GLAMOUR Magazine Names UA Senior Among Top College Women

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama gymnast Andreé Pickens is well known as one of the nation’s top collegiate athletes, but one national magazine has gone a step farther, naming her one of America’s Top College Women.

Pickens, who has won an individual NCAA Championship, nine All-American honors and handfuls of conference awards during the first three years of her career, was named one of five honorable mentions in GLAMOUR Magazine’s Top Ten College Women competition.

“Andreé is a phenomenal young woman and it is wonderful to see her honored in this way,” UA gymnastics head coach Sarah Patterson said.

“The young women chosen by GLAMOUR are leading truly awesome lives. Andreé was one of only two athletes among the 15 honorees, and while her athletic accomplishments are impressive, I think she was chosen as much for her positive impact in the community as anything else.”

Pickens, originally from Houston, Texas, was selected from more than 600 applicants. The final 10 and the five honorable mention honorees are listed in the October 2001 issue of GLAMOUR, which is on newsstands now.

“I’m impressed to even be recognized with these types of girls,” Pickens said.

In addition to winning the NCAA Balance Beam Championship as a freshman, Pickens has been named Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year twice and NCAA Regional Gymnast of the Year three times.

The senior, who’s majoring in biology, is just as formidable in the classroom-earning Academic All-SEC honors for the past two seasons. She has been inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Sigma Pi and Gamma Beta Phi honor societies. She plans to pursue a medical career after graduation.

She serves as UA’s Student Athlete Advisory Board president and the Crimson Tide’s representative to the SEC’s advisory board. This past summer she represented Alabama at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference.

When’s she’s not in the gym or the classroom, Pickens works extensively in the community. She volunteered at the Special Olympics and the Birmingham-Jefferson County United Way Campaign Kickoff. She spoke to over 10,000 area students at the Bama School Jam. She also volunteers at DCH Regional Hospital’s pediatric unit.

“My life has always been gymnastics, so to be recognized for my scholastic achievements and my work in the community is a good feeling too,” she said.

Pickens and her Crimson Tide teammates are currently training for the 2002 season that begins January 11 in Gainesville, Fla., at the Super Six Challenge. Pickens is the defending Super Six Challenge All-Around champion.

GLAMOUR Magazine’s Top Ten College Women
Roberta Capp – University of Colorado; Orlando, Fla.
Jennifer Carrier – University of Minnesota; Presho, S.D.
Janese Jackson – Hood College (Md.); Clinton, Md.
Lilly Bee Pierce – Princeton University; Fallbrook, Calif.
Erica Watson – U.S. Military Academy; McHenry, Ill.
Jessica Collier – Loyola University; Palm Harbor, Fla.
Tami Bui – University of California-Irvin; Santa Ana, Calif.
Richa Gulati – University of Texas; Dallas, Texas
Shazia Siddiqi – University of California-Berkeley; Moreno Valley, Calif.
Andrea Goldberg – Yale University; Albuquerque, N.M.

GLAMOUR Magazine’s Top Ten College Women – Honorable Mention
Andreé Pickens – University of Alabama; Houston, Texas
Aisha D. Gayle – Yale University; Washington, N.J.
Jennie Frenklakh – Boston University; Monterery, Calif.
Yang “Kelly” Yang – University of California-Berkeley; San Gabriel, Calif.
Ashwini Sagar – Stanford University; Tempe, Ariz.