Sarah Finnegan of LSU

Sarah Finnegan, 2019 AAI Award Winner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Fort Worth, TX – April 18, 2019 – American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) proudly presented the AAI Award to the most outstanding collegiate senior female gymnast in the country. AAI has been awarding this honor for over the last 30+ years and it has become considered the Heisman Trophy in Women’s gymnastics.

“I have helped facilitate this award for over 15 years,” said Lisa Ebersole, Marketing Manager for AAI. “To watch such a talented pool of athletes, go through the process of such a high caliber award and see the coach’s pride for them is truly inspiring.”

The NCAA head coaches are asked to submit a nomination for the candidate or candidates of their choice. This year the award started with 25 talented athletes, a number that should not go un-noticed. After all the nominations were in, the coaches then voted to narrow the field to the top 6 athletes. These athletes were:

  • Alicia Boren – University of Florida
  • Brenna Dowell – University of Oklahoma
  • Sarah Finnegan – LSU
  • Olivia Karas – University of Michigan
  • Katelyn Ohashi – UCLA
  • Toni-Ann Williams – UC Berkeley

At the NCAA Championship Banquet all the finalists are called to the stage and recognized for making the elite group. This year, Sarah Finnegan of LSU took home the title of the 2019 AAI Award Winner.

“This is an amazing honor,” Finnegan said. “To see Ashleigh Gnat win this award two years ago was inspiring, and I am so honored to continue the tradition of this program. To be even considered a finalist and ultimately picked out of the top senior gymnasts in the country is so cool. I could not have achieved this without the support of my teammates not just this year but over the last three years. We still have more work to do as a team this weekend.”

AAI is proud to support NCAA Gymnastics and recognizes the achievements and dedication of all the AAI Award Finalists as well as all gymnasts within the sport.

About AAI Award

For over 26 years, American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) has presented the prestigious AAI Award to the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country. This award is considered the Heisman Trophy in gymnastics. Every year, college coaches are asked to submit their nominations for this award. The coaches then vote to narrow down these nominations to finalists, and ultimately the winner. AAI recognizes the achievements and dedication of each AAI Award Nominee and is proud to support NCAA® gymnastics.

Every year, we are presented with a talented pool of athletes nominated for the AAI Award, this year being no different. Each athlete had impressive honors and career stats, involvement in their communities and solid plans for the future.

Past Winners

1991 – Joy Selig from Oregon State University
1992 – Missy Marlowe-Anglesey from University of Utah
1993 – Tammy Marshall from University of Massachusetts
1994 – Chari Knight from Oregon State University
1995 – Beth Wymer from University of Michigan
1996 – Jenny Hansen from University of Kentucky
1997 – Kristin Quackenbush from West Virginia University
1998 – Kim Arnold from University of Georgia
1999 – Jenni Beathard from University of Georgia
2000 – Heidi Hornbeek from University of Arizona
2001 – Mohini Bhardwaj from UCLA
2002 – Andree Pickens from University of Alabama
2003 – Theresa Kulikowski from University of Utah
2004 – Jamie Dantzscher from UCLA
2005 – Richelle Simpson from University of Nebraska
2006 – Courtney Bumpers from University of North Carolina
2007 – Janet Anson from Iowa State University
2008 – Ashley Postell from University of Utah
2009 – Courtney Kupets from University of Georgia
2010 – Susan Jackson from Louisiana State University
2011 – Kylee Botterman from University of Michigan
2012 – Amy Glass from Boise State University
2013 – Vanessa Zamarripa from UCLA
2014 – Emily Wong from University of Nebraska
2015 – Georgia Dabritz from University of Utah
2016 – Lindsay Mable from University of Minnesota
2017 – Ashleigh Gnat from LSU
2018 – Elizabeth Price from Standford University