Seawolves Win Fourth MPSF Academic Team Title
Photo: Brooklyn Kopsack, Alaska-Anchorage (Courtesy: UAA Athletics)
The University of Alaska-Anchorage carried the highest overall grade-point average in MPSF Women’s Gymnastics for the 2021-22 academic year, its conference-high fourth such team honor, as released by the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA). The Seawolves previously won three-straight MPSF academic titles from 2016-18, before prior member Seattle Pacific earned the last two. UAA made its way into the top-five nationally for the first time ever, with a tightly contested second-place finish in posting a team GPA of 3.866. This is the highest Seawolf GPA since 2015. Texas Woman’s University was declared the national academic champion (3.8774 GPA).
Meeting the required 3.50 or better overall or year-long grade-point average, and in addition to the highest team GPA in the MPSF, Alaska-Anchorage placed a conference-high-tying 14 student-athletes (93.33 percent of its roster) on the WCGA’s Scholastic All-American list. Nine Seawolves’ also recorded perfect 4.00 GPA’s. San Jose State, the 2015 MPSF Academic Team Champion, finished second in the conference and 17th nationally (3.6832), while also placing 14 members on the WCGA’s list.
The nine Alaska-Anchorage Scholastic All-Americans with 4.00 GPA’s were Allie McLure (Nursing), Alyssa Manley (Social Work), Brooklyn Kopsack (Kinesiology), Emily Walker (Kinesiology), Mackenzie Robinson (Psychology), Kylie Reese (Economics), Maylen Pulliam (Business Management), Montana Fairbairn (Kinesiology), and Rachel Decious (Management and Marketing). The five other All-American Seawolves’ included Jessica Johnson (3.93, Health Sciences), Shannon Farrell (3.87, Psychology), Hayley Perkins (3.77, Psychology), Marcela Bonifasi (3.76, Health Sciences), and Silje Hildebrand (3.52, Dietetics). Nine of the 14 Seawolf Academic All-Americans also placed on the MPSF’s All-Academic team this past April.
Other WCGA Scholastic All-American Gymnasts from the MPSF who shared the nation’s top 4.00 GPA were Natalie Meyer (Air Force, Computer Engineering), Mercedez Sanchez (San Jose State, Kinesiology/Sport Studies), Peyton Gillen (Sacramento State, Child Development), Sarah Fitzgerald (Sacramento State, Child Development), Izabella Trejo (UC Davis, Clinical Nutrition), and Valerie Mostajo (UC Davis, Communication).
The advocate for women’s collegiate gymnastics, the WCGA was known as the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) until the summer of 2018.