UCLA alumna Tasha Schwikert was announced Monday as a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame Class of 2012. Schwikert and the 2012 Hall of Fame class will be inducted formally on Saturday, June 30 as part of the USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show during the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California.

 

Schwikert, who is already in the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2003 U.S. Women's World Championship team, is the second UCLA woman to be inducted as an individual, joining 2011 honoree Kristen Maloney. The two were teammates at UCLA in 2005 and at the Olympic Games in 2000.

 

Schiwkert enjoyed a very successful elite and collegiate gymnastics career. In 2000, she was a member of the U.S. women's team that won the Olympic team bronze medal, and she also served as the team captain of the 2003 squad that won the United States' first-ever team gold medal at the World Championships and was a team bronze medalist at the 2001 World Championships. Schwikert dominated at the 2002 Visa National Championships, winning the all-around for the second consecutive year and also capturing the uneven bars and floor exercise titles.

 

At UCLA, Schwikert became the first UCLA gymnast and only the seventh woman ever to win multiple all-around titles at the NCAA Championships, capturing the crown as a freshman in 2005 and as a senior in 2008. She also won the uneven bars title in 2008. In 2007, Schwikert won four of five Pac-10 individual titles (all-around, vault, beam and floor) to tie a conference record and led UCLA to the team title en route to being named the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. She was also the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2005. Schwikert finished her career as a 12-time All-American and a school record-holder on uneven bars and floor exercise with a pair of perfect 10s on each event.

 

Schwikert has been a TV commentator for international, national and collegiate gymnastics events and currently works at Wasserman Media Group in the Olympic Sports Division. She plans on attending law school in the fall of 2012.

 

Joining Schwikert in the Class of 2012 are two-time Olympian Marshall Avener; six-time World tumbling champion Jon Beck; 1982 U.S. rhythmic gymnastics all-around champion and Athlete of the Year Lydia Bree; 1982 World synchronized trampoline gold-medalist Mark Calderon; 1968 Olympian Wendy Cluff Perez; and World Championship and World Games trampoline coach Paul Swafford.

via uclabruins.com