Gymnastics and men’s tennis
Angie Forburger, assistant Sports editor
Former UCLA gymnastics team member Peng-Peng Lee and former men’s tennis team member Martin Redlicki were named this year’s Pac-12 Tom Hansen Conference Medal recipients.
This award recognizes the top male and female student at each Pac-12 school that has shown the highest achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership over the course of the year.
Lee, a sixth-year senior this past year, clinched UCLA’s seventh national title in gymnastics, scoring two perfect 10s on the balance beam and uneven bars.
She also took home an individual NCAA title on the beam this year and was named the gymnastics Honda Award winner for 2018.
Lee also earned a series of awards for her work in the classroom, receiving four Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mentions over her career and being this year’s Pac-12 Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Redlicki completed his senior season as No. 1 in the ITA Singles Ranking, posting an overall record of 29-7. While he fell short in the semifinals of the NCAA singles championships, Redlicki still became an NCAA champion, taking home the doubles national title with sophomore Evan Zhu.
The duo won Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year for the second-straight year this season. Redlicki also concluded his time as a Bruin with a series of accolades, being named the ITA Senior Player of the Year, Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
This conference medal has been awarded since the 1960-1961 academic year and was renamed the Tom Hansen medal in 2009 to honor the retirement of Hansen, who served as the commissioner of the Pac-10 for 26 years.
Track and field
Gabriel McCarthy, assistant Sports editor
Three former Bruins placed at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, last week.
Sprinter Dawn Harper-Nelson, who graduated from UCLA in 2006, led the former Bruins this weekend with a fifth-place finish in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final. She advanced to the final with times of 12.83 seconds and 12.81 seconds in the first round and semifinal, respectively.
Harper-Nelson finished first in the sprint hurdles at the USATF Junior Championships and the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships during her tenure at UCLA. She received All-American recognition twice and was named to the Pac-12 All-Century team after leaving Westwood.
Harper-Nelson won the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and claimed silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She announced in April she plans to retire at the end of this season.
Kylie Price placed ninth in the women’s long jump with a top mark of 6.21. Price was an All-American all four years at UCLA, graduating in 2016. Her best finish at the NCAA national meet was third, with a leap of 21 feet, 10.25 inches in the long jump.
Kendall Gustafson was in 10th place in the heptathlon in Des Moines but did not start in the final event, the 800-meter dash. The 2018 graduate finished fourth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her best finishes were second and third in the javelin and high jump, respectively.
Softball and gymnastics
Angie Forburger, assistant Sports editor
UCLA softball rising redshirt junior pitcher Rachel Garcia and former gymnastics team member Peng-Peng Lee were finalists for the 2018 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the Honda Cup.
The Honda Sports Award is presented to the top female athletes in 12 NCAA sports. Of the 12 recipients, one takes home the Honda Cup.
Garcia earned a plethora of Player of the Year awards this season, including USA Softball, NFCA and espnW National Player of the Year.
She led the Bruins in pitching with a 1.31 ERA and a 29-4 overall record, while also batting .339 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs on the year.
Garcia pitched in 23 of UCLA’s 27 innings at the Women’s College World Series and posted 42 strikeouts, two wins and three complete games.
She is the seventh UCLA softball player to win the Honda Award and the first since 2003, when Natasha Watley received the award and later went on to win the Honda Cup.
Lee led UCLA gymnastics to its first NCAA title since 2010 and was also a finalist for the Honda Inspiration Award, persevering through injuries during her six seasons with the Bruins.
She is the sixth member of UCLA gymnastics and the first international gymnast to win the Honda Award.
Garcia and Lee attended the award ceremony on June 25, where Stanford swimmer Simone Manuel won the Honda Cup.