NORMAN, Okla. – Senior Brody Malone won the 2022 Nissen-Emery Award, presented to the nation's most outstanding senior gymnast, while fellow senior Curran Phillips was awarded CGA Specialist of the Year on Thursday from the annual College Gymnastics Association Awards Banquet.
The most coveted award in collegiate gymnastics, the Nissen-Emery recipient is selected based on gymnastic achievement, sportsmanship and academic excellence.
Malone becomes the sixth Stanford men's gymnast to earn the highest honor in the sport, joining Akash Modi (2017), Eddie Penev (2013), Dan Gill (2004), Josh Stein (1995) and Steve Hug (1974). The native of Summerville, Ga. is the fourth honoree mentored by head coach Thom Glielmi.
One of the most decorated gymnasts in Stanford history, Malone is a five-time NCAA individual national champion, having won the all-around and high bar crowns in 2019 and 2021. He also won the floor title as a freshman to become the first Stanford gymnast to win three individual NCAA titles in one season.
The four-time MPSF Gymnast of the Year is the reigning U.S. all-around champion and represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – finishing fourth on horizontal bar and 10th in the all-around. He has also captured a bronze medal on horizontal bar at the 2021 World Championships and earned a trio of medals at the 2022 Cottbus World Cup – including gold on horizontal bar and bronze on parallel bars and pommel horse.
Most recently on the international stage, Malone helped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2022 DTB Pokal Team Challenge in Stuttgart, Germany.
A 12-time All-American, Malone became the fourth Cardinal gymnast in program history to record five All-America honors in one championship meet – managing the feat in the 2019 national championship.
In his most recent collegiate meet, Malone won the MPSF all-around and horizontal bar titles for the second consecutive season while guiding Stanford to the 2022 MPSF Championship – the first for the Cardinal since 2011.
In the classroom, Malone carries a 3.30 GPA as a management science and engineering major.
The original Nissen Award was named in honor of George Nissen, a former NCAA champion, for his contributions to men's gymnastics. The award was re-named the Nissen-Emery Award in 1998 to honor Dr. Robert Emery, a Penn State graduate, who won the Nissen Award in 1969.
The Nissen-Emery Award is inscribed with the following motto: "The true champion seeks excellence physically, mentally, socially, and morally".
Phillips was named Specialist of the Year for his work on parallel bars this season. He enters the national championship qualifier ranked second nationally on parallel bars with a four-score average of 15.050.
The native of Naperville, Ill. owns the second-highest collegiate score this year in the event (15.450) and has won three parallel bars titles this season.
Phillips proved consistent on his way to the parallel bars title at the 2022 Winter Cup, registering a 16.343 on Friday before hitting for a 16.643 on Sunday. Phillips, who also finished as the runner-up on horizontal bar at the Winter Cup, was the only gymnast to go 16+ on parallel bars at the annual event.
After earning his spot on the U.S. Senior National Team, Phillips helped lead the U.S. to gold at the 2022 DTB Pokal Mixed Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. There, Phillips won the parallel bars title with a 15.050 while also finishing first on VT (14.200) and second on HB (12.900). Outside of parallel bars, Phillips ranks No. 2 nationally on vault (14.783) and 14th on horizontal bar (13.517).
No. 1 Stanford will compete for a third consecutive national championship this week, beginning with a national qualifying meet on Friday at 11 a.m. PT. Saturday's national championship meet is set for 4 p.m. PT.
