2004-05 WIAC Women's Gymnastics Headlines

Gustavus Adolphus' Parker and UW-La Crosse's Melvin Named To Academic All-America Women's At-Large Team

Madison, Wis.--Amanda Parker of Gustavus Adolphus College and UW-La Crosse's Anne Melvin have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Women's At-Large Team. Parker was named to the first team, while Melvin was a second team selection.

The Academic All-America Team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA athletes from around the country. It includes the sports of crew, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.

Parker, a senior gymnast from Ames, Iowa, claimed Academic All-America First Team honors for the second consecutive year. She is majoring in political science and carries a 3.98 grade point average. Parker recently received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named the 2005 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Senior Athlete of the Year. She was also named the 2005 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's gymnastics. Parker is a nine-time NCGA All-American, including a national champion in the all-around and vault in 2002.

Melvin, a senior swimmer from Abbotsford, Wis., secured Academic All-America Second Team status for the second straight season. She is majoring in nuclear medicine technology and posts a 3.82 grade point average. Melvin was named the conference's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's swimming and diving earlier this year. She claimed All-America honors in the 200 medley relay this season and secured All-America honorable mention status in the 100-yard butterfly, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) student-athletes have been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five College Division Women's At-Large Team. UW-La Crosse's Anne Melvin and Gustavus Adolphus' Amanda Parker were named to the first team, while UW-La Crosse's Elizabeth Miles captured second team honors.

The academic all-district at-large team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA student-athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It includes the sports of golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.

Melvin, a senior swimmer from Abbotsford, Wis., is majoring in nuclear medicine technology and posts a 3.82 grade point average. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team a year ago and earlier this season was named the conference's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's swimming and diving. Melvin claimed All-America honors in the 200 medley relay this year and secured All-America honorable mention status in the 100-yard butterfly, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

Parker, a senior gymnast from Ames, Iowa, is majoring in political science and carries a 3.98 grade point average. She recently received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named the 2005 WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete in women's gymnastics. Parker was also named the 2005 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Senior Athlete of the Year. She was a CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large First Team selection in 2004. Parker is a nine-time NCGA All-American including a national champion in the all-around and vault in 2002.

Miles, a senior swimmer from Minnetonka, Minn., claimed Academic All-District Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. She is majoring in social studies and history and maintains a 3.84 grade point average. Miles won the 200-yard butterfly at the WIAC championships this year for the fourth straight season and placed second in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She has also earned three All-America honors during her four-year career.

Melvin and Parker are now eligible for the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team, which will be announced June 16.

Madison, Wis.--Gustavus Adolphus' Amanda Parker, a senior gymnast from Ames, Iowa, has been selected as one of 58 student-athletes from across the country to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for participation in winter sports. Parker was also named the 2005 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year in Gymnastics and the 2005 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Senior Athlete of the Year. Parker will utilize this $7,500 scholarship for additional education after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Gustavus Adolphus College. She plans to attend law school at the University of Illinois.

Parker has set many records and accomplished numerous feats during her four years at Gustavus. She was voted Most Valuable Gymnast during 2002-04, and she also holds Gustavus records in the all-around, bars, and vault. Parker was the Regional all-around and vault champion in 2002 and 2003, and she contributed to a Gustavus team regional championship in 2003. In 2002, Parker was the national all-around and vault champion. She received All-America honors on vault, bars, all-around, and floor in 2002, vault, floor, and all-around in 2003, and beam and all-around in 2004.

Out of uniform, Parker has maintained a 3.987 grade point average and was on the Dean's List all four years. She was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega National Co-Ed Service fraternity from 2002-2005, and she was also inducted into the Spanish Honor Society and Political Science Honor Society in 2004-05. Parker is a two-time COSIDA Academic All-American. She still has found time to tutor in the writing center at Gustavus, instruct gymnastics, volunteer at St. Peter High School in helping teach in the English as a Second Language program, and serve as a legal aid intern during the summer of 2003. She received the Honda Award as the outstanding gymnast in Division III in 2002, the Partner's in Scholarship Award from 2001-05, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 2004-05.

The NCAA awards 29 postgraduate scholarships to female student-athletes participating in winter sports in all three divisions of the NCAA. A total of 174 postgraduate scholarships are awarded annually to men and women in fall, winter, and spring sports. The 29 winter sport scholarship recipients came from the sports of archery, basketball, bowling, fencing, gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, skiing, squash, swimming and diving, synchronized swimming, team handball, and indoor track and field.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a graduate student.

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Alison Eagles and UW-La Crosse's Nina Schubert participated in the NCAA Division I North Central Region Championship at the University of Utah in Provo, Utah on April 9. Eagles and Schubert were just two of four athletes from Division III to qualify for the meet.

Eagles finished 16th out of 20 gymnasts in the all-around competition with a score of 37.275. Annabeth Eberie of the University of Utah won the event with an incredible score of 39.625.

Eagles' best finish in an individual event came in the floor exercise, where she took 26th place out of 42 competitors with a score of 9.750. She tied for 31st in the vault with a score of 9.575, placed 35th on the uneven bars with a score of 9.250 and finished 40th on the balance beam with a score of 8.700.

Schubert finished 30th out of 42 competitors on the parallel bars with a score of 9.575. Ashley Postell of the University of Utah won the event with a score of 9.925.

UW-Eau Claire's Eagles and UW-La Crosse's Schubert To Participate In NCAA Gymnastics

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Alison Eagles and UW-La Crosse's Nina Schubert have qualified for the NCAA North Central Region meet which will be hosted April 9 by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Eagles, a senior from Shoreview, Minn. (Mounds View H.S.), will compete in the all-around, while Schubert, a junior from Kreischa, Germany, will participate in the uneven bars.

In the sport of gymnastics, there are no divisions. Thus, the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association was formed to provide a national meet for Division III athletes. The NCAA is staging six region meets this weekend with qualifiers advancing to the NCAA national championships April 21-23 in Auburn, Alabama.

Six teams have qualified in each of the six regions in addition to five all-arounds not on a qualifying team and four individual event specialists from non-qualifying schools.

Eagles claimed All-America honors in the floor exercise and vault by placing third and fourth, respectively at the NCGA championships last weekend in La Crosse. Schubert secured the national title in the uneven bars for the second straight season.

Eagles and Schubert are two of only four Division III athletes to qualify for the NCAA meet. Carrie Santore and Sarah Bulka of Brockport State (N.Y.) will compete in the all-around in the Northeast Region at the University of New Hampshire.

La Crosse, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed its fifth straight National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championship on Friday, April 1 at UW-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall.

The Eagles accumulated 189.950 points en route to winning the 10th NCGA title in school history (2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1997, 1995, 1988, 1986). The 10 crowns for UW-La Crosse are a NCGA record. SUNY-Brockport finished second at this year's championship with 185.625 points, followed by SUNY-Cortland (185.375), UW-Eau Claire (184.450), Ithaca (N.Y.) (182.700) and UW-Oshkosh (179.425).

Sarah Bulka of SUNY-Brockport won the all-around (38.150), while UW-La Crosse's Ashley Koechel was second (38.075) and Kasey Clausen third (37.825). Lindsey Marranco (SUNY-Cortland) finished fourth (37.600) followed by Carrie Santore (SUNY-Brockport) fifth (37.400), Kristen Grimmel (Ursinus) sixth (37.325), Theresa Lynch (UW-Eau Claire) seventh (37.200), Brittany Wiesner (SUNY-Cortland) eighth (37.150), Lynn Morris (UW-Eau Claire) ninth (37.075) and Kelly Stevison (Ithaca) tenth (37.050).

In individual competition held on April 2, UW-La Crosse's Nina Schubert won the uneven bars title for the second consecutive year with a score of 19.300. Schubert is the fourth individual in NCGA history to win back-to-back championships in the event.

The Eagles' Jennifer Houle claimed the balance beam crown with a NCGA record score of 19.525.

The top six individuals in each event and the top 10 in the all-around claim All-America status

UW-La Crosse's Barb Gibson was named the 2005 NCGA Coach of the Year for the third time in her career after leading the Eagles to their fifth straight team title. She has coached UW-La Crosse to all 10 of its national championships, an NCGA record. Amanda Parker of Gustavus Adolphus College was selected the 2005 Senior Athlete of the Year.

The NCGA also announced a 26-member All-Academic Team. To qualify for the honor, a gymnast must be in her final year of competition and maintain a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.00 scale). Individuals from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference receiving recognition included: UW-La Crosse's Jennifer Goettig, UW-Stout's Robyn Niederkorn, Gustavus Adolphus' Amanda Parker, Sarah Greninger, Katherine Balcom, Caren Carlstedt and Therese Gay and Hamline's Melanie Axvig, Ashley Calhoon, Kimberly Nguyen, Stephanie Sasik and Jacqueline Wurst.

Uneven Bars: Nina Schubert (UW-La Crosse--Champion), Kasey Clausen (UW-La Crosse--2nd), Ashley Koechel (UW-La Crosse--3rd), Michelle Sletten (UW-La Crosse--4th), Lynn Morris (UW-Eau Claire--5th)

Balance Beam: Jennifer Houle (UW-La Crosse--Champion), Ashley Koechel (UW-La Crosse--2nd), Lynn Morris (UW-Eau Claire--3rd), Ann Fitzsimmons (UW-La Crosse--5th)

Floor Exercise: Jennifer Houle (UW-La Crosse--2nd), Alison Eagles (UW-Eau Claire--3rd), Katie Krenz (UW-La Crosse--5th)

All-Around: Ashley Koechel (UW-La Crosse--2nd), Kasey Clausen (UW-La Crosse--3rd), Theresa Lynch (UW-Eau Claire--7th), Lynn Morris (UW-Eau Claire--9th)

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's gymnastics teams have qualified for the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championships to be held April 1-2 at UW-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall. UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh will represent the conference as teams, while a number of individuals from the WIAC have also qualified for the national competition.

UW-La Crosse has won four straight NCGA national championships, while UW-Eau Claire will be competing as a team for the third consecutive year and UW-Oshkosh for the first time since 2003.

Individuals from the WIAC that have qualified for the national meet include: UW-Stout's Chelsea Becker (vault), Rhian Paulson (all-around) and Ashley Timm (all-around); UW-Whitewater's Kira Fedyniak (beam), April Hubmann (bars and beam), Alison Lewis (beam and floor) and Rachel Paney (all-around); Gustavus Adolphus' Shannon Bank (vault), Danielle Berg (vault), Ashley Erickson (bars), Therese Gay (bars), Nicole Gergan (beam and floor), Brittany Moore (vault) and Amanda Parker (bars); Hamline's Melanie Axvig (beam and floor), Ashley Calhoon (bars, floor and vault), Kristen Driscoll (floor), Caitlin Goodin (floor) and Emily Wind (bars); Winona State's Amy Bickler (all-around) and Jessica VanDenHeuvel (beam and vault).

Madison, Wis.--Amanda Parker of Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) has been named the 2005 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Women's Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete, it was announced recently by WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner.

Parker, a senior from Ames, Iowa, is majoring in political science with a minor in Spanish and maintains a 3.987 grade point average. She is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as a three-time selection to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) All-Academic Team. Parker has been named to the Dean's List every semester and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society.

Parker, a team captain this season, earned all-WIAC honors after placing third in the uneven bars at the conference championship on March 18. She is a nine-time NCGA All-American, including a national champion in the all-around and vault during the 2002 season. Parker has been voted the team's Most Valuable Gymnast the last three seasons and is the school's record holder in the all-around, uneven bars and vault.

Parker is a member of Alpha Phi Omega and the Student-Athlete Board for Prospective Students. She has served as an ESL volunteer at a community school and has worked as a writing tutor and gymnastics instructor.

Also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse's Jennifer Goettig, UW-Oshkosh's Amanda DeJardin, UW-Stout's Robyn Niederkorn and Hamline's (Minn.) Melanie Axvig, Kimberly Nguyen and Jacqueline Wurst.

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is sponsored by Culver's. In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.

Whitewater, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won its ninth consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women's gymnastics championship at UW-Whitewater's Kachel Gymnasium on March 18. The Eagles also claimed the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) West Regional title with their victory. The WIAC championship and NCGA west regional were combined to one meet beginning this season.

The nine conference titles for UW-La Crosse are tied for the longest streak in conference history, joining UW-Oshkosh (1979-87). The Eagles scored 183.650 team points en route to the 16th conference championship in school history. UW-Eau Claire finished second for the third straight season with 182.150 points, followed by UW-Oshkosh (180.675), Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) (180.150), Hamline (Minn.) (178.725), UW-Whitewater (178.700), UW-Stout (175.550) and Winona State (Minn.) (171.125).

The Eagles were led by Ashley Koechel, who won the balance beam crown and tied for the all-around title. She claimed the balance beam with a score of 9.625 and shared the all-around with UW-Eau Claire's Alison Eagles with a score of 37.600. It marked the second straight all-around crown for Koechel.

Following Koechel and Eagles in the all-around competition were Winona State's Amy Bickler (36.375), UW-Stout's Ashley Timm (36.350), UW-Whitewater's Rachel Paney (36.200) and UW-Oshkosh's Vanessa Virbitsky (36.100).

On the balance beam, Koechel was trailed by Timm (9.575), Winona State's Jessica VanDenHeuvel and UW-La Crosse's Ann Fitzsimmons (9.475) and UW-Oshkosh's Michelle Armillei and Kim Edson (9.400).

The Eagles' Katie Krenz won the uneven bars with a score of 9.350. She was followed by Eagles (9.300), Gustavus Adolphus' Amanda Parker (9.250), UW-Oshkosh's Meme Sadler (9.200), Gustavus Adophus' Therese Gay (9.175) and Koechel (9.125).

Brittany Moore of Gustavus Adolphus won the vault with a score of 9.525. Krenz was second (9.475), followed by UW-La Crosse's Kasey Clausen (9.350), UW-Eau Claire's Kristie Olson (9.325), UW-Stout's Rhian Paulson, UW-La Crosse's Kaitlin Haack and Chelsea Becker (9.250).

Eagles also claimed the floor exercise title with a score of 9.650 and was followed by Koechel (9.625), Krenz (9.550), Paulson and UW-La Crosse's Danielle Sneden (9.525) and Winona State's Amy Bickler (9.500).

The top six finishers in the four events and the all-around competition received All-WIAC accolades.

UW-Oshkosh's Nadalie Walsh and Hamline's Doug Byrne were voted Co-Coaches of the Year by the league coaches.

Qualifiers, both team and individual, for the NCGA Championship will be announced on Tuesday, March 22. This year's NCGA Championship will be held April 1-2 at UW-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall.

Team Scores:
1. UW-La Crosse 183.650
2. UW-Eau Claire 182.150
3. UW-Oshkosh 180.675
4. Gustavus Adolphus 180.150
5. Hamline 178.725
6. UW-Whitewater 178.700
7. UW-Stout 175.550
8. Winona State 171.125

Individual Event Champions:
Vault: Brittany Moore (Gustavus Adolphus), 9.525
Uneven Bars: Katie Krenz (UW-La Crosse), 9.350
Balance Beam: Ashley Koechel (UW-La Crosse), 9.625
Floor Exercise: Alison Eagles (UW-Eau Claire), 9.650
All-Around: Alison Eagles (UW-Eau Claire) and Ashley Koechel (UW-La Crosse), 37.600

Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete: Amanda Parker of Gustavus Adolphus
Co-Coaches of the Year: Nadalie Walsh of UW-Oshkosh and Doug Byrne of Hamline

UW-Whitewater To Host Women's Gymnastics Conference and Regional Championship

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will host two championships in one day, Friday, March 18. The Warhawks were originally scheduled to host the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association West Regional that day, but that meet has been combined with the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.

The combination is possible with the addition of Hamline University (Minn.), Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) and Winona State University (Minn.), West Region schools that recently became members of the WIAC (only for the sport of women's gymnastics).

The WIAC meet was originally scheduled for March 4 at UW-Stout, but the newly combined meet will not require the six WIAC schools to gather twice in two weeks for a major competition.

Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline and Winona State Join WIAC For Women's Gymnastics

Madison, Wis.---The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) announced today that Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN), Hamline University (St. Paul, MN) and Winona State University (Winona, MN) have been admitted into the WIAC as affiliate members in the sport of women's gymnastics effective with the 2004-05 season.

"We are extremely pleased and fortunate to have three institutions with the outstanding academic and athletic reputations of Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline and Winona State joining our conference", commented WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner. "Each of these institutions has a strong tradition in the sport of women's gymnastics which will add excitement and interest to what already is a very competitive conference. The addition of Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline and Winona State to the WIAC is viewed by many in the gymnastics community as a positive step toward retaining women's gymnastics as a viable intercollegiate sport in the upper Midwest", added Karner.

With the addition of Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline and Winona State, a total of eight institutions will be fielding women's gymnastics teams in the WIAC during the 2004-05 season including current WIAC members UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stout and UW-Whitewater.

Menomonie, Wis.--Bryan Rottier, who was a UW-Stout assistant gymnastics coach for four years, has been named as head gymnastics coach. Rottier replaced Jeff Richards, who recently became the head coach at Winona State.

Rottier coached from 1999-2003 as an assistant under Richards. A former UW-Stout student, Rottier has a degree in sports management.

As an assistant coach, Rottier helped mold a team that qualified to the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) national meet for the first time since the mid-1980s. During that span, Stout had six athletes named to 10 different All-America spots and team and individual records were consistently broken.

Rottier was the 2003 NCAA North Central Region assistant coach of the year, an award that encompasses all collegiate levels of gymnastics, not just Division III.

Rottier looks forward to his first stint as a head coach with a group of athletes he is familiar with.

"This particular team could be the strongest team Stout has ever had," Rottier said. "We have a good mix of upperclassmen who have nationals experience, combined with incoming freshmen that have had strong high school and club careers. They are coming in with good attitudes."

Efficient is how Rottier describes his coaching philosophy.

"These athletes that come in will know what is expected from Day One," Rottier said. "They will know where they are at, where they want to be and how to get there.

"We will be more analytical. We will train fewer skills to maximize their potential."

While never a competitive gymnast himself, Rottier has an understanding of how the body needs to move to be more efficient. A former high school and UW-Stout cheer and stunt squad member, Rottier said he has a practical understanding of conservation of energy and of bio-mechanical physics.

A native of DePere, Rottier also enjoys outdoor activities such as archery, hunting, fishing and hiking.