Gymnastics Program Announces 2022 Team Awards

Ally Cucich, Hannah Baddick, Mariella Miele, Hailey Lui and Kylie Kratchwell at the Senior Showcase on May 10, 2022 (Photo by Jess Speechley)

DURHAM, N.H. – The UNH gymnastics team handed out its annual awards during a ceremony in the Service Credit Union Victory Club on Sunday, May 1, headlined by senior Hailey Lui (Collegeville, Pa.) being named team MVP.

Assistant Coach Amanda Fillard and Team MVP Hailey Lui

Lui, EAGL's regular-season balance beam champion (9.910 NQS), graduates as a four-time All-EAGL honoree on beam, including three consecutive First-Team berths. She was named to the All-EAGL Second Team on floor exercise, which marked four straight years as an All-EAGL competitor in that event. The Collegeville, Pa., native competed as an event specialist on beam at the NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by Auburn, and was a finalist for UNH's Jim Urquhart Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, given to the most outstanding senior student-athlete based on athletic success, community involvement and academic achievement through her Wildcat career. The biomedical science: medical and veterinary sciences major is a two-time inductee into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, for maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Lui is a four-time EAGL All-Scholastic Team member and will be named this summer to the WCGA Scholastic All-America Team for a third straight year.

Junior Jacy Whitehead (Houston, Texas) was feted as the Most Improved Gymnast.

"The goal is for everyone to improve, but some athletes go above and beyond," associate head coach Steve Avgerinos said in presenting the award. "Jacy reinvented herself in respect to how she responded to coaching and making changes to her gymnastics. She has dedicated herself to learning and applying corrections in a fashion that has led to her improvements to her consistency and cleaning up her deductions far past expectations. She is a completely different gymnast than she was even a year ago."

The Most Inspirational Award was bestowed upon super senior captain Kylie Kratchwell (Sewell, N.J.).

Assistant Coach Amanda Fillard and Most Inspirational Award recipient Kylie Kratchwell

"She pushed her teammates to be their very best, strived for perfection herself, paid attention to detail, and uplifted the team when they needed it most," assistant coach Amanda Fillard said in presenting the award. "Battling back from several knee surgeries, she finally got a glimpse of what it was like to compete bars and succeed at this level. She went on to be in the bar lineup junior year, senior year and her fifth year. Kylie, you are an inspiration to all, and truly showed how important this team was to you. You are an amazing leader and confidant to all. We know that you will continue to succeed and take these qualities to your future career."

Super senior captain Lauren Diggan (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and junior Robyn Kelley (Wakefield, Mass.) shared the Katie Baldwin Academic Achievement Award as the Wildcats with the highest cumulative GPA (3.86). Diggan is a five-time EAGL All-Scholastic Team member as a kinesiology: health and physical education major, and Kelley is a dual major in justice studies and psychology.

Freshman Gracy Mowers (Middleton, Mass.) was feted as the Newcomer of the Year. Mowers was a two-event stalwart for the 'Cats on vault (PB 9.900) and floor (PB 9.875).

Newcomer of the Year Gracy Mowers and Associate Head Coach Steve Avgerinos

"Simply beginning a college career is tough enough; to do so as a Division 1 gymnast much more so," Avgerinos said. "In addition, she has undertaken a difficult path and has done so with incredible success in the classroom, meanwhile becoming a leader and fierce competitor for the Wildcats."

Robert E. Houston, Sr. "Pop" introduced the 9.5 Club in 1989 as a threefold award presented as an acknowledgement of dedication, an appreciation of physical effort and a token of a high degree of proficiency attained.

9.5 Club Members

Five Years
Lauren Diggan

Four Years
Hannah Baddick (Gettysburg, Pa.)
Ally Cucich (Aberdeen, N.J.)
Hailey Lui
Mariella Miele (Basking Ridge, N.J.)

Three Years
Kylie Gorgenyi (North Reading, Mass.)
Kylie Kratchwell
Alyssa Worthington (West Warwick, R.I.)

Two Years
Sierra Bauman (Wallingford, Conn.)
Larissa Biette (Belmont, Mass.)
Kenadi Brown (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Jenna DeVincenzo (Bethpage, N.Y.)
Gia Graver (East Northport, N.Y.)

First Year
Alyssa Beaulieu (Holyoke, Mass.)
Gracy Mowers
Summer Simpkins (Audubon, N.J.)
Jacy Whitehead

The program also announced that Kenadi Brown and Robyn Kelley were elected co-captains for the 2022-23 season.

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Baddick

Sierra Bauman

Larissa Biette

Kenadi Brown

Ally Cucich

Lauren Diggan

Kylie Gorgenyi

Gianna Graver

Robyn Kelley

Kylie Kratchwell

Hailey Lui

Gracy Mowers

Jacy Whitehead

Alyssa Worthington

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