March 20, 2012

CENTERVILLE, Mass. (March 20, 2012) – The Eastern College Athletic Conference Tuesday released the final weekly awards for the 2012 ECAC Division II women’s gymnastics season. The following are the recipients – Rebecca Brady and Kirby Pallis from Southern Connecticut State University and Jessica Watts and Sasha Tsikhanovich out of the University of Bridgeport – for the period ending Sunday:

Gymnast of the Week: Rebecca Brady, Southern Connecticut State University, Junior, Hampstead, N.H.

As the last competitor on the apparatus, Brady won the vault competition by over .15 with a 9.825 mark in a dual meet with Division I Brown University, punctuating her performance with an error-free landing. This marks the fifth vault this season that she has dismounted perfectly.  A proven asset to the team, the Owls captain has high hopes to duplicate her season’s best of 9.9 over the next few weeks at the ECAC Division II and USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships.  She also showed her consistency on the floor exercise by scoring a team-high 9.7.  

Specialist of the Week: Kirby Pallis, Southern Connecticut State University, Soph., Pepperell, Mass.

Pallis registered the team’s highest score on the uneven parallel bars with a 9.675 performance, placing second in the meet against Division I opponent Brown University.  The Southern Connecticut coaching staff has noted her consistency on the event all season long.

Coaches’ Choice of the Week: Jessica Watts, University of Bridgeport, Senior, Marietta, Ga.

Watts has served all season long like an extension of the coaching staff with her hard work in practice and leading her teammates by example.  She has been a key member of the Purple Knights’ floor exercise unit, hitting every routine during the season as one of the team’s most consistent competitors.  She tied for sixth place with a score of 9.825 on Friday at the University of Arizona quadrangular meet that included the host Wildcats, Utah State and Air Force.

Rookie of the Week: Sasha Tsikhanovich, University of Bridgeport, Freshman, Marysville, Ohio

Tsikhanovich continued her impressive first season in a Bridgeport leotard, helping the Purple Knights to a second-place finish (193.525) in last Friday’s Division I-dominated meet at the University of Arizona.  A three-time ECAC rookie of the week honoree, she tied for fourth in the floor exercise (9.85) and tied for fifth on the balance beam (9.8).