This is an oft-repeated scene: Alex McMurtry celebrating a winning routine. Today, she is named the 2018 Southeastern Conference Event Specialist Gymnast of the Year. At last Saturday's SEC Championships, McMurtry claimed the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Alex McMurtry is SEC Event Specialist Gymnast of 2018
Thursday, March 29, 2018 | Gymnastics
Alex McMurtry doubles up on SEC top individual honors as she picked the SEC Scholar-Athlete award last Saturday at the SEC Championships.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the second season in a row, Florida's Alex McMurtry doubles up on top Southeastern Conference gymnastics individual honors.
She picked up her second consecutive SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award last Saturday at the SEC Championships. Today, McMurtry is named the SEC Event Specialist of 2018.
| 2018 SEC Gymnastics Awards | |
| Specialist of the Year: | Alex McMurtry, Florida |
| Gymnast of the Year: | Sarah Finnegan, LSU |
| Freshman of the Year: | Sarah Shaffer, Arkansas |
| Scholar-Athletes of the Year: | Alex McMurtry, Florida |
| Coach of the Year: | Mark Cook, Arkansas |
| Gators on All-SEC Teams | |
| All-SEC Team | All-Freshman Team |
| Alyssa Baumann | Alyssa Baumann |
| Alicia Boren | Megan Skaggs |
| Rachel Gowey | |
| Amelia Hundley | |
| Alex McMurtry | |
| Rachel Slocum | |
In 2017, the SEC Gymnast and Scholar-Athlete awards both went to McMurtry. She is one of two in league history to combine a top individual honor with SEC Scholar-Athlete and the first multiple year winner.
The SEC office announced the 2018 award winners Thursday morning. A vote of the league coaches determines the SEC award winners.
McMurtry is the first Gator to claim SEC Event Specialist of the Year (award began in 2014).
She joins Rebekah Zaiser (2008) as Gator recipients of SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In the 15-year history of the SEC Scholar-Athlete award, McMurtry is the second to claim a Gymnast/Event Specialist of Year and Scholar-Athlete of Year in the same season and first since Alabama's Kayla Hoffman in 2011.
SEC SPECIALIST GYMNAST OF THE YEAR
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Alex McMurtry - ALL-SEC TEAM
- SEC Championships' vault and uneven bars champion
- One of three in league history and first since 1999 with a 'SEC Slam' (winning each of the five SEC event titles during career)
- One of six in the 38-year history of the SEC Championships to claim at least one event title in four consecutive seasons
- Top-10 national rankings for the trio of events primarily competes – No. T1 bar (9.960 RQS), No. 2 vault (9.955 RQS), No. T6 beam (9.925)
- Leads Florida with 23 event titles (nine bars, eight vault, four beam, one floor, all-around)
- Shares Florida record for the five events – 10.0 vault, bars, beam, floor and 39.825 all-around
- Completed 'Gym Slam' with balance beam 10.0 versus Oklahoma. 10th gymnast in NCAA history with a perfect mark in each event
- One of six gymnasts in nation in 2018 to post 10.0 marks in two events
- Two time Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week
- After Oklahoma dual - first Gator with a pair of 10.0s in a single meet (vault, beam)
- After Nebraska dual - swept event titles, including equaling UF all-around record of 39.825 – nation's No. T5 all-around total of 2018
- Florida's career leader with nine 10.0 marks
- Repeated as SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018
| Did You Know… | ||
| Five Gators have swept Southeastern Conference Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors seven times since the 2003-04 season. | ||
| Year | Athlete of Year | Sport |
| 2004 | Camilo Villegas | Men's Golf |
| 2008 | Tim Tebow | Football |
| 2009 | Tim Tebow | Football |
| 2011 | Bank Vongvanij | Men's Golf |
| 2014 | Patric Young (Defensive Player) | Men's Basketball |
| 2017 | Alex McMurtry | Gymnastics |
| 2018 | Alex McMurtry (Specialist) | Gymnastics |
More SEC Honors:
In addition, Florida equaled the league high with six on the All-SEC team and a pair on the All-SEC Freshman team.
The All-SEC Team is comprised of the student-athletes with the top two event scores (including ties) in each session of the SEC Championships. The All-Freshman team is comprised of the freshmen student-athletes with the top event score (including ties) in each SEC Championships' session.
The six Gators on the 2018 All-SEC and/or SEC All-Freshman teams are:
Alyssa Baumann - ALL-SEC TEAM - ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
· SEC balance beam champion. Winning mark of 9.975 is second only to Cory Fritzinger's 10.0 set in 2004 SEC Championships' beam competition
· First freshman since Georgia's Brittany Rogers in 2013 to win SEC beam title
· All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman team
· Shares No. 10 in national beam rankings (9.925 RQS)
Alicia Boren - ALL-SEC TEAM
- Shared SEC floor exercise title (9.90), all-around runner-up (39.425) and shared fourth on beam (9.925)
- Six time all-around winner in 2018, including wins in five of last seven meets
- Top-25 national rankings –No. 9 all-around (39.530), No. T10 beam (9.920) and No. T11 floor (9.930)
- Third appearance on All-SEC team
Rachel Gowey – ALL-SEC TEAM
- Mark of 9.90 shared second overall in SEC Championships' uneven bars competition
- First appearance on All-SEC team
Amelia Hundley - ALL-SEC TEAM
- Collegiate-best 9.90 shared second in SEC Session II vault competition
- Shared second on uneven bars at 9.90
- Tied for fourth overall in SEC Championships' all-around after equaling season-best (39.425)
- Second appearance on All-SEC team
Alex McMurtry - ALL-SEC TEAM
- SEC Championships' vault (9.975) and uneven bars (9.95) champion
- Six career SEC titles shares second all-time for the Gators and shares fourth all-time among league gymnasts
- All-SEC selection for fourth consecutive year. One of five Gators all-time to earn All-SEC honors each year of career (Corey Hartung – 2006-09; Kytra Hunter 2012-15; Elfi Schlegel 1983-86; Chrissy Van Fleet 1997-2000)
Megan Skaggs - ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
- Top freshman on beam at SEC Championship, sharing seventh after equaling collegiate-best score of 9.90
Rachel Slocum - ALL-SEC TEAM
- Shared second in SEC Session II vault competition at 9.90
- Second appearance on All-SEC team.
- Third consecutive season earning all-conference honors. While with Eastern Michigan, earned 2016 All-Mid-American Conference first team honors after leading the league in nation's final regular-season national vault rankings
2018 Gator Gymnastics Awards
| All-SEC Team | |
| Ariana Guerra | Alabama |
| Nickie Guerrero | Alabama |
| Kiana Winston | Alabama |
| Sophia Carter | Arkansas |
| Hailey Garner | Arkansas |
| Sydney Laird | Arkansas |
| Sarah Shaffer | Arkansas |
| Braie Speed | Arkansas |
| Amanda Wellick | Arkansas |
| Samantha Cerio | Auburn |
| Gracie Day | Auburn |
| Drew Watson | Auburn |
| Alyssa Baumann | Florida |
| Alicia Boren | Florida |
| Rachel Gowey | Florida |
| Amelia Hundley | Florida |
| Alex McMurtry | Florida |
| Rachel Slocum | Florida |
| Rachel Dickson | Georgia |
| Marissa Oakley | Georgia |
| Sydney Snead | Georgia |
| Sidney Dukes | Kentucky |
| Alex Hyland | Kentucky |
| Mollie Korth | Kentucky |
| Christina Desiderio | LSU |
| Kennedi Edney | LSU |
| Sarah Edwards | LSU |
| Sarah Finnegan | LSU |
| Myia Hambrick | LSU |
| Lexie Priessman | LSU |
| Shauna Miller | Missouri |
| Morgan Porter | Missouri |
| Aspen Tucker | Missouri |
| Britney Ward | Missouri |
| SEC All-Freshman Team | |
| Lexi Graber | Alabama |
| Sophia Carter | Arkansas |
| Sydney Laird | Arkansas |
| Sarah Shaffer | Arkansas |
| Drew Watson | Auburn |
| Alyssa Baumann | Florida |
| Megan Skaggs | Florida |
| Marissa Oakley | Georgia |
| Christina Desiderio | LSU |
| Sami Durante | LSU |
| Sarah Edwards | LSU |
Players Mentioned
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