Aug. 13, 2002

Four University of Illinois men's gymnasts we named All-American Scholar-Athletes by the College Gymnastics Associaton. Erik Garnett, Robert Rogers, Ben Newman, and Bob Spelic were all honored for their outstanding performances both in the gym and the classroom. In addition, Illinois finished the season with the fifteenth highest overall team grade point average of 2.852.

Sophomore Erik Garnett posted an impressive 3.96 grade point average as a chemistry major in 2001-02. The Mandeville, Louisiana native posted his best finish last season on the vault by scoring 9.20 to take second place against Illinois-Chicago.

Sophomore Bob Rogers, who is from West Allis, Wisconsin, earned a 3.75 G.P.A. as a pre-medicine major for the 2001-02 academic year. Rogers qualified for three events at the 2002 NCAA Championships. He participated in the preliminary rounds on the high bar, pommel horse, and floor exercise.

Freshman Ben Newman finished his first year with a 3.70 G.P.A. The Denver, Colorado native scored a career high of 9.575 on the pommel horse to advance to the finals at the Big Ten Championships. Newman took fourth on the apparatus at the prestigious Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Junior Bob Spelic is a biology major earned a 3.57 G.P.A in 2001-02. The Cheswick, Pennsylvania native was a team captain for the 2001-02 Illini squad and was one of the top performers on the team before missing the final month of the regular season with a back injury. He did return to perform in the Big Ten Championships.

To become an All-American Scholar-Athlete each gymnast must attain a grade point average of 3.50 or better and earn a minimum NCAA gymnastics score of 8.0 during the 2001-02 academic year. The College Gymnastics Association honored Sixty-two men's gymnasts in this year.