Division II Women's Gymnastics Awards - Jan. 24

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference has announced the ECAC Division II women’s gymnastics weekly awards on Tuesday. The following are the recipients for the period ending Sunday:

Gymnast of the Week: Monica Mesalles Sallares, Univ. of Bridgeport, Jr., Barcelona, Spain

Mesalles Sallares had an outstanding weekend by taking first place in the all-around at the University of Maryland tri-meet on Friday night with a score of 38.950 and at the Brown University triangular on Sunday with a 38.375.

After she tied for second place in the vault (9.8) and on the balance beam (9.725) at Maryland, she saved her best performance for Sunday. At Brown, she had first-place showings in the vault (9.875), floor exercise (9.8) and beam (9.9), setting a school record in the latter event.

Bridgeport was second in the team standings at Maryland and the Purple Knights captured the Brown meet with a 191.800 score.

Specialist of the Week: Emily Repko, University of Bridgeport, Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.

Repko tied for first place on the beam Sunday at Brown, sharing the school record of 9.9 with teammate Mesalles Sallares who recorded that mark on the same day. She also scored a 9.650 on the beam Friday at Maryland.

Rookie of the Week: Lauren Bilenki, West Chester University, Fr., Schnecksville, Pa.

Bilenki had strong performances on the vault (9.425) and beam on Saturday against SUNY Cortland. She placed third on the beam with a 9.625, helping the team establish a school record on the apparatus with a 47.400 score. WCU defeated the Red Dragons to move to 5-1 on the season.

Coaches’ Pick of the Week:
Kirby Pallis, Southern Connecticut State University, So., Pepperell, Mass.

In a four-team meet that included Springfield, College at Brockport and Division I Yale, Pallis posted a school-record 9.85 score on the uneven bars to capture first place in the event. She boasted a 3.94 grade-point average after the fall semester for a team high. Not only has she worked hard in the classroom, but she’s also been tireless in the gym to put herself in a position to set the benchmark on the UB bars over the weekend.