April 6, 2012

Five UCLA gymnasts were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic gymnastics team for 2012 - first-team honoree Aisha Gerber, second-team selection Samantha Peszek and honorable mention picks Kaelie Baer, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs and Lichelle Wong.

Gerber, a senior from Cambridge, Ont., holds a 3.75 cumulative GPA in World Arts & Culture. This is Gerber's second consecutive first-team Pac-12 All-Academic award. She was also a second-team selection in 2010. Gerber is a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 honoree on uneven bars and is the Bruins' top-ranked bars performer, ranked No. 13 nationally.

Peszek, a sophomore from Indianapolis, Ind., has a 3.48 cumulative GPA and is receiving her first career Pac-12 All-Academic honor. Peszek, the defending NCAA balance beam champion, has won the all-around in five meets this season and also has five beam victories. She is a second-team all-conference performer on beam and a two-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week this season.

Baer, a senior from Columbus, Ind., earns her first Pac-12 All-Academic honor. She has competed in every meet this season and has set career-highs on both vault (9.875) and beam (9.85).

Hopfner-Hibbs, a senior from Toronto, Ont., receives her third career Pac-10 All-Academic honor. The 2012 Pac-12 beam champion ranks fourth in the nation on floor exercise and 14th on beam. She leads UCLA with a 39.417 all-around average.

Wong, a junior from Ossendrecht, Holland, earns her second consecutive Pac-12 All-Academic honor. Prior to suffering a season-ending injury on Feb. 17, Wong had posted career-best numbers on vault (9.85), beam (9.925), floor (9.9) and all-around (39.325) this season.

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
Alicia Asturias, CAL, So. - 3.87, Undeclared
Cortni Beers, UTAH, Sr. - 3.70, Exercise and Sport Science
Ruby Engreitz, WASH, Sr. - 3.72, Psychology
Aisha Gerber, UCLA, Sr. - 3.75, World Arts and Cultures
Hailee Hansen, UTAH, So. - 4.00, Undeclared
Stephanie McAllister, UTAH, Sr. - 3.81, Mass Communication
Shona Morgan, STAN, So. - 3.71, Undeclared
Kahoku Palafox, ASU, Sr. - 3.72, Sustainability
Jenny Peter, STAN, Sr. - 3.64, Communication
Callie Price, ASU, Gr. - 3.92, Exercise and Wellness
Shana Sangston, ARIZ, So. - 3.76, Pre-Nursing
Megan Whitney, WASH, Jr. - 3.78, Psychology

Second Team
Aubree Cristello, ARIZ, Jr. - 3.46, Pre-Business
Amanda Davies, ASU, Sr. - 3.41, Exercise and Wellness
Britnie Jones, ARIZ, Sr. - 3.55, Finance
Alex Leggitt, CAL, Sr. - 3.39, Anthropology
Mary Beth Lofgren, UTAH, So. - 3.60, Undeclared
Leslie Mak, OSU, Sr. - 3.45, Marketing
Lina Nilsson, CAL, So. - 3.63, Undeclared
Nicole Pechanec, STAN, Sr. - 3.30, Architectural Design
Samantha Peszek, UCLA, So. - 3.48, Undeclared
Amelia Rew, ASU, Jr. - 3.57, Bioscience
Aria Rosenzweig, CAL, Jr. - 3.41, Cognitive Science
Aliza Vaccher, WASH, So. - 3.50, Pre-Major

Honorable Mention: Hatsune Akaogi, Sr., WASH; Kaelie Baer, Sr., UCLA; Alyssa Brown, Sr., STAN; Rebecca Cardenas, R-Jr., ARIZ; Carol Chang, Jr., CAL; Amanda Cline, Jr., WASH; Dallas Crawford, So., CAL; Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Sr., UCLA; Beate Jones, Gr., ASU; Corrie Lothrop, So., UTAH; Lucy Meyer, So., STAN; Ashley Morgan, Jr., STAN; Stina Olivere, Jr., CAL; Molly Quirk, Jr., ARIZ; Lauren Rogers, Jr., WASH; Chelsea Spomer, Jr., CAL; Phoebe Tham, Jr., WASH; Olivia Vivian, Sr., OSU; Jordan Williams, So., ARIZ; Lichelle Wong, Jr., UCLA.