University of Kentucky gymnast Nicole Allen has been named to the 2001 VerizonAcademic All-District IV first team for her achievements in and out of the classroom.
The team consists of athletes from the fall/winter sports of cross country, fencing,gymnastics, ice hockey, rifle, skiing, soccer, swimming, water polo and wrestling, andhonorees are selected by a district vote of the College Sports Information Directors ofAmerica based on athletic and academic accomplishments during the past season.First-team selections will appear on the national ballot, as well, which will be releasedon April 19.
Allen, a Bowmansville, N.Y., native, is one of UKs key performers on the uneven bars,balance beam, and floor exercise this season. She is third on the team on beam andfloor, and has established career highs on all three of her events this season, tallying a9.775 on bars, a 9.850 on beam, and a 9.850 on floor. A career best on beam came atNo. 2 Alabama and helped lead UK to a school record beam total of 49.350.
Allens work in the classroom has earned her selection to the Athletics Directors HonorRoll, the Deans List, the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society andthe UK Society of Character. In 2000, she also was named a National Association ofCollegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Academic All-American.The GymKats return to action when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the first round ofNCAA action at the Central Region Championships on the campus of the University ofAlabama on Saturday, April 7.
