Quartet of Wolverines Named to All-Big Ten Teams
3/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 26, 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Four University of Michigan women's gymnasts were voted to the All-Big Ten Conference team, including a pair of first team honorees, announced at the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships banquet Friday night (March 26). Michigan has had four or more Wolverines on the All-Big Ten team in each of the last 16 seasons.
Senior Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) and junior Kylee Botterman (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) each earned the third All-Big Ten first team honors of their careers. Senior Kelsey Knutson (Ames, Iowa/Ames) was voted to the second All-Big Ten team of her career, earning second-team honors, while freshman Natalie Beilstein (Butler, Pa./Knoch) joined her on the All-Big Ten second team. Curtis was also selected as U-M's recipient for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Curtis and Botterman have been voted to the All-Big Ten first team in each of the last three seasons, while Knutson returns to the list after earning All-Big Ten second team honors as a sophomore in 2008. Michigan and Illinois led the Big Ten with four gymnasts each on the All-Big Ten team. Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year will be announced at the conclusion of the Championships on Saturday (March 27).
Curtis has been Michigan's second-best all-arounder this season, ranking third in the Big Ten in the all-around and listing in the conference's top seven on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. Curtis earned the sixth Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honor of her career on March 15 and has captured seven individual titles this season, including three in the all-around.
 Sarah Curtis  | |
Botterman earned her third straight All-Big Ten first team accolade after leading the Wolverines with 23 individual event titles, including seven in the all-around and seven on floor. She ranks second in the Big Ten in the all-around, first on bars and third on vault and floor. Botterman scored Michigan's first 10.0 in six seasons earlier this season on vault on her way to the program's best all-around score (39.675) since 2004.
Knutson bounced back from an injury-plagued junior season to return to All-Big Ten form as a senior. She has been among the Big Ten's best beam performers all season, ranking third in the conference and 21st in the nation on the event. Knutson picked up five beam titles this season and set a new career high on the event with a 9.950.
Beilstein earned All-Big Ten second team honors after a dominating season in which she picked up eight individual titles and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors six times in 11 weeks of competition. Beilstein ranks fourth in the Big Ten on vault and floor and is a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Michigan will go for its fourth straight Big Ten title -- and the program's 18th overall -- on Saturday (March 27) at 2 p.m. at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network for the second year in a row.
2010 BIG TEN WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS HONOREES
First Team
Kylee Botterman, Michigan
Sarah Curtis, Michigan
Allison Buckley, Illinois
Melissa Fernandez, Illinois
Sarah Schmidt, Illinois
Rebecca Simbhudas, Iowa
Nicole Curler, Michigan State
Alexis Russell, Minnesota
Sharaya Musser, Penn State
Brandi Personett, Penn State
Second Team
Natalie Beilstein, Michigan
Kelsey Knutson, Michigan
Nicole Cowart, Illinois
Houry Gebeshian, Iowa
Jessa Hansen, Iowa
Kelsey Morley, Michigan State
Rochelle Robinson, Michigan State
Rebecca Best, Ohio State
Hillary Dow, Ohio State
Natalie Ettl, Penn State
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Illinois -- Laura Woolf
Iowa -- Jessa Hansen
Michigan -- Sarah Curtis
Michigan State -- Rochelle Robinson
Minnesota -- Alexis Russell
Ohio State -- Hillary Dow
Penn State -- Natalie Ettl
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
