Athens, GA - Former Georgia gymnastics standout Courtney Kupets has been named a recipient of the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award, it was announced Friday. The Today’s Top VIII Awards are presented to eight outstanding student-athletes who have completed their athletics eligibility. It recognizes their athletic success, academic accomplishments, community service and leadership.

The Top VIII honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which is composed of eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

As a senior in 2009, Kupets led Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA Championship title, and she won the all-around, bars, beam and floor individual competitions. She became the first gymnast ever to win a national title in all four events and received five First-Team All-America honors, making a total of 15 for her career, the maximum for only competing three years.

Kupets is the all-time NCAA leader with nine individual championships and was named SEC Athlete of the Year, as well as the AAI National, NCAA Southeast Regional and SEC Gymnast of the Year. Kupets became the third Gym Dog ever to record a 10.0 in all four events, and she had seven 10.0s in 2009, including three at the NCAAs.

She was a National Honor Society member, was chosen as ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American and was a recipient of NCAA and SEC postgraduate scholarships. She was also a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and a recipient of the Richard B. Russell Student Leadership Award. She won UGA’s Marilyn Vincent Award as the senior female student-athlete with the highest GPA.

Earlier this year, Kupets won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete. In addition, she was nominated for an ESPY award in the category of Best Female College Athlete in June.

The other seven recipients of the award include Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst (golf), Pittsburg State’s Venessa Lee (cross country and indoor and outdoor track), Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg (ice hockey), Wheaton’s Kent Raymond (basketball), Alabama’s Brittany Rogers (softball), Arizona State’s Sarah Stevens (indoor and outdoor track) and Florida’s Tim Tebow (football). The group will be presented with the award on Jan. 15 during the NCAA Honors Celebration at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.