The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Julia Zimmerman ’09
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Julia Zimmerman ’09
In a magnificent ending to a remarkable collegiate career, senior star gymnast Julia C. Zimmerman ’09 won the all-round competition for the second time in three years at the prestigious National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championship hosted by Hamline University this past weekend. Zimmerman, who also won the crown in 2007, is just the second woman in 25 years to twice win the NCGA all-around title.
On Friday, she scored a 38.275 among the four events, registering a 9.600 on the vault, a 9.450 on the bars, a 9.625 on the beam, and a 9.600 on the floor. With the top 14 competitors in each event advancing to the individual event finals on Saturday, Zimmerman also won the vault championship, scoring a 9.775 and was named the NCGA outstanding senior, as voted by the member coaches and considered to be the most prominent award presented by the association. It marks the second consecutive season and seventh overall — two more than any other member school — that an MIT senior has won the award, as Sophia L. Harrison ’08 took the honor last year.
Earning three more First Team All-American honors for finishing in the top six in the vault, beam, and bars, Zimmerman became a career-wise 14-time All-American, tying her for first place in the 25-year history of the NCGA.
Leanna S. Morinishi ’12, meanwhile, placed 10th in the all-round with a score of 36.925 and sixth on the beam at 9.425, earning First Team All American honors as a freshman.
Katie M. Mingo ’10 also competed and scored a solid 8.625 on the beam.
The event featured seven schools in the team competition and individual specialists from eight additional institutions. MIT missed out qualifying as a team by just 0.25 of a point, after finishing a strong fourth out of eight teams at the recent ECAC Division III Championship.
—Mike Stoller, DAPER Staff