Gustavus Adolphus College student-athlete Nicole Gergen (gymnastics) has been selected as one of 58 student-athletes from across the country to receive a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for the winter sport season. Gergen was the only student-athlete from a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference institution selected to receive the $7,500 award this winter.
Since the start of the 2003-04 academic year, Gustavus ranks third for the most postgraduate scholars among all NCAA schools (Division I, II, III). Emory has the most postgraduate scholars with 21, followed by Stanford with 19 and Gustavus with 11. Gergen is the 21st Gustavus student athlete to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in the history of the program and the third this academic year following Hailey Harren (women’s cross country) and Alex Zupan (men’s cross country).
Gergen, a native of Hastings, Minn., finished 11th on the balance beam and 29th on the floor exercise at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championships in March, earning Second Team All-America honors on the beam. A three-time qualifier for the NCGA Division III Championships on both the balance beam and floor exercise, Gergen finished eighth on the floor at the 2005 national meet and recorded the fourth highest floor exercise score in school history with a 9.75 at the 2004 national meet. She was also recognized three times on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Scholastic Honor Roll. A chemistry major with a history minor enrolled in the pre-medicine program at Gustavus, Gergen has compiled a 3.81 cumulative grade point average. She will attend medical school next fall at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
In addition to her activities in the gymnastics studio, Gergen has been active in the community working as a Gustie Greeter. She is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a national service organization, as well as the Student Athlete Advisory Board, Gustavus Chemistry Board, and Beta Beta Beta (biology honor society). She also helped to restart the Gustavus College Republicans, where she is active in voter registration and civic engagement.
The NCAA awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 male student-athletes and 29 female student-athletes from all three divisions (I, II, and III) who participated in winter sports. Those sports included men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s fencing, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s rifle, men’s and women’s skiing, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, women’s archery, women’s bowling, women’s squash, women’s team handball, and men’s wrestling.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a graduate student.