Mazeika's Elite Gymnastics

Information may not be reliable

USA Gymnastics names 2010 Hall of Fame inductees

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., March 23, 2010 1996 Olympic team gold-medalist Dominique Moceanu of Cleveland, Ohio, 1992 Olympic team bronze-medalist Wendy Bruce-Martin of Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Olympians Jennifer Parilla (2000, trampoline) of Newport Beach, Calif., and Kip Simons (1996, men) of Larkspur, Colo., are among the 2010 class of inductees for the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. The class also includes: 2004 and 2008 U.S. Mens Olympic Team head coach Kevin Mazeika of Houston; 2000 U.S. Olympic trampoline coach Robert Null of Mission Viejo, Calif.; and for lifetime achievement, Ellen Nyemcsik of Hackensack, N.J. (rhythmic gymnastics).

We are proud to recognize the 2010 inductees for their accomplishments and contributions to gymnastics, said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. The rich history of USA Gymnastics is reflected by those inducted into this prestigious group. Congratulations to each and every one of our honorees.

The 2010 USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame luncheon and induction ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 13, as part of the USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show in Hartford, Conn., which is held in conjunction with the 2010 Visa Championships. Ticket and other information on the luncheon and induction ceremony will be available at www.usa-gymnastics.org.

The USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and group gymnastics.

2010 USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductees

Wendy Bruce. Bruce, who lives in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and now goes by Bruce-Martin, was a member of the U.S. womens team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Bruce-Martin, who trained with Browns Gymnastics, was also a member of the 1989 World Championships team that competed in Stuttgart, Germany, and placed fourth in the team competition. Her other accomplishments during her seven-year international gymnastics career included: winning the team title at the USA-Japan event in the Dodge Challenge in 1992; first in the all-around, vault and balance beam at the 1990 USA-German Democratic Republic dual meet of the Pyramid Challenge; tying for fourth in the all-around at the USA-USSR event in the 1989 McDonalds Challenge; and winning the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise and finishing second in the all-around and balance beam at the 1989 Belgium International Gym Masters. Bruce-Martin competed in five U.S. national championships, winning the uneven bars bronze in 1992 and finishing fifth in the all-around in both 1989 and 1991. She also won the all-around and vault, with second on the uneven bars and floor, at the 1992 U.S. Classic. She was sixth in the all-around at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials. Bruce-Martin is a graduate of Seminole Community College and is a gymnastics coach; a fitness professional and speaker; and an inspirational speaker on women's and sports topics, including mental toughness training. She is married and has two children.

Kevin Mazeika. Mazeika, a native of Houston, began coaching mens gymnastics in 1984 and has served on the National Team Coaching Staff since 1988. He has coached at more than 35 international competitions and has been head or assistant coach at 15 international team events. While he was serving as head coach, the U.S. Mens Team recorded some of the USAs most successful performances in recent history. For the first time, the U.S. men won team medals in back-to-back Olympic Games silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008, representing the U.S. mens best Olympic team finishes since they won the team gold medal in 1984. 2004 was the mens first team medal in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1932. Mazeika also was the head coach for the 2007, 2003 and 2001 World Championships Team. The U.S. men earned the team silver medal at both the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. Prior to 2001, the men had not won a world team medal since 1979. Mazeika, who was named the U.S. mens national team coordinator in December 2009, was the mens program manager at the Houston Gymnastics Academy and owner of Mazeika's Elite Gymnastics. He was the personal coach of two Olympians, seven World Championship team members, a world champion, nine World Cup medalists, 52 national team members and 33 national champions. Mazeika is married and has two daughters.

Dominique Moceanu. Moceanu was a member of the 1996 U.S. Womens Olympic Team, dubbed the Magnificent Seven after they won the USAs first womens team gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She also won the all-around title at the 1998 Goodwill Games, becoming the first non-Russian to earn this title. In 1995, she became the youngest woman to win the U.S. senior national all-around title (age 13); helped the USA to a team bronze medal at the World Championships, where she was the only individual American medalist (silver on balance beam). Among her many accomplishments are: youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team (14); youngest person featured on a Wheaties box (14); won the U.S. junior national all-around, vault and floor exercise titles in 1994; and five-time medalist at the 1992 Junior Pan American Games. She was inducted as a member of the 1996 Olympic Team into both the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008. Currently Moceanu, who is married and has two children, is involved with camps, clinics, speaking engagements and appearances across the country, as well as writing a gymnastics children's book series for middle-school students that is scheduled for release by Disney*Hyperion in 2012. She graduated from John Carroll University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in business management.

Robert Null. Null of Mission Viejo, Calif., coached Jennifer Parilla, who became the first U.S. trampolinist to compete in the Olympic Games when the sport made its Olympic debut in 2000 and qualified for her second Games in 2004. He currently coaches Logan Dooley, who was the alternate for the 2008 Olympics and, in 2009, became the first U.S. man to win a World Cup event in individual and synchronized trampoline. Null has coached at 28 national championships, 13 World Championships and the 2000 Olympic Games. A coach since 1970, his accomplishments include: 2000 Olympic coach; coach of more than 40 national champions (Level 10 and above); coach of seven medalists at World Age Group Competitions; 10-time U.S. trampoline coach at World Championships; Milton Davis Award for senior level coaches; and three-time National Trampoline Coach of the Year (1989, 1997, 2000). In addition to coaching, Null was an international trampoline judge who worked World Team Trials, national championships and various international events. He also has held positions on several senior technical committees. He was a member of the California State University at Fullertons gymnastics team from 1970-72, which won the NCAA Division II national title in 1971-72. He earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education and a California teaching certificate from CSUF.

Jennifer Parilla. Parilla, a native of Newport Beach, Calif., was the first U.S. gymnast to compete in trampoline in the Olympic Games. Trampoline made its Olympic debut in 2000, and she represented the United States in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, finishing 9th and 14th, respectively. From 1993-2004, she won five U.S. individual and five U.S. synchronized trampoline titles, along with two double mini-trampoline national crowns. She also has five World Age Group medals, finishing first on trampoline and second on double mini-trampoline in 1994. At the World Championships, she was a member of bronze-medal trampoline team in 2005 and the double-mini squads that won the team title in 1994 and the bronze medal in 1998. Parilla won the individual double-mini silver medal at the 1998 Worlds. She finished in the top seven at eight trampoline World Cup events, including a second place finish in 1996. At the Olympic Selection event for the 2000 Olympic Games, she was ninth, and at the 2000 Olympic Test Event, she finished 6th.

Kip Simons. Simons, a native of Bloomsburg, Pa., competed on the 1994 and 1995 World Championship teams and was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Mens Gymnastics Team. He and his teammates won team gold medals at the 1995 Pan-American Games and the 1994 Pacific Alliance Championships, where he also earned the silver on still rings. At the 1996 nationals, he won the still rings title, was second on parallel bars and fourth in the all-around. During a successful college career at Ohio State, Simons earned numerous honors throughout his four years, including the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Nissen-Emery Award, which is given to the nation's top senior gymnast. He was a four-year member of the All-Big 10 team, while earning four Big 10 Conference titles on the parallel bars (1992, 1994), still rings (1992) and high bar (1993). He graduated from OSU in 1996 with a degree in exercise physiology. In 2006, Simons was one of 12 Ohio State alumni inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame. He currently is the head coach of the Air Force Academy men's gymnastics team. Prior to his appointment at the Academy, Simons spent five seasons with the University of California Berkeley Bears. He was an assistant coach from 2001-05 and then held the title of associate head coach for the final year of his stay in Berkeley. He received the West Region Coach of the Year Award in 2008 and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year in 2006. Simons is married.

Ellen Garlicki Nyemcsik. Nyemcsik of Hackensack, N.J., has been instrumental in the growth and organization of U.S. rhythmic gymnastics. She has been involved at all levels (athlete, administrator, coach, judge). In 1973, Nyemcsik became the first rhythmic Region 5 chairperson when rhythmic officially became a discipline of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (now doing business as USA Gymnastics). In addition to organizing the region, she started a member newsletter about the regions activities. She was also competing, coaching and judging rhythmic. She attended her first international judges class in 1976 and went on to earn her international Brevet status. Nyemcsik, who served on several national rhythmic committees, proposed developing written rules, which resulted in rhythmics first operating code and rules and policies in the early 1980s. She has judged many domestic and international events, including the 1996 Olympic Games. An artistic gymnast in high school and college, Nyemcsik first learned of rhythmic gymnastics in 1971, while she was both competing and teaching artistic gymnastics. She decided to switch to rhythmic and competed in the first National Championships in Downers Grove, Ill., in 1973. Nyemcsik became a member of the first USA Group National Team, competing in both the 1978 Pan Pacific Championships and 1979 World Championships. After performing in exhibitions for a year, she retired and established her own business selling rhythmic gymnastics apparatus. Nyemcsik graduated from William Paterson College of New Jersey with a Bachelor of Arts in health and physical education. She continues to be very involved as a judge and is a technical representative to the National Rhythmic Administrative Committee.