LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the first time in Kentucky gymnastics history, two Wildcats have earned regular season All-America honors, it was announced by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women. Freshman Mollie Korth and sophomore Alex Hyland each earned the distinction for their performances throughout the regular season and SEC Championships.
“Regular season All-America status represents an athlete’s consistency over time,” UK head coach Tim Garrison said. “These two young ladies have earned this achievement by performing at a high level for their team during our record-setting 2017 campaign.”
Since 2013, the NACGC/W has recognized regular season All-Americans based on regional qualifying scores. The Top 8 scores on each event are first-team All-America, while 9-16 are second-team All-America.
Korth was named second-team All-America in the all-around and on the vault. Korth’s all-around score was the 12th-best in the nation at 39.470, while her vault RQS was 9.910. The Cambridge, Wisconsin native was recently named to the All-SEC team and selected as SEC Freshman of the Year. She earned all-league honors after winning the first session of the SEC Championship with a score of 39.425. Korth earned All-SEC on vault after taking the first session vault crown with a 9.9. Along her awards, has 19 individual titles this season, including six in the all-around, six on bars, four on vault and three on the floor. The freshman holds the eighth and ninth highest all-around scores in UK history, and also the highest all-around mark from anyone other than three-time NCAA all-around champion Jenny Hansen.
Hyland earns second-team All-America distinction, holding the No. 13 beam score in the nation at 9.915. The sophomore averaged a 9.894, the fourth-best in the nation in the discipline. Hyland won the SEC beam crown with an impressive 9.95, tying her career-high and earning her All-SEC honors for the second time in her career. The Foxbourough, Massachusetts native hit 9.9 or higher on the beam eight times this season, including a score of 9.95 twice.
Kentucky continues its season at the NCAA Seattle Regional on Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. ET. UK will face No. 1 Oklahoma, host Washington, Stanford, BYU and Utah State in the regional.
Photos by UK Athletics