WILLIAMSBURG — Having established himself as one of the nation’s elite gymnasts during his collegiate career, William & Mary standout Aidan Cuy was selected as one of 13 finalists for the 2024 College Gymnastics Association Nissen-Emery Award. The honor is considered the Heisman Trophy of Gymnastics.
Joining Cuy as finalists are Javier Alfonso (Michigan), Ashton Anaya (Illinois), Garrett Braunton (Air Force), Syam Buradagunta (Navy), Michael Fletcher (Illinois), Jack Freeman (Oklahoma), Donovan Hewitt (Ohio State), Connor McCool (Illinois), Noah Newfeld (Cal), Sam Phillips (Nebraska), Evgeny Siminiuc (Michigan) and Colt Walker (Stanford).
One of the Tribe’s top gymnasts throughout his career, Cuy won the all-around title at the 2023 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship and is a six-time USAG Collegiate All-American.
Selected as a team captain the last two seasons, Cuy is a four-time NCAA Qualifier and has earned six All-ECAC designations while being W&M’s top point scorer each of the last three seasons.
In addition to his success with the Tribe, he also competed on the national stage at the 2022 US Classic and placed 21st in all-around.
A four-time CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete First Team honoree, Cuy earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics with a 3.8 GPA. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in computational operations research.
Cuy becomes the 11th Tribe men’s gymnast to be selected as a finalist for the prestigious award, as the list includes David Williams (1992), Sabronzik Wright (1995), Scott McCall (1997), Jamie Northrup (2004), Ramon Jackson (2006), Derek Gygax (2010), Landon Funiciello (2014), Neal Courter (2017), Jacopo Gliozzi (2019) and Christian Marsh (2023).
This year’s Nissen-Emery Award will be announced at the NCAA Championship Banquet, which will be hosted by Ohio State.
The highest honor in collegiate gymnastics, the Nissen Emery Award has been presented annually since 1966 to an outstanding senior collegiate gymnast based on his achievement, sportsmanship and academic excellence.
The original Nissen Award was named in honor of George Nissen, a former NCAA champion, for his contributions to men’s gymnastics. The honor was renamed the Nissen-Emery Award in 1998 to honor Dr. Robert Emery, a Penn State graduate, who won the Nissen Award in 1969.
