Women's Gymnasts of the Week – March 13-17, 2024

Gymnast of the Week awards are given by conference offices. More will be added throughout the week as they become available.

Gymnast of the Week
Chloe Negrette – NC State
Negrete competed in three events during Friday night’s quad meet at Florida with Iowa State and Temple, tabbing a 9.9+ on each event. Negrete’s night was highlighted by a pair of podium finishes on vault and beam, with the graduate registering a new career high at 9.925 during NC State’s final rotation on vault while tying for first place on beam alongside Florida’s Alyssa Arana and Sloane Blakely at the same score. Negrete additionally tabbed a 9.900 on floor during the Wolfpack’s third rotation, the event which six of her 13 9.9+ totals have come in.

Specialist of the Week
Molly Arnold – Clemson
Arnold was nearly perfect on vault against No. 11 UCLA on Saturday, tallying a career-best 9.975 after sticking her Yurchenko 1.5, earning a 10.0 from one judge, helping Clemson to their best team vault score of the season. The Bloomington, Minn., native also competed on floor for the Tigers, earning a 9.875.

Newcomer of the Week
Lilly Lippeatt – Clemson
Lippeatt competed in three events for the Tigers on Saturday, including bars, beam, and floor. She earned 9.875s on both bars and beam, and a 9.900 on floor.

Co-Gymnasts of the Week
Sierra Brooks – Michigan

• Scored a 39.700 in the all-around with two 9.950 and a 9.975
• Won the uneven bars title with a 9.950
• Placed second behind teammate Gabby Wilson on the floor with a 9.975
• Earned a second place finish on beam with a score of 9.950
• Ranks seventh nationally in the all-around, fourth on the floor, 12th on the beam, 13th on the uneven bars and 26th on vault
• Leads the conference in the all-around, bars and beam, and ranks third on floor and fifth on vault
• Collects her seventh Gymnast of the Week honor this season

Emma Spence – Nebraska

• Won the all-around title against No. 12 Arkansas with a career high 39.650
• Tied her career high on the floor with a 9.950
• Shared the beam title after a season high 9.900
• Contributed to a team season high score of 197.375
• Collects her first Gymnast of the Week honor this season

Co-Event Specialists of the Week
Mya Hooten – Minnesota

• Captured her ninth career perfect 10 on the floor
• Scored a 9.875 on vault and a 9.850 on bars
• Her perfect 10 helped Minnesota earn a 49.675, its highest team score this season and the program’s fifth best all-time
• Minnesota totaled a score of 197.725, the sixth highest point total in program history
• Collects her fifth Event Specialist of the Week honor this season

Reyna Guggino – Michigan

• Earned her second straight vault title with a 9.950
• Tied her career best 9.925 on the floor to tie for fourth overall
• Ranks fourth in the conference on the vault
• Collects her second Event Specialist of the Week honor this season

Olivia Zsarmani – Michigan State

• Won her second vault title with a career high 9.975, earning a 10.000 from one judge
• Her score marked her second straight career high on the event
• Collects her first career Event Specialist of the Week honor

Co-Freshmen of the Week
Lyden Saltness – Illinois

• Scored a 9.925 on bars to win her fourth title of the season
• Helped Illinois to a season high 197.275 and a second place finish against No. 13 Missouri, No. 21 Arizona and Southeast Missouri on senior day
• Earns her third career Freshman of the Week award

Jordyn Lyden – Minnesota

• Took home the bars title with a score of 9.925, her second highest score in the event
• Helped the Gophers score a 197.725, the sixth highest total in program history
• Earns her third career Freshman of the Week award

Kalea McElligott – Penn State

• Turned in a 39.350 in the all-around, her fifth total of 39.350 or better this season
• Set her career high in vault with a 9.90
• Scored a 9.85 on beam and a 9.825 on the floor
• Earns her third career Freshman of the Week award

Gymnast of the Week
Jordan Bowers – Oklahoma
As the final routine for the Sooners on Sunday, Bowers’ perfect floor routine helped the team set a program record with a total score of 198.775. It marked the junior’s third perfect 10 in her career on floor and placed her as the first OU gymnast to register two consecutive meets with perfect performances on floor. Bowers garnered an all-around score of 39.850, the highest from a Big 12 gymnast this season. Along with winning the all-around and floor titles outright, she also won a share of the vault (9.925) and bars (9.975) titles while she tied for second on beam with a 9.950. During her career, the health and exercise science major has earned 11 Gymnast of the Week honors along with a total of 16 weekly Big 12 selections.

Specialist of the Week
Kylie Eaquinto – BYU
Eaquinto scored a career-high 9.975 from her floor routine during a quad meet with Washington, Sacramento State and Southern Utah. Her score is the highest posted by a Cougar this season on the apparatus while it matches the highest individual score from the team in any event during the 2024 season (Brynlee Andersen, beam). BYU’s floor routine tallied a season-best 49.475 during the meet. It is the first career Big 12 gymnastics weekly honor for the sophomore.

Newcomer of the Week
Madison Ulrich – Denver
Ulrich claimed her sixth Newcomer of the Week selection following a 39.550 all-around performance at Michigan. She tied her career highs on floor (9.925) and beam (9.875) while her vault (9.825) and bars (9.925) scores helped her match her season-best all-around score. Denver registered the second-highest road score in program history and defeated the Wolverines 197.750-197.550, the first road win for the Pioneers at Michigan.

Gymnast of the Week
Kendall Whitman – George Washington
At the Towson tri meet with William & Mary on March 15, Whitman finished first overall on floor with a 9.975. Two days later at GW’s quad meet on March 17, the senior recorded a 9.925 on floor for a second place finish against gymnasts from to-30 ranked programs #24 Penn State and #25 Towson. At both meets she led the Revolutionaries on all around, registering a 39.425 on the 15th and a 39.350 on the 17th.

Specialist of the Week
Brooke Donabedian – Temple
At the New Hampshire’s quad meet with Bridgeport and Brown on March 17, Donabedian earned her fourth win of the season on beam after logging a career-high 9.925. In six of the 12 meets she has been in the lineup on beam, the senior has scored 9.8 or higher. On floor, she posted a 9.875 which marked her 10th score of 9.8 or better on the event this season.

Rookie of the Week
Maya Peters – George Washington
At the Towson tri meet on March 15, Peters tied for third overall with a 9.925 on beam. She followed up at GW’s quad meet on the 17th with another third place finish on the event after scoring a 9.875. The freshman also competed on bars, placing ninth with a 9.850.

Gymnast of the Week
Luciana Alvarado-Reid – Central Michigan
Highlighted by a score of 9.900 on both the balance beam and floor exercise, Luciana Alvarado-Reid scored 39.525 in the all-around on Friday in Central Michigan’s win over Western Michigan. Paired with scores of 9.875 on bars and 9.850 on vault, Alvarado-Reid earned her seventh all-around win this season and the score tied her career-best, which is the fifth-highest all-around score in program history. The sophomore is ranked 2nd in the league and 45th nationally in the all-around with an NQS of 39.335.

Specialist of the Week
Suki Pfister – Ball State
Senior Suki Pfister helped the Cardinals lock up a share of its second straight MAC Regular Season Championship by tying for the win on floor (9.925) and tying for second on vault (9.900) in Sunday’s win over Eastern Michigan. Her score on vault was the seventh time this season she has scored 9.900-or-higher on vault, while her 9.925 on floor marked her third in the event.

Gymnast of the Week
Taylor Ingle – SEMO
Ingle, who has competed in the all-around in eight-of-the-11 meet SEMO has competed in this season, achieved her second highest all-around score of the season with a 39.325 at Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore from Coppell, Texas registered a 9.800 or higher on each event, turning in a 9.850 on both Vault & Floor. She hit a 9.800 on Bars and a 9.825 on Beam to help the Gymhawks hit a 192.700 at the Illinois Quad-Meet in the regular season finale.

Performance of the Week
Kaitlyn Hoiland – Texas Woman’s
On the uneven bars, Hoiland stuck her routine and scored a new career high 9.950. The 9.950 also solidified Hoiland’s name in the the TWU record books, setting a new individual record on the uneven bars and claiming the event title. While setting a new record on bars, Hoiland also recorded a new career high in just her second appearance in the Pioneers’ beam lineup, scoring a 9.900 – a career high and the event title score at the meet. Hoiland also competed on vault for the Pioneers and led TWU on vault with a 9.850 to claim three event titles in three events on Sunday.

Newcomer of the Week
Reese Baechle – Lindenwood
A St. Charles, Mo. native, Baechle helped the Lions pos their fourth highest score of the season last weekend against Illinois State and Michigan State with a team score of 195.825. She finished tied for eighth during her floor routine with a score of 9.825. It marked her second highest score of the season and her highest in the last eight meets she has competed in. Baechle also finished in a tie for 12th place on bars with a 9.725 and had the second highest score on the team. She finished with a 9.775 on vault as well placing in a tie for 13th place.

Coaches’ Choice Award
Roxanne Myers – Centenary
Myers earned one of the four individual honors that the conference chooses on a weekly basis and received it for the first time this season and first time in her career. She finished eighth on bars with a new season and career-high 9.65 on Sunday evening in a dual meet against the host Texas Woman’s University Pioneers in Denton, Texas. The Ladies earned a season-high 190.325 to finish second to TWU.

Gymnast of the Week
Sarah Lutrel – Sacramento State
Sacramento State sophomore Sarah Lutrel (Citrus Heights, CA), just two days after setting her career-best on vault, set another personal-best in the event with a 9.875 in a road tri-meet against No. 3 California and No. 25 Stanford (Mar. 17). Lutrel’s all-around of 39.300 was the second-highest of her career. In the first meet of the week, a quad with host Washington, BYU, and Southern Utah, Lutrel scored a 9.875 on the balance beam and 9.85 on vault en route to a 39.100 all-around. She has scored 39-plus in three consecutive meets and six of the last seven. This is the seventh career MPSF weekly award for Lutrel, including four this year.

Specialist of the Week
Megan Ray – UC Davis
UC Davis junior Megan Ray (Irvine, CA) scored a 9.925 on vault to tie her career-best, as well as her No. 1 and No. 4 ranking in the Aggie and MPSF record book, respectively, in the tri-meet at No. 3 California (Mar. 15). She added to her impressive evening on floor with another career-high-tying 9.925, helping UCD to 49.450 in the event, tied for the No. 4 floor rotation in MPSF history. This is the fourth career MPSF weekly award for Ray.

Freshman of the Week
Brinlee Christensen – Southern Utah
Southern Utah freshman Brinlee Christensen (South Jordan, UT) set a career-high on the vault at the Washington Quad, scoring 9.925. The score placed first in the meet, tied the fourth-best vault in MPSF history, and helped the Thunderbirds score the No. 6 vault total all-time in the MPSF with 49.200. Christensen added 9.85 on bars and 9.825 on floor to contribute to Southern Utah’s No. 12 all-time MPSF total of 196.525. This is the third career MPSF weekly award for Christensen.

Gymnast of the Week
Maggie Slife – Air Force

• Scored a 39.400 in the all-around, the highest all-around total by a MW gymnast this week, en route to winning the all-around title in a quad meet at Minnesota, which also included West Virginia and Northern Illinois.
• Recorded a 9.925 on bars to tie for the individual title at the meet against Minnesota, West Virginia and Northern Illinois.
• Rounded out her all-around score with a 9.900 on vault, 9.825 on beam and 9.750 on floor.

Freshman of the Week
Mia Nelson – San Jose State

• Scored a 9.950 on floor to tie for first place in a tri-meet against California and UC Davis.
• Tallied the highest mark by any freshman on any event in the MW with the 9.950 on floor.
• Appeared on vault for the Spartans during the meet, scoring a 9.675.

Vault – Emily Lopez, Boise State; Alivia Ostendorf, Utah State
Uneven Bars – Maggie Slife, Air Force
Balance Beam – Lauren Macpherson, San José State
Floor Exercise – Mia Nelson, San José State

Gymnast of the Week
Selena Harris – UCLA

• Competed against Clemson, playing a key role in UCLA’s third-highest team score in program history, and the highest mark for the Bruins in 20 years.
• Helped the No. 11 program to season-best team totals on bars (49.625), beam (49.675) and floor (49.775) with the latter two ranking top-five in program history.
• Posted the second-highest all-around total in Bruin history with a career high of 39.900, scoring two 10s and two 9.95s.
• Began the meet with her third perfect 10 on vault this season and fourth in her career. Harris went on to earn the first perfect 10 of her career on bars in a back-to-back fashion.
• The sophomore finished the meet with 9.950s on beam and floor, placing second and third respectively.
• With five perfect 10s in under two years, Harris ranks 10th all-time at UCLA for most career 10s.
• Earning her third career Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award (Feb. 6, 2024; Feb. 13, 2024) after winning the Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honor six times last year.

Specialist of the Week
Abby Paulson – Utah

• In her final beam performance at the Huntsman Center, 5th year Abby Paulson scored a perfect 10, her first at home and her first since freshman year.
• Completing her sixth beam win of the season, she has scored a 9.9 or higher in nine of the 11 competitions.
• The 5th year went on to match her season best with a 9.925 floor routine to take home third and to help the Utes to their 12th and final win of the 2024 regular season (198.300-196.500).
• Became one of three Utes to score a perfect 10 this season.
• Second career Pac-12 Gymnastics Specialist of the Week and second this season (Feb. 27, 2024)

Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
Kyen Mayhew – California

• Competed in back-to-back tri-meets helping No. 2 California secure their undefeated home season, taking home two top-three finishes on vault and floor.
• Aided the Bears in their second best team score in program history with a 198.500 in the Haas tri-meet against San Jose State and UC Davis.
• Topped her career-best on vault in Friday’s competition, with 9.975 that earned her first place. Mayhew went on to complete a 9.925 floor routine that secured her a 5th place finish.
• Her Sunday 9.925 floor performance earned her a 3rd place tie in the tri-meet against No. 25 Stanford and Sacramento State.
• First career Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week award.

Coaches’ Choice
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm – Washington

• Finishing in the top-two across all events at her senior meet, Killlough-Wilhelm helped lead the Huskies to their second-best score of the season with a 197.175.
• Notched a career high 39.700 in the all-around, landing in her first after scoring a 9.9 or higher in all four events.
• Took sole possession of first on bars with a team-high 9.925 and tied for first on floor with a new career-best, and team-best, 9.975.
• Finished tied for second on vault, after matching her career-best 9.900, and beam after matching the team-best 9.900.
• Paved the way to the GymDawgs fourth highest beam score in program history (49.450) and seventh highest floor score (49.425).
• Third career Pac-12 Coaches’ Choice of the Week award and second this season (Jan. 25, 2022; Feb. 13, 2024).

Gymnast of the Week
Luisa Blanco – Alabama
Alabama’s Luisa Blanco, a graduate student from Dallas, Texas, recorded a 39.750 in the all-around and helped her team post a 198.025 at No. 1 Oklahoma. Blanco tied for first place on the uneven bars and the balance beam with a pair of 9.975s. She earned second place in the all-around and a share of third place on vault with a 9.90. Blanco also registered a 9.90 on floor in her final regular-season meet for the Crimson Tide.

Specialist of the Week
Jocelyn Moore – Missouri
Missouri’s Jocelyn Moore, a junior from Hillsborough, N.J., became the first Tiger in program history to record a 10.0 on the floor exercise with her perfect mark at the Illinois quad meet. Moore’s score of the floor helped Missouri to a program-record team score of 49.700 in the event and an overall first-place finish over No. 21 Arizona, Illinois and Southeast Missouri State. She also captured a share of the vault title after tying her season-best score of 9.95 in the anchor position, which also led the Tigers to a program-record mark of 49.500 on vault.

Freshman of the Week
Lily Smith – Georgia
Georgia’s Lily Smith, a freshman from Limerick, Pa., posted her season-best all-around score with a 39.625 on podium as the Bulldogs took the top spot in their session at the Kidney Cares Gymnastics Championship against Maryland, Iowa, Pitt, and Talladega in Nashville. Smith also recorded the highest scores on bars, beam, and floor, scoring a 9.950 on all three events.