Four Wolverines Voted to All-Big Ten Teams
3/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 18, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Four University of Michigan women's gymnasts were voted to the All-Big Ten Conference team, led by a trio of first-team honorees, announced at the Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships banquet Friday night (March 18). Michigan has had four or more Wolverines on the All-Big Ten team in each of the last 17 seasons and leads the conference with three first-team honorees and four All-Big Ten selections this season.
Senior Kylee Botterman (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), sophomore Natalie Beilstein (Butler, Pa./Knoch) and fifth-year senior Jordan Sexton (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) each earned All-Big Ten first-team honors, while fifth-year senior Sarah Curtis (Reno, Nev./Reno) picked up second-team accolades, as voted on by the conference coaches. Senior Trish Wilson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship award for Michigan gymnastics.
The first-team award is the fourth of Botterman's career, making her the only Wolverine in history to be voted a first-team member in all four years of her career; the Big Ten began designating a first and second team in 2003. Curtis earns the fourth All-Big Ten honor of her collegiate career, giving her three first-team awards and one second-team laurel in her career, while Beilstein picks up her second All-Big Ten team accolade and the first first-team honor of her career. Sexton earns her very first All-Big Ten team honor.
The Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year awards will be announced at the conclusion of the championships on Saturday (March 19).
Michigan is looking to win its fifth straight Big Ten title Saturday (March 19) at 2 p.m. CDT, looking to add the program's 19th conference trophy to the display case. The meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS
First Team
Natalie Beilstein, Michigan
Kylee Botterman, Michigan
Jordan Sexton, Michigan
Allison Buckley, Illinois
Melissa Fernandez, Illinois
Jessa Hansen, Iowa
Rebecca Simbhudas, Iowa
Colleen Dean, Ohio State
Sarah Miller, Ohio State
Natalie Ettl, Penn State
Sharaya Musser, Penn State
Second Team
Sarah Curtis, Michigan
Kelsey Joannides, Illinois
Houry Gebeshian, Iowa
Jackie Berg, Michigan State
Kendra Elm, Minnesota
Kristin Furukawa, Minnesota
Kayla Slechta, Minnesota
Melanie Shaffer, Ohio State
Madison Merriam, Penn State
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Trish Wilson, Michigan
Elise Gill, Illinois
Jessa Hansen, Iowa
Kathryn Mahoney, Michigan State
Kristin Furukawa, Minnesota
Nicole Krauter, Ohio State
Natalie Ettl, Penn State
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
