Madison, Wis. – February 13, 2018 – Junior Lisa O’Donnell (Berwyn, Ill.) of UW-Whitewater and Alexa Vorderbruggen (Champlin, Minn.) of Hamline have been recognized for their standout performances this past weekend as the duo collected Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Gymnast of the Week honors, announced on Tuesday.
This marks the second time this season that O’Donnell, the all-around national champion from a season ago, has been recognized as the WIAC All-Around Gymnast of the Week, while Vorderbruggen is being honored as the WIAC Specialist of the Week for the first time.
O’Donnell won the all-around competition with a score of 37.950 to help the Warhawks post a team score of 188.650 to defeat UW-Stout (184.875) and remain undefeated against WIAC teams this season in a tri-meet at the Harley Davidson Invitational in Milwaukee on Feb. 9. She led the team in two events, including the floor exercise, where she posted a 9.725, her fifth consecutive score at 9.700 or above and good for a tie for second place overall. The team recorded a 48.075 on floor, good for a tie for the 17th-best score in program history. O’Donnell also led the team and tied for second on the uneven bars with a 9.675. She added scores of 9.400 on vault and 9.150 on balance beam to beat out two gymnasts from UW-Stout and one from Division II Lindenwood University (Mo.) in the final all-around standings. O’Donnell’s 37.950 is her third-highest of the season.
Vorderbruggen is making his last year of collegiate gymnastics one to remember. The Champlin, Minn. native was named WIAC Gymnastics Specialist of the Week for her efforts in the Pipers’ meet at Wis-Eau Claire February 7. Alexa won the Floor Exercise with a 9.650 score. The senior also placed sixth in the Vault with a 9.500 effort. She is the first HU gymnast to be so honored — and just the fourth ever in the Specialist category — since Sela Fadness won in February 2015. (Kambria Blakely in 2013 and Lissette LaFex were the other HU gymnasts to do so.)