Kyla Ross Repeats as Pac-12 Gymnast of Year
March 25, 2020 | Gymnastics
UCLA senior Kyla Ross captured her second-straight Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year award and led a group of seven Bruins who received a conference-best total of 12 All-Pac-12 honors.
Ross secured UCLA's conference-best 20th Gymnast of the Year award, and she joined Oregon State's Leslie Mak (2011, 2012) as the only two back-to-back winners. Ross finished the shortened 2020 season ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam and No. 2 on vault and floor exercise. In the national rankings, she finished No. 1 on uneven bars, No. 2 on balance beam, No. 3 in the all-around, No. 4 on floor exercise and No. 11 on vault. She earned the maximum five regular season All-America honors to bring her total to a new school record of 24.
This season, Ross scored two perfect 10s on uneven bars and one on vault, along with 10 9.975s. She dominated the Pac-12 weekly awards, winning either Gymnast or Specialist of the Week seven out of the season's 10 weeks. She won the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award five times this year and 13 times in her career, and she added two Pac-12 Specialist of the Week awards in 2020. Ross is a finalist for the AAI Award for the nation's top senior gymnast and the AAU James E. Sullivan Award for the nation's top amateur athlete.
For the second consecutive season, Ross is the only gymnast to receive first-team All-Pac-12 honors on all four events and the all-around. Her five all-conference honors increase her all-time total to 17, which is a new Pac-12 and school record.
The only other Bruin to earn multiple All-Pac-12 honors this season is junior Nia Dennis, who received second-team acclaim on vault and floor. Dennis finished the year ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 on vault and No. 7 on floor exercise. Her season-highs were 9.9 on vault and a career-best 9.975 on floor.
Senior Grace Glenn earned her third consecutive first-team All-Pac-12 award on balance beam. She was second in the conference and seventh in the nation on beam with a national qualifying score (NQS) of 9.940. Glenn made history this season by becoming the first gymnast ever to earn a perfect 10 in the leadoff position on beam.
Senior Gracie Kramer finished the year No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the Pac-12 on floor exercise to receive first-team All-Pac-12 honors for the first time in her career. She was a second-team honoree a year ago. Kramer recorded a 9.950 NQS and scored her first career perfect 10 on floor this season.
Sophomore Margzetta Frazier improved from second team All-Pac-12 honors in 2019 to first-team acclaim on uneven bars in 2020. Frazier's season average of 9.918 was third-best in the nation, and her NQS of 9.915 ranked third in the Pac-12. She posted a career and season-high of 9.95 twice this year.
Sophomore Norah Flatley earned her second consecutive second-team honor on balance beam after finishing the year ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 with a NQS of 9.885. Flatley recorded a career-high of 9.95 on Jan. 31 and had four scores of 9.9 or higher in her last six meets.
Senior Felicia Hano wrapped up her career with her third-straight second-team All-Pac-12 honor on floor exercise. She ranked No. 7 in the conference on the event with a NQS of 9.915 and scored 9.875 of higher in every meet, with a season-high 9.95.
The All-Pac-12 first team consists of the Top 6-ranked gymnasts in the conference in the all-around and all four events. The second team consists of the No. 7 and No. 8-ranked gymnasts.
Other award winners in the Pac-12 were Specialist of the Year Kim Tessen from Utah, Freshman of the Year Nevaeh DeSouza from California and Coach of the Year Tom Farden from Utah.
Players Mentioned
