DENVER - University of Denver women's gymnasts Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) and Louise Mercer (Nottingham, England) were named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Week and Specialist of the Week, respectively, the league office announced today.
Martin set a career-high in the All-Around for the second consecutive week, tallying a 39.425 in the Pioneers first WAC competition last Saturday against Sacramento State. Martin won the Vault and Floor titles as well, recording a 9.900 in each event. The sophomore added a 9.875 on Bars and a 9.750 on Beam to round out her All-Around performance. Martin is currently tied for No. 5 in the nation on Vault, with a Regional Qualifying Score of 9.910. This is Martin's first WAC Gymnast of the Week honor, and her fifth WAC weekly award this season.
"I'm really proud of Moriah's All-Around performance last weekend," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. "She continues to train higher level skills in the gym, and has the ability to improve each and every meet. Moriah has really focused on taking one meet at a time this year, and I think that has shown in her progression of scores."
Mercer recorded a 9.975 on Bars last weekend, tying her with DU graduate and Venezuelan Olympian Jessica Lopez (2009) for the third-best score in school history on the event. The performance earned her a second consecutive title on Bars, and her third of the season. This is Mercer's first WAC weekly award. Mercer currently holds the second-highest Bars score in the nation this season.
"I'm thrilled about Louise's Bars performance last weekend," Kutcher-Rinehart said. "She's shown so much perseverance throughout the course of the season, and was rewarded for that with one of the top Bars scores in the nation this year."
The No. 19 University of Denver gymnastics squad hosts its first of two quad meets this season, welcoming No. 13 Missouri, No. 24 West Virginia and Western Michigan to Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday, March 3, at 6 p.m. MT. The Pioneers enter the meet with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 195.270, the figure that determines seeding in NCAA postseason competition.
2012 WAC Gymnasts of the Week
Week Player School
Feb. 28 Moriah Martin Denver
Feb. 21 M. Pulgarin Linero Denver
Feb. 14 Thomasina Wallace San Jose State
Feb. 7 Thomasina Wallace San Jose State
Jan. 31 Thomasina Wallace San Jose State
Jan. 24 Alyssa Click Southern Utah
Jan. 17 Thomasina Wallace San Jose State
Jan. 10 Ellese Sakai-Hart Denver
2012 WAC Specialist of the Week
Week Player School
Feb. 28 Louise Mercer Denver
Feb. 21 Moriah Martin Denver
Feb. 14 Moriah Martin Denver
Feb. 7 Moriah Martin Denver
Jan. 31 Michaela Chernoch Southern Utah
Jan. 24 Kailey Hansen Sacramento State
Jan. 17 M. Pulgarin Linero Denver
Jan. 10 Moriah Martin Denver
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