Bowling Green, Ohio - Centenary All-Americans Kendall Sanders (Spring Branch, Texas) and Taylor Ann Wilson (Memphis, Tenn.) were named Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division III Regular Season All-Americans, the WCGA has announced.
Sanders, a senior, earned First-Team honors in the All-Around while the junior Wilson earned her First-Team honors on the Uneven Bars. This marks the third time in her decorated career that Sanders has been named an All-American by the organization and the first time for Wilson. The top one and two NQS in DIII receives All-America honors, with those that finish first being named First-Team All-Americans and those that finish second earning Second-Team All-American distinction.
Sanders recorded a career-high 38.975 in the AA on her Senior Night, March 12 versus Texas Woman's University, as she claimed her third AA title of the season. Sanders earned a season-best 9.725 on bars versus the Pioneers that night and tied for third place on floor with a 9.775. She won the all-around twice earlier this season in a pair of non-conference meets on the road versus the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves on Feb. 11 and 13.
Wilson won the bars competition with a season-high 9.85 in the March 12 meet and finished the regular season with a 9.695 NQS in the event. Wilson splashed onto the national scene last season as she claimed the individual bars title with a career-best 9.875 at the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship on April 11 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She became a national champion just one day after making her collegiate debut in the event and made history as she becomes the first Centenary gymnast to win an individual title at the USAG National Championships in the division III era (2012-present) Wilson was named a First-Team All-American on bars following her historic performance. She was also named All-MIC Second-Team on Bars following the March 18 MIC Championships.
Sanders was named a First-Team All-American by USA Gymnastics on both the floor and in the all-around as a junior and was also named an All-American by the WCGA as she earned her honors on beam (9.681), floor (9.700), and all-around (38.519). She earned All-Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) honors and was named a MIC Scholar-Athlete with a perfect 4.0 GPA. As a sophomore, she was Named to the 2020 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association DIII regular season All-America Team in the All-Around, ranking first with an NQS of 38.090.
Sanders was also named a 2020 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Nationals second team All-American in the All-Around, a USA Gymnastics Scholar Athlete and a MIC scholar-athlete, as well as a WCGA Academic All-American for 2019-2020. She capped her impressive rookie season by earning Second Team All-American honors after she finished in a tie for sixth on floor with a career high of 9.800 at the USA Gymnastics Championships in April in Bridgeport, Conn. and was also named WCGA Academic All-American.
Centenary finished fifth in the 2022 MIC Championships on March 18 in Denton, Texas as the Ladies recorded a 189.350 team score. They recorded a season-high 191.575 versus TWU on Senior Night and finished the regular season with an average score of 188.056 and a team NQS of 188.135. The Ladies, currently ranked 72nd in the country in the latest Road to Nationals rankings, are the sixth-highest ranked division III program in the country.
Sanders and Wilson have each qualified for the 2022 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships April 8-10 in Ithaca, NY and hosted by Cornell University. See below for more information on the meet: https://www.usagymcollegiatechamps.com/
See the Ladies' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/gymnastics/2021-22/schedule
Live stats and live video are available for all home meets.
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