© Tim Casey

Louisiana State University’s Susan Jackson, the 2010 NCAA women’s all-around champion, received the 2010 AAI Award, which recognizes the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country at the NCAA Championships.

This past weekend, Jackson became the first Tiger in LSU history to win the all-around national title. She won the all-around with her 39.625 performance in the first session of the NCAA Championships Thursday, April 25, at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. She also broke the school record for all-around titles in a single season, winning 11, and earned First Team all-American honors on vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and the all-around. Jackson also won the balance beam title and was second on vault at the NCAA nationals.

During the selection process for the AAI Award, collegiate coaches nominate athletes they feel are the top gymnast in the country. The nominees are then narrow down to a field to six candidates. The 2010 candidates included: Jackson; Carly Janiga, Stanford University; Anna Li, University of California-Los Angeles; Brandi Personett , Pennsylvania State University; Mandi Rodriguez, Oregon State University; and Elise Wheeler, Southern Utah University. The winner was selected through two rounds of voting.

American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) is the official supplier and partner to the USA Gymnastics and is a proud to partner with the Federation Internationale De Gymnastique (FIG) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 1954, AAI has been manufacturing world-class gymnastics equipment. Headquartered in Jefferson, Iowa, the company operates three facilities totaling over 240,000 square feet and employees 145 people. For more information on AAI, please call (800) 247-3978 or visit www.americanathletic.com.