SAN FRANCISCO — The Pac-12 Conference announced today the All-Pac-12 women’s gymnastics honors for the 2020 season, as determined by a polling of the Conference coaches. UCLA’s Kyla Ross was named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year for the second season in a row. UTAH’s Kim Tessen earned Pac-12 Specialist of the Year. CALIFORNIA’s Nevaeh DeSouza was tabbed the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Utah head coach, Tom Farden, was voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The All-Pac-12 First Team and Honorable Mention honorees were also announced.

GYMNAST OF THE YEAR: Kyla Ross, Sr., UCLA (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) 
Kyla Ross is just the second Pac-12 gymnast to earn this title in back-to-back years. The senior has completed a historical collegiate career with 22 10s. Ross has been an exceptional performer not only for the Bruins, but for the United States. She became the first female gymnast ever to win Olympic, World and NCAA championships. This season, she was undefeated in the all-around, earning eight titles in the event. Ross is the Pac-12’s top-ranked performer on bars, beam and in the all-around. She also ranks second on vault and is tied for second on floor in the conference. Ross is the only student-athlete this season to be named to the All-Pac-12 first team in each event. As a senior, Ross has secured three career-bests on vault (10.0), bars (two 10.0s) and in the all-around (39.825). Ross led UCLA with 34 individual titles out of a possible 45. She ended the season ranked first in the country on bars with an outstanding average score of 9.960. Nationally, Ross finishes tied for second on beam, third in the all-around and tied for fourth on floor. Ross is a five-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week and two-time Pac-12 Specialist of the week this season. She is a 13-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week over the course of her career.

SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Kim Tessen, Sr., Utah (Orem, Utah)
Senior captain Kim Tessen had a breakout season and headlined Utah's first undefeated regular season since 1993. Tessen helped lead the Utes to claim the first-ever Pac-12 regular season title. She also guided Utah in knocking off the three-highest ranked Pac-12 teams all on the road. The Utah native recorded a team-high 10 event victories this season. The senior posted career-highs in every event she competed in this season, earning a 10.0 on vault, 9.975 on bars, and 9.925 on floor. She consistently recorded a 9.90 on at least one event in every meet. Tessen scored a 10 on vault against Stanford for the first perfect score of her career, and finished as the top vaulter in the Pac-12. Tessen is one of just six gymnasts in the NCAA to score a 10 on vault this year. She also finished ninth in the nation on vault with a 9.91 national qualifying score. She completed this season ranked second in the Pac-12 on bars and tied for ninth in the country with a 9.920 national qualifying score. She hit the 9.90 mark on floor four times in her six routines this year. Tessen is a two-time Pac-12 Specialist of the Week this season.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Nevaeh DeSouza, Fr., California (Fairfield, Calif.)
Nevaeh DeSouza completes her first Pac-12 Gymnastics season with a league-best three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. She has burst onto the collegiate gymnastics scene, having a strong impact on her team. DeSouza has competed in the all-around in each of the 10 Golden Bears’ meets. She has hit every single one of her 40 events this year. DeSouza impressively posted season-high totals of 9.90 or above on vault (9.925), bars (9.90) and beam (9.90). In the all-around, she ranks sixth overall in the Pac-12 and 20th in the country with a national qualifying score of 39.350. She has posted the highest all-around score by a conference freshman (39.475) this season. Additionally, DeSouza has earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 All-Around First Team. She is the third-highest ranked freshman all-around performer in the nation.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Tom Farden, Utah (Dayton, Minn.)
Tom Farden became the sole head coach of the Utah gymnastics program in April 2019 following his role as the co-head coach since 2016. In his 10^th year at Utah, he has led the program to its second-ever undefeated regular season (11-0 overall, 7-0 in the Pac-12). Under his outstanding leadership, the Utes have been named the inaugural Pac-12 regular season champions. Farden’s gymnasts have won 16 NCAA regional titles, 15 Pac-12 championships and 77 All-American honors. In addition to those impressive accolades, he has coached MyKayla Skinner to two NCAA individual championship titles and Georgia Dabritz to a single NCAA individual championship title. He has coached the Utes to one Pac-12 team championship title (2017), three first-place finishes at NCAA Regionals, and two Super Six appearances. In 2008, he was named the NCAA Region Coach of the Year. Farden continues to be an excellent representative of the Pac-12 as a national leader in the sport. He has served on the Ethics Committee of the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (formerly National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women) since 2006. Farden’s dedication has elevated the Red Rocks’ to one of the premier programs in the nation. 

All-Pac-12 First Team: Consists of the top six all-around performers (first through sixth place, including ties), and top six performers in each individual event (first place through sixth place, including ties) based on regional qualifying scores.

All-Pac-12 All-Around First Team
Kyla Ross, UCLA
Kyana George, California
Evanni Roberson, Washington
Maya Bordas, California
Kyla Bryant, Stanford
Nevaeh DeSouza, California

All-Pac-12 Vault First Team
Kim Tessen, Utah
Kyla Ross, UCLA
Maddi Leydin, Arizona
Alexia Burch, Utah
Kyana George, California
Milan Clausi, California
Geneva Thompson, Washington 

All-Pac-12 Bars First Team
Kyla Ross, UCLA
Kim Tessen, Utah
Margzetta Frazier, UCLA
Maya Bordas, California
Madison Copiak, Washington
Cristal Isa, Utah

All-Pac-12 Beam First Team
Kyla Ross, UCLA
Grace Glenn, UCLA
Abby Paulson, Utah
Cristal Isa, Utah
Maile O’Keefe, Utah
Evanni Roberson, Washington

All-Pac-12 Floor First Team
Gracie Kramer, UCLA
Kristyn Hoffa, Washington
Kyla Ross, UCLA
Maya Washington, Washington
Kyla Bryant, Stanford
Sydney Soloski, Utah

All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention: Consists of seventh and eighth place performances in each individual event and the all-around (including ties) based on regional qualifying scores.

All-Pac-12 All-Around Honorable Mention
Juliette Boyer, Arizona State
Gracie Reeves, Arizona State

All-Pac-12 Vault Honorable Mention
Nia Dennis, UCLA

All-Pac-12 Bars Honorable Mention
Cairo Leonard-Baker, Arizona State
Emi Watterson, California
Missy Reinstadtler, Utah
Christina Berg, Arizona

All-Pac-12 Beam Honorable Mention
Adrienne Randall, Utah
Norah Flatley, UCLA
Madi Dagen, Oregon State
Kyana George, California

All-Pac-12 Floor Honorable Mention
Nia Dennis, UCLA
Kaitlyn Yanish, Oregon State
Felicia Hano, UCLA