Maxwell Donaldson | Gadsden Times
Alabama gymanstics Rachel Rybicki brought home a pretigious academic honor on Tuesday.
Rybicki won the Elite 90 award for NCAA Division I women’s gymnastics, going to the top student-athlete academically at each of the NCAA’s 90 national championships. The award was given during an award banquet on Tuesday as Rybicki had the top GPA of all gymnasts at the NCAA Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.
Rybicki becomes the fifth Alabama gymanst to win the award but the first since Lauren Beers won three straight from 2014-16. She holds a 4.00 GPA as she is double majoring in economics and finance, with a minor in spanish.
“Rachel always brings a fierce commitment to excellence to everything she does and has truly established herself as a difference maker within our program. Her positivity is contagious, and she truly invests in others while taking exceptional ownership in every aspect of her development. We couldn’t be more proud of Rachel for earning the Elite 90 award, as this is a true reflection of who she is both on the floor and in the classroom,” head coach Ashley Johnston said.
Rybicki has earned two Scholastic All-American honors and been a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice. She earned a spot on the 2025 SEC Gymnastics Community Service Team and will intern with Goldman Sachs over the summer.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.REGIONAL FINALS: Alabama gymnastics advances to NCAA Championships with season high score, Florida advances
Rybicki has a season best score of 9.9 on beam and 9.925 on floor as she helped the Crimson Tide to their 40th national championship appearance.
The Crimson Tide start the championships on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2 with Oklahoma, Missouri and Florida in the semifinals, with the top two scores advancing to the finals.