was also the first 10.0 recorded by a Kentucky gymnast since Jenny Hansen (1992-96), who was in attendance for Excite Night celebrating 50 years of Kentucky gymnastics.

Freshman of the Week
Kennedy Griffin – Missouri
Griffin, a freshman from Strongsville, Ohio, scored a 9.975 on the floor exercise in the win over No. 3 LSU at the Hearnes Center. It was the third consecutive year in which the Tigers earned a top-five victory and the highest-ranked win in program history. Trailing by .150 heading into the final rotation, Griffin posted a career-best score in the fifth spot to win the event title and help her team to a score of 49.600 on floor, which tied for the second-best score on the event in program history.

All-Around
Gillian Cummins – UW-Stout
Cummins won the all-around with a 36.925 in a dual meet with UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 26. She won the vault with a 9.600 and set a personal best in the balance beam with a 9.600. She scored a 9.575 on the floor exercise.

Specialist
Effie Ferguson – UW-Stout
Ferguson scored a season-high 9.775 to win the balance beam in a dual meet with UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 26. She tied for second on the floor exercise with a 9.625.