University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Six Gymnasts Earn Scholastic All-America Honors
July 30, 2018 | Gymnastics
Six members of the NCAA champion gymnastics team โ Madison Kocian, Christine Peng-Peng Lee, Sonya Meraz, Pauline Tratz, Kendal Poston and Lilia Waller โ have received 2017-18 Scholastic All-America Awards from the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA).
The WCGA Scholastic All-America team acknowledges gymnasts who carry a 3.5 or higher GPA during the school year.
Kocian, a sophomore psychology major and aspiring pediatrician, posted a team-high 3.93 GPA in 2017-18 and earned second-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors. The 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist was limited in training last season after undergoing shoulder surgery but came back to compete on three events during NCAA competition. Her 9.9375 on uneven bars in the NCAA Finals helped engineer the Bruins' stunning comeback to win the national championship.
Lee wrapped up her final year with a 3.62 gpa in 2017-18, graduating with a degree in sociology. The Honda Sport Award winner for gymnastics, Lee captured the 2018 NCAA balance beam crown and clinched UCLA's national championship with a perfect 10 on beam on the last routine of the competition. She earned a total of nine All-America awards and 10 perfect 10 scores, including seven in 2018. Lee was a four-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and the Pac-12 Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Meraz, a senior biochemistry major with a 3.57 cumulative GPA, has aspirations of attending medical school. She finished her UCLA career as a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and was the Bruins' Team MVP in 2016. She posted career-highs of 9.9 on bars, beam and floor and 9.875 on vault and held a high of 39.4 in the all-around.
Tratz, a freshman from Karlsruhe, Germany, earned a 3.852 GPA in her first year. The German National Team member and All-Pac-12 honoree competed on vault and floor in all but one meet in 2018, posting highs of 9.925 and averaging over 9.8 on each event. She captured a share of the vault title at the NCAA Columbus Regional.
Two other Bruin freshmen received academic honors as well โ Poston, who earned a 3.894 GPA, and Waller, who accumulated a 3.504 GPA.
Players Mentioned
