SAN FRANCISCO – Cal fifth-year senior Emi Watterson became the team's first Pac-12 award winner of the 2022 season when she earned the Coaches Choice Award from the league's office on Tuesday.
 
This is the third time in her career that Watterson has earned a Pac-12 weekly award. She previously was named Specialist of the Week twice, once during the 2020 season and once last year, when she had a perfect 10.0 on uneven bars.
 
Watterson was competing in her first meet of the 2022 season on Saturday against Oregon State and the Brisbane, Australia native recorded a 9.925 score on beam and tied for the event win with Olympic Gold Medalist Jade Carey, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
 
However, it was the circumstances around Watterson's absence, which earned her recognition from the league's coaches. Watterson left the team after her father suddenly passed away on December 19. She returned to Australia to be with her family and attend his funeral. Due to COVID restrictions, Watterson spent nearly a month away with minimal practice time, before returning to Berkeley and practicing for the first time on January 24.
 
Five days later, she was anchoring Cal's beam lineup and tallying the top score at the meet. After she landed her routine the Cal team swarmed her for an emotional Bear hug.  
 
"Emi has been back from Australia since last Friday, but we didn't see her until Monday's practice because we were in Washington," Crandall-Howell said. "I think that she got to train a little bit when she was in Australia, but she was really happy to be back and we're thrilled to have her back. Her gymnastics is stunning, but the holes that we felt while she was away are enormous; her personality, her jokes, how she supports others. Those were voids we were missing and to have her come back and hit one of her best beam routines was an incredibly emotional moment for everyone that knows what she's been through in the last month."
 
The Bears will be back in action on Friday evening as they travel to Stanford. The meet will begin at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal women's gymnastics, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWGym), Instagram (@CalWGym) and Facebook (/CalWGym/).