Pac-12 announces gymnastics weekly honors

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Pac-12 Conference office announced today the Pac-12 women’s gymnastics weekly honors for the week of Jan. 6-12. UCLA’s Olivia Courtney was named the Gymnast of the Week, UTAH’s Georgia Dabritz was voted Specialist of the Week, and UCLA’s Angi Cipra was selected as the Freshman/Newcomer of the Week.

Senior Olivia Courtney won the vault and tied for first in the bars in a narrow loss to defending national champion Florida. She tied a career-high, scoring 9.975 in the vault and 9.90 on floor. The Fairfax, Va., native scored a 9.90 on the bars which gave her an average of 9.925 on her three events. Courtney was the only gymnast in the meet to score 9.9 or better on three routines, and is currently leading the Pac-12 with three scores of 9.9 or better. The then-No. 4 Bruins ultimately fell short to then-No. 1 Florida with a final score of 196.625 to 196.650.

Utah junior Georgia Dabritz tied for first place in two events over the weekend, tallying a 9.90 on vault and a 9.95 on beam. Her bar routine potentially made the difference of the meet, as the two gymnasts immediately preceding her fell. The Newburyport, Mass., native also tallied a 9.875 on floor, which helped the Utes maintain a lead over then-No. 23 Boise State. Her 9.95 score on bars is tied for the best score in the country this week, and the team is tied for first in the latest national rankings. 

Cipra, a Mesa, Ariz., native, took fifth in both the vault and floor in her first collegiate debut for the Bruins. She recorded a pair of 9.85’s to contribute to the UCLA total of 196.625. The freshman tied for fifth on both of her routines to help the Bruins record meet-best team totals on vault and floor.

This is Courtney’s first Gymnast of the Week honor and UCLA’s 27th all-time. This marks the second time that Georgia Dabritz has received the Specialist of the Week honor. It is Cipra’s first Newcomer of the Week honor.

Gymnast of the Week has been selected every week of the season since 2001. The Specialist of the Week award was added in 2008. It is the second year for Freshman/Newcomer of the Week.

The Utes will open Pac-12 play at California on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. PT. Be sure to tune into Pac-12 Networks to watch the Beavs take on UCLA in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. PT.

For more information including a complete television schedule please visit www.pac-12.com.

Also Nominated:
Gymnast of the Week: Jordan Williams, ARIZ; Erika Aufiero, OSU; Taylor Rice, STAN; Tory Wilson, UTAH.
Special Performance of the Week: Kristin Klarenbach, ARIZ; Hannah Casey, OSU; Kristina Vaculik, STAN; Samantha Peszek, UCLA.
Freshman/Newcomer of the Week: Krysten Howard, ARIZ; Beka Conrad, ASU; Kaytianna McMillan, OSU; Nicolette McNair, Stanford; Baely Rowe, UTAH.

2014 Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Weekly Award Winners
Gymnast; Specialist; Freshman/Newcomer

Jan. 7: Alicia Asturias, CAL; Amanda Spinner, STAN; Charlie Owens, CAL
Jan. 14: Olivia Courtney, UCLA; Georgia Dabritz, UTAH; Angi Cipra, UCLA