Ashleigh Gnat

Ashleigh Gnat
Full nameAshleigh Marie Gnat
Nickname(s)Bugs
Born (1994-11-13) November 13, 1994 (age 30)
Altamonte, Florida
HometownLake Mary, Florida[1]
ResidenceBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Height152 cm (5 ft 0 in)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
College teamLSU Tigers
LevelCollege
ClubACE Gymnastics
Head coach(es)D-D Breaux
Assistant coach(es)Jay Clark
Former coach(es)Ray Gnat, Beth Martin, Jon Lee
ChoreographerAshleigh Clare-Kearney
Medal record
Representing Louisiana State Tigers
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 St. Louis Floor exercise
Silver medal – second place 2016 Fort Worth Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 St. Louis Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Birmingham Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Fort Worth Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2017 St. Louis Balance beam
Current position
TitleAssistant Coach
TeamLSU Tigers
ConferenceSEC
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2021–presentLSU Tigers (Assistant coach)

Ashleigh Marie Gnat (born November 13, 1994, in Altamonte Springs, Florida) is a former American collegiate gymnast and coach. She competed for the Louisiana State University gymnastics team from 2014 to 2017. Gnat coached as an assistant coach at Penn State in 2020. She is now an assistant coach at her alma mater, Louisiana State University.

Early life

[edit]

Gnat was born on November 13, 1994, in Altamonte Springs to parents Ray and Joan (née Moore) Gnat. Her father was an All-American gymnast for the now-defunct LSU men's gymnastics program,[2] and her mother was a 1972 Olympian.[3][4] She has three older siblings from her mother's first marriage to Bob Rice, a former Temple gymnast[5][6]—two brothers, Sean and Stephen, a film editor at Full Sail University,[7] and a sister, Jeana Rice-Helms (b. November 22, 1981), who competed for the University of Alabama and was the 2004 NCAA champion in women's gymnastics.[8][9][10]

She started gymnastics in 1997, shortly after her parents opened ACE Gymnastics, a facility in Longwood, Florida.[11][12]

Club career

[edit]

2007–09

[edit]

Gnat reached Level 9 in USA Gymnastics' Junior Olympic program at the age of 11 and finished eighth at the 2007 Eastern Championships, placing higher than the eventual 2012 Olympic all-around champion, Gabby Douglas.[13]

She moved up to Level 10 for the 2008 season, when she was 13. She placed second in the all-around at Regionals, in addition to taking the vault and bars titles,[14] and advanced to her first J.O. Nationals in Orlando, where she finished nineteenth in the all-around.[15]

A year later, Gnat was third in the all-around at States and won vault and floor.[16] At Regionals, she took home a gold medal on floor and silver medals in the all-around, on vault and on bars.[17] In mid-May, she participated in her second J.O. Nationals, finishing ninth in the all-around[18] and tying for third on floor with three other gymnasts.[19]

2010–13

[edit]

Gnat qualified to the inaugural Nastia Liukin Cup in 2010[20] and finished 21st in the all-around.[21] Later in the year, she claimed both the State and Regional all-around titles,[22][23] before tying for seventh at her third J.O. Nationals.[24] In 2011, she defended her Regional title in the all-around,[25] but a disappointing performance at Nationals left her in fifteenth place.[26]

She qualified to her second Nastia Liukin Cup in 2012[27] and placed 22nd in the all-around.[28] Later, she was the Florida champion in the all-around and on three events.[29] She tied for second in the all-around at Regionals[30] and placed fifth at Nationals in May.[31]

Gnat's final club competitive season, in 2013, turned out to be her best. At the Lady Luck Invitational in Las Vegas, she scored a perfect 10 on vault, which secured her the ranking of No. 1 in the nation on that event.[32] She also earned her third Nastia Liukin Cup berth, a rare feat.[33] At the Cup, she tied for eighth in the all-around with 2012 winner Charity Jones.[34] She was the state champion in the all-around and on three events.[35] At Regionals, she swept all five titles, logging her highest ever all-around score of 39.000 and finishing the season with the fifth highest all-around ranking in the nation.[36][37]

At her fifth and final J.O. Nationals, Gnat was second in the all-around.[38] In addition, she was the vault champion[39] and joint floor champion with Kullen Hlawek.[40] As a result, she was named to the USA Gymnastics J.O. national team.[41]

College career

[edit]

On January 9, 2012, Gnat verbally committed to the Louisiana State University women's gymnastics team.[42] She signed the National Letter of Intent on November 16, 2012.[43]

During her freshman season in 2014, she saw action on vault, beam and floor. At the SEC Championships, she contributed on vault and beam.[44]

Career Perfect 10.0

[edit]
Season Date Event Meet
2016 January 22, 2016 Vault LSU vs. Kentucky
January 30, 2016 Metroplex Challenge
February 19, 2016 Floor Exercise LSU vs. Auburn
March 4, 2016 LSU vs. Alabama
March 12, 2016 LSU @ Texas Woman's
March 19, 2016 SEC Championship
2017 January 13, 2017 Vault LSU @ Alabama
March 5, 2017 LSU vs. Florida
March 18, 2017 SEC Championship

Personal life

[edit]

Gnat graduated from Lake Mary High School in 2013.[45] She is currently studying sports administration at Louisiana State University.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ericarath.wordpress.com/usa-gymnastics/". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  2. ^ "About Us » Ace Gymnastics of Longwood, FL". Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Biography: MOORE-Rice-Gnat, Joan". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Gymn Forum: Olympic Games Results". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Gymnast Magazine - October 1974". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. ^ "grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/alab/sports/w-gym/auto_pdf/2004-media-guide-48-73.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Stephen Rice - LinkedIn". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  8. ^ "USA Gymnastics Official Biography: Jeana Rice". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  9. ^ "The Tuscaloosa News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Gymn Forum: 2004 Women's NCAA Championships". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  11. ^ Gray, David. "Gymnast brings family's prestige back to LSU". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Gnat, Ashleigh - Nastia Liukin Cup". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  13. ^ "usagym.org/PDFs/Results/Women/2007/07%20Easterns/L9-JrA-S1.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  14. ^ "GymDivas.Us - Online Resource for Gymnasts in the United States". 24 September 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  15. ^ "JO National Championships 2008 - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  16. ^ "2009 Florida Level 8/9/10 State Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  17. ^ "2009 Level 9 & 10 Region 8 Regionals - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  18. ^ "2009 Junior Olympic National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  19. ^ "2009 Junior Olympic National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Seven more gymnasts qualify for Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  21. ^ "usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_10nlsc_030510.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  22. ^ "2010 Florida Level 8, 9, 10 State Meet - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  23. ^ "2010 Region 8 Level 9, 10 Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  24. ^ "2010 Women's J.O. Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  25. ^ "2011 Region 8 Level 9 - 10 Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  26. ^ "2011 U.S. Women's Junior Olympic National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Final gymnasts qualify for 2012 Nastia Liukin Cup". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  28. ^ "usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12nlc_final.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  29. ^ "2012 Florida Prep Optional, Level 9-10 State Meet - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  30. ^ "2012 Region 8 Level 9, 10 Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  31. ^ "2012 Womens JO National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  32. ^ "America's Top 100 Level 10 Vault Scores - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  33. ^ "Jones set to defend title at 2013 Nastia Liukin Cup". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  34. ^ "usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_13nlc_final.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  35. ^ "2013 Florida Level Xcel, 9 , 10 State Championship - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  36. ^ "America's Top 100 Level 10 All Around Scores - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  37. ^ "2013 Region 8 Level 9, 10 Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  38. ^ "2013 Level 10 J.O. National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  39. ^ "2013 Level 10 J.O. National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  40. ^ "2013 Level 10 J.O. National Championships - MyMeetScores.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  41. ^ "USA Gymnastics - Women's Past Junior Olympic National Teams". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  42. ^ "2013-2014: Gnat to LSU - CollegeGymFans.com". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  43. ^ "LSU Gymnastics Signs Two in Fall Period". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  44. ^ "www.lsusports.net/pdf9/2663123.pdf?ATCLID=209441774&SPSID=27855&SPID=2171&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  45. ^ "Ashleigh Gnat Bio". Retrieved 7 June 2016.
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