STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford women’s gymnast Kristina Vaculik earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to continue her academic endeavors, as announced by the NCAA recently.
Vaculik, a human biology major with a 3.36 GPA, is the only Cardinal student-athlete to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and is one of 29 women student-athletes nationally to receive the award.
Vaculik is a three-time first team All-American, three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, a 2014 All-Pac-12 first team selection and a 2014 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional co-champion on bars. She excelled in international competition as well and deferred what would have been her sophomore season to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics with Team Canada. Vaculik helped lead the Canadian team to a fifth-place result – the best finish in country history.
Vaculik helped lead Stanford to one of its best showings at an NCAA Championships in program history in 2015, contributing scores in the semifinals and Super Six competitions.
Stanford qualified to its eighth NCAA Championships in the past nine years, and 15th time overall, and made its seventh Super Six in the past 14 years. The Cardinal registered its third-highest score at an NCAA Championships in program history during the semifinals (197.175) and eclipsed that total to earn its second-best score at the finals competition (197.250) during the Super Six.
Six Stanford gymnasts combined for nine All-America honors – the most since 2012. The Cardinal has now accumulated 110 All-America honors all-time, including 89 since 2002.
To qualify for a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, student-athletes must excel academically and athletically, be in their final year of eligibility and plan to pursue graduate study. Student-athletes must maintain at least a 3.2 grade-point average and be outstanding citizens and excellent role models for the institution and intercollegiate athletics as a whole.