ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior Emily Leese and junior Elia Aird of Rutgers gymnastics have been named 2024 Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch, announced by the conference office on Wednesday.

Leese heads into her senior season already the Scarlet Knights' record-holder on vault with a score of 9.925, tying the school's best mark by performing a Yurchenko 1.5 in the 2023 regular season finale victory over UPenn & West Virginia, contributing to a program-record team score of 196.875 and tying the school vault team record with a 49.275. The vault stamped another standout year for Leese, who qualified for her second consecutive NCAA Regional Championships on the apparatus. Posting four 9.9+'s on floor last season, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania native also stepped into a starting role on the beam rotation, posting her career-high 9.850 at the 2023 Big Ten Championships.

Leese is elite in and out of the gym with a mention on the WCGA Scholar All-America list and an appearance on the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards.

Aird is an all-around threat for the Scarlet Knights, sporting collegiate career-highs of 9.850 and above on all four events. A 2022 Big Ten Gymnast to Watch as a freshman, Aird competed in her first collegiate all-around in her 2023 sophomore season opener in Las Vegas before suffering an injury that removed her from a few events throughout most of the year. Aird overcame the injury and returned to vault during the regular season finale and team record-setting 196.875 overall score. Aird contributed a career-high 9.875 on the vault, also sparking the squad to tie the program standard in the event at 49.275.

Aird is also successful in the classroom, joining Leese on the WCGA Scholar All-America awards and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar list.

Leese, Aird, and the Scarlet Knights open the 2024 season on Fri., Jan. 5 at UNC before hosting their home opener on Sat., Jan. 13 in a quad meet against Southern Connecticut State, Oregon State, and Utica at 2 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena.


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