Ross Wins Second-Straight Region Gymnast of Year
April 07, 2020 | Gymnastics
The honors continue for UCLA senior Kyla Ross, who was named the Region Gymnast of the Year by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association for the second-straight season.
Ross, who was also named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year for the second time, is a finalist for every remaining major award in the sport this season, including the Honda Sport Award and the AAI Award, which is presented to the top senior gymnast in the nation. Additionally, she is a finalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, which is awarded to the nation's top amateur athlete.
The Bruin standout finished a historic career with 22 perfect 10s (tied for fourth-most in NCAA history) and four individual (2017 bars and beam, 2019 vault and floor) and one team (2018) NCAA title. She also captured six individual (2017 beam; 2018 all-around, bars; 2019 all-around, bars, floor) and two team (2018, 2019) Pac-12 titles. Included among several NCAA records Ross set at UCLA are most career perfect 10s on uneven bars (11), most 10s in a single season (14 in 2019) and most consecutive meets with a perfect 10 (10 in 2019). Ross achieved several firsts, including becoming the first female gymnast ever to win Olympic, World and NCAA Championships and the first gymnast in NCAA history to record two Gym Slams in the same season.
In the final 2020 national rankings, Ross ranked No. 1 on uneven bars for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year and was also ranked 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. Ross went unbeaten (8-0) in the all-around in 2020 and earned a total of 34 first-place finishes out of a possible 45 while hitting all 37 routines during the season. She averaged over 9.9 on every event (9.908 on vault, 9.960 on bars, 9.923 on beam and 9.928 on floor) and 39.713 in the all-around. She scored two perfect 10s on uneven bars and one on vault, along with 10 9.975s.
The Region Gymnast of the Year award is selected by coaches' vote.
Players Mentioned
