Twelve Cardinals Earn Scholastic All-America Award

MUNCIE, Ind.-- A total of twelve Ball State University gymnasts have been honored by the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association. Those twelve Cardinals will receive the Scholastic All-America Award for the 2017-18 academic year, the WCGA announced Monday afternoon.

The team ranked 13th out of the 77 participating institutions with a collective grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6378.

The twelve Cardinals who earned the honors are, recent graduates, Baylee Bell, Clare Collins, Jackie Duffy, Jordyn Penny and Jillian Hacker, as well as junior Sydney Finke, sophomores Maddie Macdonald, Rachel Benoit and Deni Roller, and freshmen Tori Long, Brooke Johnson and Arden Hudson.

Meeting the required 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) or better required, 760 (55%) student-athletes earned Scholastic All-America honors. The percentage of women's collegiate gymnasts honored last year was 47.83%, and the previous high was set in 2015-16 with 49% of student-athletes earning a 3.5 or better GPA. GK Elite Sportswear provides a certificate to each Scholastic All-America honoree and her coach.

The WCGA is the advocate for women's collegiate gymnastics. Until this month, the coaches' association was known as the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women.

Players Mentioned

Baylee Bell

Rachel Benoit

Clare Collins

Jackie Duffy

Sydney Finke

Jillian Hacker

Arden Hudson

Brooke Johnson

Tori Long

Maddie MacDonald

Jordyn Penny