Women's Gymnasts of the Week – Feb. 27-March 5, 2023

Co-Gymnast of the Week
Gabby Wilson – Michigan

• Posted four scores of 9.900 or better to win the all-around in Michigan’s victory over No. 1 Oklahoma on March 6
• Scored a 39.800 in the all-around for the fifth-highest score in program history, took the outright floor title with a 9.975 and won a share of the beam title with a career-best 9.975
• Led Michigan on the vault with a 9.900 before adding a 9.950 to tie a career best on the uneven bars
• The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree earns her first career Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award

Co-Gymnast and Freshman of the Week
Nikki Smith – Michigan State

• Won the all-around with a total of 39.775 against Bowling Green and LIU on March 5, setting a new program all-around record and leading the Spartans to a record-breaking team total of 198.225
• Scored a perfect 10.0 on vault on March 5, the third 10.0 on the event in program history, before adding a 9.950 on bars, 9.925 on beam and 9.900 on floor
• Captured the bars title with a 9.975 at Eastern Michigan on March 3, scored a 9.925 on vault and 9.850 on floor
• Earns her second career Gymnast of the Week award and her fourth career Freshman of the Week award

Event Specialist of the Week
Jori Jackard – Michigan State

• Scored a perfect 10.0 on bars vs. Bowling Green and LIU on March 5, the first 10.0 on the event in program history
• Part of the Spartans’ bars record of 49.550 and team overall record of 198.225
• Becomes the eighth gymnast in the NCAA to score a 10.0 on bars this season and first in the Big Ten
• The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree collects her second career Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week honor

Halle Remlinger – Minnesota

• Punctuated her collegiate career with a perfect 10.0 on floor on Senior Night at Maturi Pavilion on March 4
• Became the second Gopher to ever achieve perfection on floor and contributed to Minnesota’s third highest floor score in program history (49.700)
• Added a 9.850 on vault and 9.850 on bars in the win against Boise State
• The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree collects her first career Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week honor

Gymnast of the Week
Lynnzee Brown – Denver
Brown registered the highest all-around score in the Big 12 last week, totaling 39.725 when Denver hosted Towson. The graduate student recorded a 9.875 on vault before receiving a 9.900 on the uneven bars. She posted a career-high 9.950 on the balance beam to help Denver tie its program record 49.650 event score. In her fourth appearance on floor in 2023, Brown marked her first 10. 0 since her second Achilles injury last season. Her performance in the floor exercise helped Denver score a program-best 49.825 in the event, a first since the 2003 season. The Raytown, Missouri native now has posted five perfect 10s in her career, which includes three on floor. Brown has nine total career Big 12 Gymnastics weekly awards, which includes seven Gymnast of the Week honors.

Specialist of the Week
Alexandria Ruiz – Denver
Ruiz posted a career-high 9.950 on the uneven bars to take the title in the event. It was the first time in her career that she hit a 9.950 in any event and it helped Denver record its second-highest bars score of 49.600 in program history. The graduate student also registered a season-best 9.900 on floor. This is the second career weekly award for Ruiz and the first since she was named Newcomer of the Week in 2019.

Newcomer of the Week
Mila Brusch – Denver
Brusch served as the lead-off for Denver’s vault lineup that registered a score of 49.075 in the event. The freshman posted a 9.850 which was 0.025 points away from her career high. Her score contributed to DU’s victory over Towson 198.150-195.950. It was the first time the program eclipsed the 198+ point mark since 2004.
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Gymnast of the Week
Emily Shepard – NC State
Shepard finished first place on vault with a career high matching 9.900. The senior also registered a new career high of 9.950 on floor, which was good enough for a tie for second place. In addition the Olathe Kan. native posted a new all around career high of 39.550, winning the title and tying for NC State’s best all around score of all time.

Specialist of the Week
Lali Dekanoidze – North Carolina
Dekanoidze won vault with a career-high matching 9.900, the seventh-best score in program history. The sophomore also won bars with a 9.925 for a team-high 13 individual event wins on the season. In addition, the Matthews, N.C. native has scored 9.925 or better in six of ten bars routines this season and is currently tied for eighth in the nation on that event.

Rookie of the Week
Syd Morris – LIU
Morris broke the LIU program all around record for the third time this season with a 39.550. The freshman also set a new personal best on bars twice this weekend with a 9.900 on Friday and then bested that with a 9.950 on Sunday. In addition, the Landenberg, Pa. native scored above a 9.850 on all four events—the first LIU Gymnast in history to do so in one competition.

Co-Gymnasts of the Week
Kate Michelini – Cornell
Kate has been working exceptionally hard to get her vault consistent and it paid off as she set a new personal best on vault with a 9.7 to tie for fourth place. Michelini also had a first place personal best 9.875 on floor, where she is one of the Big Red’s most consistent performers. This meet was only the 4th meet Michelini has competed in the all-around for the Big Red and she hit a personal record with a 38.850, also taking first place.

Raegan Walker – Yale
Raegan had a spectacular final home competition for the Bulldogs. Walker competed in 3 events and won 2 out of the 3. Raegan had the team’s highest vault score with a beautiful yurkchenko half, scoring a 9.725 for first place. On bars Raegan had the second highest score of the meet with a 9.75, coming in clutch in the the 5th lineup spot after a few mistakes earlier in the lineup. On beam, Raegan tied her career high with a 9.9, which was also good for first place. Walker has continually been a reliable competitor for Yale and can be counted on in the some of the most critical points in competition.

Specialist of the Week
Jordan Coleman – West Chester
Jordan Coleman hit her career high of a 9.85 for the 2nd week in a row in a quad meet against Temple, Towson & Maryland with her beautiful uneven parallel bars routine which she finished with her 6th stuck landing of the season! Jordan has continued focus on small details and has gained great confidence in her bar routine this year, allowing her to step into the anchor position for the Golden Rams.

Newcomer of the Week
Gigi Sabatini – Yale
Sabatini shined in all 4 events at home for the Bulldogs, scoring a 9.7 or higher on each, as well as earning the all-around title with a 38.825. On vault Gigi came in second place overall, scoring a 9.7. On bars Gigi also executed a strong hit routine in the 3rd spot, keeping the momentum after a previous fall in the lineup, scoring a 9.7. Gigi followed her bar routine with another hit on the beam, scoring a 9.725. Sabatini anchored floor for Yale, scoring another 9.7. She is currently Yale’s only all-around competitor, exuding confidence and calmness in every competition.

Gymnast of the Week
Payton Murphy – Western Michigan
For the third time this season, senior Payton Murphy broke her own program record in the all-around, this time with a score of 39.550. She also contributed to WMU breaking its program scoring record with a 197.100, the first time in school history the team has earned a score of a 197 or higher. On top of that, she helped WMU produce new team meet records on vault and beam. She finished second on vault, second on bars, second on beam and tied for first on floor.

Specialist of the Week
Elizabeth Cesarone – Central Michigan
Elizabeth Cesarone had a strong performance on Sunday in a tri-meet with Pitt at West Virginia. Cesarone tied for first on vault and set a career high with a 9.925. Cesarone helped CMU to a season-best 196.500 team score and a second-place finish in the meet.

Co-Gymnasts of the Week
Angelica Labat – Illinois State
Labat was consistent throughout her entire meet in the team’s win over SEMO, posting scores of 9.825 or better on every event. That resulted in her all-around score of 39.400, which was a season high for her and the top all-around score of any MIC gymnast this season. That score was aided by a first-place finish on beam with a 9.875 and a first-place tie on vault with a 9.875. Her score of 39.400 is the third highest mark of her illustrious career at ISU, and she currently ranks No. 60 in the NCAA with a NQS of 39.070 in the all-around.

Lindsay Ockler – SEMO
After missing last week’s meet with an injury, Lindsay Ockler bounced back in a big way for the Redhawks on Friday night with two really impressive scores. Ockler led the Redhawks on the Vault rotation with a 9.875, and led the Redhawks on the Bars with a 9.850.

Performance of the Week
Nyah Reader – SEMO
Nyah Reader tied for the highest score on the floor routine for the Redhawks Friday night against Illinois State with a 9.850. Reader, a Sophomore from Rexford, New York, also led the Redhawks on the Beam with a 9.825 from the sixth spot in the lineup.

Newcomer of the Week
Amy Foret – Centenary
Freshman Amy Foret (Bedford, Texas) won the All-Around competition at the Rose City Classic with a career-high 38.225, winning the AA for the second meet in a row and third time this season. She earned three top-10 finishes on beam (8th), vault (10th), and floor (T-6th). She also placed 11th on bars with a 9.375. Foret tied with TWU’s Kyla Podges on floor with a 9.725, scored a 9.575 on vault, a 9.55 on bean, and a 9.725 on floor.

Coaches’ Choice Award
Maddie Griffith – Texas Woman’s
Most recently, Griffith competed on vault and uneven bars at the Rose City Classic, scoring 9.800s on both events. Griffith tied for the event title on vault and placed third on bars. During her senior season, Griffith has competed on vault and bars throughout the entire season. She was narrowly off her season-highs with her pair of 9.800s this past week. Her season-high on vault was a 9.850 at Southeast Missouri on Jan. 27, and her season-high on bars was a 9.850 on Feb. 26 against West Virginia.

Gymnast of the Week
Lauren Macpherson – San Jose State
Macpherson (Gilbert, AZ) broke the MPSF’s all-time all-around record with 39.550 in a road quad at Sacramento State, with UC Davis and No. 19 Southern Utah (Mar. 3). She also matched the all-time MPSF balance beam record with 9.95, and added a career-best floor (9.925) and vault (9.875). Two days later in a home dual with SUU, Macpherson won the all-around with 39.375. She tied for first on beam (9.900), and added 9.875 on floor. This is the 10th career MPSF weekly award for Macpherson.

Specialist of the Week
Amber Koeth – Sacramento State
Koeth (Henderson, NV), competing at The Nest for the final time in her career, made it a night to remember as she tied a pair of school records and one MPSF record. Koeth scored 9.950 on both beam and floor to tie school records, the former of which also equaled the all-time conference mark. Koeth’s floor score tied for fourth in MPSF history. This is the third career MPSF weekly award for Koeth, all in the last three weeks.

Freshman of the Week
Amelia Moneymaker – UC Davis
Moneymaker (Sacramento, CA) recorded top-10 meet scores of 9.875 on floor, 9.80 on vault, and 9.775 on uneven bars in a competitive road quad with San Jose State, No. 19 Southern Utah, and host Sacramento State (Mar. 3). This is the third MPSF weekly award for Moneymaker.

Gymnast of the Week
Brianna Brooks – Utah State
Brooks led the MRGC with a 39.275 in the all-around in the Aggies’ 2023 home finale against Nebraska and Alaska last Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Brooks’ total in the all-around included a 9.900 on bars as she shared Bars Specialist of the Week honors with three other gymnasts in the MRGC.

Specialists of the Week
Vault – Kayla Pardue, Southern Utah
Uneven Bars – Emily Lopez, Boise State; Shylen Murakami, Southern Utah; Brianna Brooks, Utah State; Anyssa Alvarado, BYU
Balance Beam – Alyssa Vulaj, Boise State; Adriana Popp, Boise State
Floor Exercise – Courtney Blackson, Boise State; Sophie Dudley, BYU; Karley McClain, Southern Utah

All-Around Gymnast of the Week
Olivia Keyes – Rhode Island College
Olivia Keyes from Rhode Island College is back in the All Around! What a come back, strong and confident as we like to see her. After having an injury in the middle of the season, Olivia never gave up and kept fighting to finish strong the season. This weekend she had her season high All Around score of 38.375! So proud of her return.

Specialist of the Week
Kyra Figurelli – Brockport
During Brockport’s Senior Day Tri-Meet this past weekend, Kyra Figurelli posted a career-high 9.925 on the floor exercise. She took first in the event at the meet and tied the program record, leading the squad to a season-high team score of 49.000. Figurelli remains the nation’s top ranked gymnast on the floor with a SAS of 9.8688, AVE of 9.91, and High of 9.925.

Gymnast of the Week
Jordan Chiles – UCLA

• Earns the honor for the fourth time in 2023 after scoring a career-high 39.875 to win the all-around in UCLA’s victory over Stanford, with her score tied for the best all-around mark in the nation this year.
• Her performance helped the Bruins join the 198+ club in their Pac-12 finale against the Cardinal, becoming just one of 10 teams in the country to accomplish the feat.
• Her all-around score was the third-highest in school history and the highest by a Bruin gymnast in 19 years.
• In addition to winning the all-around, recorded event titles in three of four events, winning the bars, beam and floor while finishing second in the vault.
• Scored her first 10.0 on bars of the season and the second on bars in her career, giving her two overall Perfect 10s during her sophomore campaign and five total in her career.
• Set a new career-high with a 9.975 on beam and matched that score on floor, giving her nine 9.975s this season.
• 20 of last 21 routines have scored a 9.9 or better while her 26 first-place finishes are a team-best.
• Sixth weekly award of her career.

Specialist of the Week
Cristal Isa – Utah

• Helped the Utes close out their home slate with a victory over Arizona (197.925 – 196.675), which secured at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title.
• In her final home meet, the senior recorded her first perfect 10 on beam this season and second of her career to win the event for the first time in 2023.
• Became just the ninth gymnast in program history to score at least two 10.0s on beam in a career.
• Tied for second in the bars with a 9.90, posting a 9.90 or better in five straight meets.
• Third career Specialist of the Week honoree and fourth career weekly award overall.

Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
eMjae Frazier – California

• Earns the award for the second time in the last three weeks after making Cal history as the first Bear to record a 10.0 on the floor.
• Helped the Bears finish second at LSU’s Podium Challenge with Cal scoring a 197.675 behind the Tigers (197.700) and in front of Washington (196.000) and George Washington (195.125).
• First freshman and first Bear to earn a perfect 10 since Toni-Ann Williams in 2015.
• Behind the 10.0 to win the floor title, finished second in the all-around with a 39.525.
• Third weekly award this season (Pac-12 Specialist of the Week – Jan. 31).

Coaches’ Choice
Hannah Scharf – Arizona State

• Collects the honor for the second consecutive week after leading the Sun Devils to an upset win over then-No. 11 Oregon State (197.725-197.550), handing the Beavers their first loss in Pac-12 competition.
• The team total was ASU’s highest this year and ninth-highest all-time.
• Finished second in the all-around with a 39.625, the 15th-best all-around score in ASU history and her third meet in a row hitting at least that mark.
• Tied for first on the floor after matching her career-high with a 9.950, her fifth straight 9.9-plus on floor, and helped the Sun Devils to their ninth-highest floor score all-time (49.575).
• Notched a season-high 9.900 to tie for first in vault.
• Fifth career weekly award overall.

Gymnast of the Week
Haleigh Bryant – LSU
Bryant, a junior from Cornelius, N.C., earned her eighth all-around title with her score of 39.700 to help the Tigers finish first at the P&G Podium Challenge. Bryant also earned a share of the vault title with a score of 9.975 and placed second on floor with a score of 9.975. She now owns 16 all-around titles in her career to tie her at sixth best in LSU history and her 52 career titles tie her at 10th in program history for most individual titles.

Specialist of the Week
Luisa Blanco – Alabama
Blanco, a senior from Dallas, Texas, won her two events at No. 14 Missouri. Blanco scored a perfect 10.0 on the balance beam, her second consecutive time earning a perfect score on the event and her third 10.0 on beam this season. She also scored a 9.950 to win the floor exercise title, competing after two falls earlier in the rotation for Alabama and anchoring UA’s lineup. Blanco’s floor exercise title marked her fifth of the season on the event.

Co-Freshmen of the Week
Kayla Dicello – Florida
DiCello, a freshman from Boyds, Md., earned a share of second place on vault at No. 1 Oklahoma with her collegiate best of 9.95. Her 9.95 equaled the high score by an SEC freshman last weekend across the four events. DiCello also recorded 9.85s on bars and beam for the Gators.

Naya Howard – Georgia
Howard, a freshman from Chesapeake, Va., registered an all-around score of 39.425 to finish second in the event against No. 17 Arkansas. Howard is the first Georgia freshman to compete all-around since 2017 and is on pace to compete the most since Courtney Kupets in 2006. She also notched a career-high 9.925 on bars to finish fourth in the event.

All-Around
Kiara Brown – UW-Stout
Brown (Jr., Whitewood, S.D./Sturgis) won the all-around in a dual meet at UW-La Crosse with a score of 38.100. It was her second-best score of the season and career, and the fourth time she has scored 38.000 or higher this season. She recorded a career-high in the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.700 and tied a career-high on the vault with a score of 9.600.

Specialist
Kara Welsh – UW-Whitewater
Welsh (So., Plainfield, Ill./Central) opened the Warhawks’ dual against UW-Oshkosh in exciting fashion. Nearly sticking her vault, Welsh scored a 9.850 to win the event. That mark is tied for second in program history. She wrapped up the meet with a 9.650 on the floor exercise as UW-Whitewater topped the Titans in the event with a team total of 48.625, tied for second in the Warhawk record book.