10 NCAA Gymnastics Seniors We're Really Going To Miss
10 NCAA Gymnastics Seniors We're Really Going To Miss
Coronavirus truncated the 2020 NCAA gymnastics season, meaning these 10 amazing gymnasts never got to finish out their final seasons.
With the NCAA season coming to an end no one predicted, many seniors won’t get a chance to receive the recognition they deserve at senior night, fight for one last national title, or get closure to end their gymnastics careers.
Many fans on social media continue to show recognition to their favorite seniors, trying to give them a similar experience to their senior nights and showing them the love. As much as we wish these seniors could finish their seasons, safety comes first.
Here’s 10 seniors we’re going to miss, as a celebration of their incredible careers!
1. Kyla Ross - UCLA
The first female gymnast to ever win NCAA, world, and Olympic titles, Kyla Ross showed her excellence not only in NCAA gymnastics, but during her entire gymnastics career. She finished her unexpectedly short senior season tied with Maggie Nichols with 22 career perfect 10s: four on vault, nine on bars, four on beam, and two on floor.
Ross won the 2017 NCAA bars and beam titles, contributed to the 2018 team championship win, and earned the 2019 vault and floor titles. A 19-time All-American, Ross excelled as a leader on her team and was a fan favorite with viewers watching her grow from her time as a junior national team member to graduating senior, and all her accomplishments in between.
Kyla “Boss” will greatly be missed not only from NCAA gymnastics, but from the whole gymnastics world.
2. Madison Kocian - UCLA
Right after UCLA teammate Kyla Ross, Kocian became only the second female gymnast in history to win NCAA, world, and Olympic titles. During her time at UCLA, Kocian contributed to her team’s 2018 NCAA team championship, became a three-time Scholastic All-American and seven time All-American, and scored two perfect 10s on bars, one in 2017 and one in 2019.
In the UCLA senior video, Kocian’s teammates credited her as being a huge motivator, always the first to give a pep talk and uplift her squad.
3. Maggie Nichols - Oklahoma
Tying with Kyla Ross, Maggie Nichols ended her gymnastics career with 22 perfect 10s. Nichols also earned two individual all-around titles in 2018 and 2019 and helped Oklahoma win the national title in 2017 and 2019. She tied for first on bars in 2017, tied for first on bars and floor in 2018, and tied for first on vault in 2019.
The gymnastics world watched Nichols grow from her elite career — during which she had many highs and lows, winning team gold at the 2015 World Championships and not making the 2016 Olympic team — to finding joy in NCAA gymnastics.
Next season, Nichols will return to help the Sooners as a graduate assistant coach while she finishes her degree in communications with a minor in business and then goes for a masters in broadcast journalism.
Her face is not yet disappearing from the screen, either. The Netflix documentary “Athlete A,” set to debut this spring, documents her story as the first gymnast to come forward and report abuse by Lassar Nassar.
4. Maddie Karr - Denver
A star in Denver’s 2020 senior class, Maddie Karr comes from Stillwater, Minnesota, and made a huge splash on Denver’s team for four years. She finished her career with three perfect 10s, all on vault, and competed all-around for her team until the very end. She won 28 titles in the short 2020 season, bringing her to a career total of 106 that sets the record for her school.
5. Ruby Harrold - LSU
Harrold first gained the spotlight as a two-time Olympian for Great Britain. Her national team selected her as an alternate in 2012 and gave her one of the spots on the five-woman team in 2016. Her elite experience made her a well-known face before finding her home at LSU, where she had an incredible career and earned second-team All-American honors in 2018. She was known for her unique skills, especially on bars.
6. Rachel Gowey - Florida
Another NCAA gymnast who got her start in elite, Gowey is perhaps best known for her elite career, but enjoyed a successful four seasons competing for Florida as well. As an elite, Gowey competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials, placing 11th all-around. She earned the 2015 Pan Am Games bars title and helped the U.S. win gold as a team. She also competed as a crucial part of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy meet.
During her time in college gymnastics, Gowey earned three time All-American honors and the title of 2019 SEC balance beam champion. In her senior season, she finally earned her perfect 10 on beam and received SEC Specialist of the Week for that performance.
7. Gracie Kramer - UCLA
Kramer began her NCAA career in an unconventional way, initially committing to Arizona State while still in high school. When a coaching change occurred, Kramer decided to decommit, and she accepted a walk-on offer from UCLA.
She quickly became a huge part of the Bruins’ floor lineup and gained extra attention this past year for her villainous floor routine. The UCLA floor lineup would have looked incredibly different without her. She was someone to look for when her team took the floor, not only for her unique routine, but her facial expressions which showed how much heart went into performing the choreography.
Kramer earned First Team All-American honors on floor in 2019 and won an NCAA title with her team in 2018.
8. Sabrina Vega - Georgia
In her time at Georgia, Sabrina Vega contributed in a big way to the team’s scores. Vega earned First Team All-American honors on floor in 2018 and continued to grow from there. The SEC named her SEC Specialist of the Year in 2019, and she received All-American First Team honors on beam and Second Team honors on floor. A huge part of the Georgia team, Vega’s absence leaves big shoes to fill next season.
9. Isis Lowery - Oregon State
After winning a gold medal on vault and taking fourth all-around at the 2014 Australian Championships amongst other successes during her early career, Lowery joined the Oregon State gymnastics team for the 2016-2017 season.
Lowery earned Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2018 and 2019. She also earned All-American Second Team honors on floor in 2019, and five event titles during her career, all on floor. Her style, tumbling, and dance made her an fan favorite, and she plans to work in student-athlete development in the future.
10. Amelia Hundley - Florida
This four-time All-American competed for the Florida Gators in every bars lineup during her college career. Hundley says goodbye to not only a full NCAA career, but a lot of success prior to her collegiate competitions.
Hundley took ninth at the 2016 Olympic Trials, finishing seventh on vault and eighth on bars. She competed on the U.S. Pan American Games championships teams in 2014 and 2015, taking second on floor and third on bars individually in 2015. Known for her good sportsmanship, Hundley will certainly be missed and plans to volunteer coach at Florida next year.
There’s too many seniors to name that leave a legacy on the sport and set up huge expectations for the incoming freshman class. The Class of 2020 accomplished great feats during their time in NCAA and will go on to accomplish great things throughout their life.
If we missed one of your favorites, let us know in the comments below!