Gymnast earns school's athlete of the week honors, will compete in nationals

Mar 24, 2015

Old Rochester Regional alum Nicole Pruchnik has been named Southern Connecticut State University’s co-athlete of the month after helping the Owls' gymnastics team set a new record.

The team scored 191.875 at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday.

Pruchnik, a junior, received the same award earlier this year. She will now compete at USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania for the third time beginning on April 9 in the beam, floor exercise, and vault.

The Rochester native matched the school’s record with a score of 9.9 on the floor exercise, which she also tied last year. She was the runner up in the event, and she also finished third on the beam with a score of 9.75.

Led by Pruchnik’s efforts, the Owls came in second place to only the University of Bridgeport, who won the title with a score of 195.225.

“This season has been a lot of fun and I am so privileged to be able to do gymnastics with the girls,” said Pruchnik. “Winning athlete of the week is a huge honor and I can't thank Southern (Connecticut State) enough for thinking I am good enough to get the honor.”

The former Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year’s gymnastics career started as a four-year-old at Kaleidoscope in Wareham, where she still works out in the offseason and volunteers helping younger gymnasts.