Six University of Kentucky gymnasts were named to the 2002 Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll, the league office announced on Wednesday, March 20. Seniors Natalie Hunt, Katie Toups, Nicole Allen and Jessie Lemp and juniors Karla Adelt and Mindy Smith were each recognized for their academic accomplishments. The six honorees ties the most by a Kentucky team and is third this season behind Alabama’s 10 honorees and Florida’s seven.

Lemp and Toups, both biology majors, earned the third honor of their careers, while Hunt (kinesiology) was named to the list for the second time. Adelt (decision science and information systems), Allen (biology) and Smith (psychology) were named for the first time.

“This is a tremendous achievement for this team,” Coach Leah Little said. “These student-athletes are dedicated to their athletics and their academics, and it shows day in and day out. They have many academic awards to their credit and it is a testament to what we try to emphasize at UK.”

To be eligible for the SEC Honor Roll a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade point average for either the past year or a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for her career, be a sophomore or higher in terms of academic standing and have 24 semester hours toward a degree. The list is based on the 2000-01 academic year.

Earlier this season, Adelt, Lemp and Smith were inducted in the University of Kentucky Society of Character, joining Toups and Allen, who were inducted in 2001. The Society of Character is part of the University of Kentucky’s CHAMPS/Life Skills Program. It is designed to help student-athletes realize the value of higher academic achievement, a higher level of maturity, self-responsibility and greater overall success. The Society was founded in 1998 to recognize those individuals who epitomize the term “student-athlete.”