Spence Garners AAI Award Nomination

Nebraska women’s gymnastics senior Emma Spence was named an AAI Award nominee, as the American Athletic Inc. announced the list on Monday.

This prestigious award, tabbed the “Heisman of Gymnastics,” is presented to the most outstanding senior collegiate female gymnast in the country and is voted on by NCAA women’s gymnastics head coaches.

The Canadian has been a strong leader for her team during her career at NU. Athletically, she has posted career highs of 9.9+ in every event she has competed in – 9.950 on vault, 9.975 on bars, 9.925 on balance beam and 9.950 on floor, with an all-around score of 39.650. Just this season, she has scored a 9.900 or higher on bars five times and earned a Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award. She has 40 individual titles over her career and she is fourth in the Big Ten on bars with an average of 9.883 and fifth in the all-around with a 39.303. 

Outside of gymnastics, Spence is a three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American, two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, two-time Academic All-Big Ten member and has been on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll every semester since she has been enrolled at NU. She has earned Nebraska’s gold academic medallion twice, which requires a GPA of 3.75 or higher, and has been a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship team every year of her tenure, showcasing her passion for serving her community. 

The senior has participated in speaking around the world, including being nominated by FIG to speak at the G7 Summit in Japan as the Canadian representative. There, she was part of a group that spoke about how to improve the culture of gymnastics at the World Championships, bringing gymnasts from all of the G7 countries together in efforts to bring a message of peace. She was also a speaker for the SDRCC to all national sport organizations in Canada, representing as a member of their athlete advisory committee where she talked about healing from harm in sports.