April 5, 2011
Seven UCLA gymnasts were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic gymnastics team for 2011 - first-team honoree Aisha Gerber, second-team selection Talia Kushynski, and honorable mention picks Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Brittani McCullough, Mizuki Sato, Niki Tom and Lichelle Wong.
The seven Pac-10 All-Academic honorees tie a school record for most in a single-season. The 2004, 2003 and 2002 Bruin teams also had seven team members earn academic honors.
Gerber, a junior from Cambridge, ON, holds a 3.71 cumulative GPA in World Arts & Culture. This is Gerber's second Pac-10 All-Academic award; she was a second-team selection a year ago. This season, Gerber has earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors on uneven bars after winning a share of the Pac-10 title on the event. She holds the Bruins' second-best season averages on uneven bars (9.838) and balance beam (9.781) and has captured four event titles on the year.
Kushynski, a senior from Sherman Oaks, CA, has a 3.43 cumulative GPA in Sociology and is receiving her first career Pac-10 All-Academic honor. Kushynski, a two-time NACGC/W Scholastic All-American, has competed or performed exhibition in eight meets and earned the Bruins' top score on floor at Southern Utah with a third-place mark of 9.8.
Hopfner-Hibbs, a junior from Toronto, ON, receives her second career Pac-10 All-Academic honor. This season, she earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors in the all-around and is averaging a team-best 9.835 on beam, 9.845 on floor and 39.325 in the all-around. She is ranked first in the nation on beam and eighth in the all-around and recently won the beam title at the NCAA Athens Regional. Hopfner-Hibbs has a team-best 17 event titles this season.
McCullough, a redshirt senior from Corona, CA and the only UCLA student-athlete in the Nursing program, is a first-time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. McCullough earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in the all-around and is the reigning NCAA floor exercise champion. She picked up her second NCAA Regional floor exercise title last weekend, winning floor at the Athens Regional with a season-high-tying 9.925.
Sato, a senior from Fair Oaks, CA, is now a three-time honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic selection. She competed in the first three meets of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Sato was a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree on floor exercise in 2009 and the runner-up on the balance beam at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships.
Tom, a senior from Northridge, CA, is also a three-time honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic honoree. She has competed in all 12 meets this season and is averaging over 9.7 on beam (9.72) and floor (9.795). Tom earned Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week honors on Mar. 8 after tying for first on floor against Georgia and Arizona with a career-high-tying 9.9. In 2009, she earned second-team All-America acclaim on floor exercise.
Wong, a sophomore from Ossendrecht, Holland, has competed in 10 meets this season and has posted season-high marks of 9.8 or better on all four events, including career-highs of 9.85 on vault and 9.825 on beam. She was a first-team All-Pac-10 honoree on uneven bars in 2010.
To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor.
2011 Pac-10 All-Academic - Women's Gymnastics
First Team
Mary Atkinson, ASU, Sr. - 3.72, Bioscience
Ruby Engreitz, WASH, Jr. - 3.66, Psychology
Aisha Gerber, UCLA, Jr. - 3.71, World Arts & Culture
Danielle Ikoma, STAN, Sr. - 3.47, Biology
Kristen Linton, WASH, Sr. - 3.46, Law Societies & Justice
Stephanie McGregor, OSU, Jr. - 3.96, Bioengineering
Kahoku Palafox, ASU, Jr. - 3.69, Sustainability
Callie Price, ASU, Jr. - 3.65, Kinesiology
Amelia Rew, ASU, So. - 3.89, Bioscience
Miranda Russell, ARIZ, Sr. - 3.69, Spanish
Brittany Schuett, ASU, Sr. - 4.03, Speech and Hearing
Samantha Walior, WASH, Sr. - 3.63, Accounting
Second Team
Shelley Alexander, STAN, Sr. - 3.40, Science, Technology & Society
Haley Bogart, WASH, Sr. - 3.46, Business
Amanda Davies, ASU, Jr. - 3.49, EXW
Avery Gee, CAL, Sr. - 3.35, Cognitive Science
Allyse Ishino, STAN, Sr. - 3.30, Human Biology
Nicole Johnson, ASU, So. - 3.54, Kinesiology
Britnie Jones, ARIZ, Jr. - 3.36, Pre-Business
Talia Kushynski, UCLA, Sr. - 3.43, Sociology
Leslie Mak, OSU, Jr. - 3.44, Marketing
Nicole Pechanec, STAN, Jr. - 3.29, Engineering
Lauren Rogers, WASH, So. - 3.44, Business
Olivia Vivian, OSU, Jr. - 3.35, New Media Communications
Honorable Mention: Amanda Cline, Jr., WASH; Aubree Cristello, So., ARIZ; Nicole Dayton, So., STAN; Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Jr., UCLA; Melanie Jones, So., OSU; Alexandra Leggitt, Jr., CAL; Brittani McCullough, Sr., UCLA; Ashley Morgan, So., STAN; Molly Quirk, So., ARIZ; Christina Salavec, So., ASU; Mizuki Sato, Sr., UCLA; Niki Tom, Sr., UCLA; Lichelle Wong, So., UCLA.