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Huskie gymnast, NCAA qualifier Tanya Rachan earns MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors

March 28, 2012
Tanya Rachan

Tanya Rachan

Northern Illinois University gymnast Tanya Rachan (Lowell, Ind./Hanover Central HS) was named the Mid-American Conference’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.

The award is voted on by a select group of faculty athletic representatives from the conference’s member institutions.

Rachan, an NCAA Regional qualifier on floor exercise, led the Huskies at the MAC Gymnastics Championships with a pair of top-four finishes

Rachan took second on floor exercise in the meet with a 9.900 score, tying her career and season best mark and tying for the fourth-best all-time at Northern Illinois. Rachan led the Huskies to a team score of 49.175 on floor exercise which ranks as the third-highest team floor score in school history.

She also tied for fourth place on vault with a 9.850 to set her career high mark and tie for the 11th best in school history. Her scores on floor and vault were the top scores on those events by any NIU gymnast this season.

This was the first time Rachan, who boasts a 3.404 GPA in biology, received the honor in her career. She joins Kristin Hoffman, Ryan Neir, Nabal Jefferson and Brad Dieckhaus as Northern Illinois athletes who have won the honor this season.

The Huskies are back in action Saturday, April 7, at the NCAA Regionals in Champaign, Ill. Rachan will be joined at the meet by teammate Kim Gotlund, while Ashley Guerra and Natalie Sutter are alternates.

For more information on NIU gymnastics and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.