March 20, 2001
DALLAS-The Big 12 Conference honored 16 student-athletes who have been named to the 2001 Women's Gymnastics Academic All-Big 12 Team, the conference office announced Tuesday. Senior Ann Gietler (Mesa, Ariz.) and sophomore Leah Gremaud (St. Peters, Mo.) were named to the first team while sophomore Shannon Brett (Easton, Pa.) was named to the second team.
"This is a nice honor for our kids and represents their commitment to excellence both in the gym and in the classroom," head coach Rob Drass said.
Gremaud has been outstanding on beam all season. She has finished no worse than second on the four-inch wide apparatus in the past four meets and recorded scores of 9.800 at OU, 9.900 at the Corvette Cup, Iowa State, and Michigan State. Gremaud also set a school record during the beam competition of the Cat Classic on Feb. 2. She put up 9.925 to tie the MU record set by Shannon Brown at the Big 12 Championships in 1999. Gremaud's 9.925 score ties for top mark in the Big 12 this season.
Gietler is a three-time academic all-Big 12 selection and has been on a roll the past five meets on bars averaging a score of 9.8375. She has recorded four second-place finishes and picked up a first-place finish at the 7th Annual Corvette Cup. Gietler tied a career-high on Sunday, Mar. 11, at Iowa State with a 9.875 effort on bars.
Brett has provided solid depth on bars all season and brings needed experience to a young Tiger squad that features seven sophomores and seven freshman.
The Tigers will participate in the fifth Big 12 Conference Gymnastics Championship Saturday in Norman, Okla. Iowa State is the defending Big 12 champion. Nebraska won the first three Big 12 gymnastic titles from 1997 through 1999.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the women's gymnastics academic all-league squad consisted of seven combined first-team members with nine on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.2 or better grade-point average, while the second team are those who have a 3.0 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.0 grade point average or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled contests.