Kassi Price Named First-Team Academic All-American Again
6/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
June 10, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - For the third time in her Crimson Tide career, Alabama gymnast Kassi Price has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Women's At-Large Team, earning first-team honors for the second consecutive year.
Price was one of just three student-athletes on this year's list to repeat as a member of the first team. She is also the first Alabama gymnast to earn Academic All-American honors three times during her career, earning first team honors 2010 and 2009 and third team honors in 2008.
"This is another tremendous honor for Kassi and for the University of Alabama," UA head coach Sarah Patterson said. "What makes this award so special is that it spans so many sports and encompasses so many student-athletes. To earn a place on the Academic All-American At-Large team once is quite an accomplishment, but to do so three years in a row is nothing short of phenomenal. "
The Plantation, Fla., native was joined on the Academic All-American Women's At-Large Team by UA diver Elizabeth Hughes who earned a place on the third team. The Academic All-American At-Large program includes a first, second and third team, each made up of 15 NCAA Division I student-athletes drawn from 13 women's sports including bowling, rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis and water polo.
Alabama gymnasts have totaled 13 Academic All-American honors since 1986, including Price, Julie Estin (1986 and 1987), Kelly Good (1988), Dana Dobransky (1993 and 1992), Meredith Willard (1997), Merritt Booth (1998), Kristin Sterner (2003) and Stephanie Kite (2003 and 2004).
"Kassi's latest honor certainly adds to the legacy of academic excellence that Alabama Gymnastics has enjoyed over the years," Patterson said. "Our ladies have earned a place on the Academic All-American At-Large Team 13 times over the years, including an amazing eight first-team honors, something we take great pride in as a program."
A three-year All-American and a member of Alabama's 2009 SEC Championship team, Price carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average with a double major in advertising and marketing. An NCAA and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship winner, she won the inaugural NCAA Elite 88 Award as a senior.
The 2010 Bryant Award winner, Price also earned the 2010 Austin Cup, awarded to the top senior in UA's Culverhouse School of Commerce and Business Administration. The vice president of UA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Price was also named to the SEC Gymnastics Community Service Team this season.
Since 2000, Alabama student-athletes have earned Academic All-American honors 54 times, including 24 first-team honors. Hughes and Price push Alabama's 2009-10 season total to six, including football's Colin Peek and Barrett Jones, softball's Charlotte Morgan and tennis' Saketh Myneni. In addition to Price, Peek and Morgan were both named first team while Jones was named to the second team. Myneni joined Hughes on the third team.
Players Mentioned
