Gophers Lexy Ramler named top senior gymnast in nation

Lexy Ramler's wowed the judge on Saturday to score a perfect 10. (Gophers/Big 10 Network)

Lexy Ramler will leave the University of Minnesota as one of the best athletes in the history of the women’s gymnastics program. On Wednesday, she was named the top female gymnast in the country.

The senior from St. Michael was named the winner of the AAI Award, which goes to the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the nation. The honor is voted on by head coaches across the country. It’s just the second time a Minnesota gymnast has won the award. Ramler joins Lindsay Mable, who won it in 2016.

"It is such an honor to be the recipient of the AAI Award and be included in such an incredible group of athletes," Ramler said. "There are so many talented individuals in NCAA gymnastics, so to be grouped in this category means so much to me. We have all worked so hard and have had such unique experiences. I am incredibly grateful for this honor."

Ramler was a finalist along with Alyssa Baumann (Florida), Anastasia Webb (Oklahoma), Lynnzee Brown (Denver), Nia Dennis (UCLA) and Kyana George (California).

In her senior season, Ramler earned a perfect 10 on both the vault and balance beam, and set a program record by scoring a 39.850 in the all-around in one competition. That’s after earning her first perfect 10 on beam in January of 2020. Ramler won 31 event titles this year and earned Big Ten Gymnast of the Week six times.

She finished the season tied for first in the nation on the balance beam, third on bars and tied for fifth on the vault. She was also second in the nation in the all-around. Ramler won Big Ten titles on bars, beam and the all-around, and won Big Ten Gymnast of the year for the third time.

Ramler finished her season at the NCAA Championships, tying for fifth on beam and taking 11th in the all-around. Like other senior NCAA athletes, Ramler has the option to return to the Gophers one more year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.