CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) – Recently, 17 members of the Fighting Illini women’s gymnastics team were named on the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) All-American honors list.
The WCGA recognizes and bestows the Academic All-American honor upon outstanding student athletes that excel academically and physically. Student athletes need at least a 3.5 GPA to earn the Academic All-American honor. Nationwide, 1,159 women’s gymnasts from 62 programs received the honor which is the highest amount recorded since 2008.
Illinois ranks 28th in the nation for their team GPA at 3.6782 and ranks 10th for percentage of team members with Academic All-American status at 85.71%. On top of all this, athletes Kaitlyn Ewald, Amelia Knight, and Mia Takekawa have all earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during their 2023 to 2024 year.
The 17 gymnasts who earned their All-American are:
- Alea Byrne
- Olivia Coppola
- Destiny Denning
- Kaitlyn Ewald
- Kendall Flury
- Micheala Gentry
- Makayla Green
- Tali Joelson
- Amelia Knight
- Allie Morgan
- Abby Mueller
- Mareli Muller
- Lyden Saltness
- Mia Takekawa
- Mia Townes
- Maddie Vitolo
- Emma White