AUSTIN, Texas – Gustavus gymnast Brooke Merila (Jr., St. Michael) has been selected to the 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Third Team, which was announced Wednesday. Academic All-America Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
Merila, a nursing major with a 3.96 GPA, took fourth place in the all-around at the 2019 NCGA Championships to earn All-America honors. Merila holds career highs of 9.375 on vault, 9.300 on bars, 9.250 on beam, 9.625 on floor, and 36.775 in the all-around.
Merila garners Gustavus’s 120th CoSIDA Academic All-America honor, which ranks first in the MIAC (50 more than the next institution), 12th in NCAA Division III, and 36th among all NCAA divisions. She is the first Gustavus gymnast to earn Academic All-America honors since Amanda Parker’s three consecutive selections in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Merila is one of two gymnasts on the 14-member Third Team, which also includes student-athletes that compete in golf, tennis, lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey, and swimming. There are 15 members on the First Team and 18 members on the Second Team.
Most Division III Academic All-America Honorees
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology 339
- Washington University 194
- Emory University 192
- Nebraska Wesleyan University 185
- Augustana College 176
- Johns Hopkins University 169
- Carnegie-Mellon University 158
- Calvin 139
- Rose Hulman Institute of Technology 134
- Illinois Wesleyan University 133
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 127
- Gustavus Adolphus College 120