March 19, 2013

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alexis Gross has been named Southeastern Conference gymnastics Specialist of the Week by the league office after her career-best performance last Saturday. Gross led Kentucky to the school-record team score 196.775.

The sophomore enjoyed perhaps the best meet of her career, winning her first two collegiate event titles while No. 19 Kentucky competed at the nation’s No. 16 team.

The Pasadena, Md., native earned a Kentucky season-high balance beam score of 9.95, garnering a 10.0 from judge two in the process. She claimed the BB title leading UK to a school-record beam score of 49.475.

Her beam score was third-highest in school history behind two-time NCAA Balance Beam Champion Jenny Hansen and Heather Hite.

Earlier in the meet Gross claimed her first career 9.9 in any event to win uneven bars, the first event title of her career. She is the first Wildcat to garner scores of 9.9 or higher in multiple events at the same meet this season.

Gross is the first Wildcat to win a SEC weekly award since Andrea Mitchell claimed Gymnast of the Week in March 2011.

Kentucky next competes at the SEC Championship in Little Rock, Ark., on Saturday. The conference meet will be Kentucky’s final competition before the NCAA Gymnastics Championships Selection Show on Monday, March 25.

Tickets for the SEC Championship are available at www.SECDigitalNetwork.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

Kentucky gymnastics SEC Championship Week Notebook: UK is No. 7 seed, to compete in afternoon session. bit.ly/WB8r44 #WeAreUK #BBN

— UK Gymnastics (@UKGymnastics) March 19, 2013