4 Sooner Gymnasts Named to Academic All-Big 12 Team

March 22, 1999

NORMAN, Okla. - Four University of Oklahoma gymnasts were honored with first team Academic All-Big 12 Honors for their outstanding performances in competition and in the classroom. Sooner recipients were Ginger Russell, Shanna Sanders, Nicole Tycer and Marianna Goncalves.

Russell is junior all-arounder from Fort Smith, Ark. She is a Zoology major with a 3.69 grade point average. Russell has been an all-arounder in every meet of the 1999 season. She was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week for February 17, 1999, after winning the all-around against both Boise State and Iowa State. She holds the highest floor average on the team and also claims the third highest all-around and beam scores in OU history. Russell was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year in 1998.

Goncalves is an all-arounder from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is undecided on her major, but has a 4.0 grade point average. The freshman has competed in all but one all-around competition of the season and is ranked 21st on the uneven bars.

Sanders is an Elementary Education major from Sapulpa, Okla, with a 3.39 GPA. The junior is one of the best bars workers on the team and has competed in every meet of the season. She holds the school record on the event with a score of 9.950 against Air Force in 1998.

Tycer is an undecided sophomore with a 3.92 GPA. Tycer has competed in every meet of the year. She registered a first-place finish on the beam against Illinois-Chicago and Texas Woman's.

All four athletes will compete with their team at the Big 12 Championships Saturday, March 2, at Hearne Center in Columbia, Mo.