Sugiyama Named Finalist for 2015 AAI Award
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 19, 2015
JEFFERSON, Iowa -- On Thursday (March 19), senior Sachi Sugiyama of the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's gymnastics team was named one of the six finalists for the 2015 AAI Award, given annually to the nation's top senior student-athlete in women's gymnastics. The winner will be announced at the NCAA Championships next month in Fort Worth, Texas.
The AAI Award is considered to be the highest honor in the sport, equivalent to college football's Heisman Trophy. Sugiyama is the 11th gymnast in program history to be named a finalist for the AAI Award, joining Beth Wymer (1995), Wendy Marshall (1996), Bridget Knaeble (2001), Janessa Grieco (2003), Elise Ray (2005), Jenny Deiley (2006), Lindsey Bruck (2008), Kylee Botterman (2011), Katie Zurales (2013) and Joanna Sampson (2014). Of those 10, Botterman was the only winner.
The other candidates include Erica Brewer (Oklahoma), Rheagan Courville (LSU), Georgia Dabritz (Utah), Kytra Hunter (Florida) and Samantha Peszek (UCLA).
Sugiyama has blossomed into one of the nation's top gymnasts this season, setting or tying career highs on three events and in the all-around. Heading into this Saturday's Big Ten Championships, Sugiyama is ranked third in the Big Ten and seventh nationally in the all-around (39.500 RQS). She is also tied for 11th nationally on floor exercise (9.920) and tied for 15th on vault (9.915). She has won or tied for 11 individual event titles this season -- seven of them on vault -- and has seven top-two finishes in the all-around, including four first-place finishes. Further showcasing her improvement as a gymnast, Sugiyama is averaging nearly four-and-a-half tenths higher in the all-around this year (39.395) than she did as a freshman in 2012 (38.957), which was the last and only time she performed regularly on all four events.
Earlier this week, MGoBlue.com posted a video feature on Sugiyama which focuses on her love for gymnastics and art and how she mixes the two in the gym. [ Watch 
]
The Wolverines aim to defend their conference title Saturday (March 21) as they host the Big Ten Championships at Crisler Center. Michigan will be in the second session (4:30 p.m.) alongside Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State. The other session will start at 11:30 a.m. and feature Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers. Both sessions will be shown live by the Big Ten Network. [ Championships Central ]
Communications Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423
