Amid all his other accomplishments, senior Justin Spring has now done something that only one other gymnast in Illinois history has done. Spring, a seven-time All-American and two-time USA National team member, received the prestigious Nissen-Emery award Wednesday night in Norman, Okla. The award, considered the “Heisman of gymnastics” is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding senior.

Spring, who was named the 2006 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, is the first Illini to receive the award since David Zeddies accomplished the feat in 1989 – the same year as the Illini’s last national championship.

Spring, who said he was nervous walking up to the podium to accept the award, said that his success in gymnastics has come from being at Illinois.

“I’ve gotten so much from this program, and specifically these people on my team,” Spring said. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this program, let alone be accepting an award of that caliber.”

A native of Burke, Va., Spring beat out seven other finalists, including Chad Buczek (Penn State), Nate Downs (Stanford), Jamie Henderson (Oklahoma), Ramon Jackson (William and Mary), Michael Reavis (Iowa) and Gerry Signorelli (Michigan). The Nissen-Emery award was named in honor of George Nissen, a three-time NCAA champion at Iowa, and for Dr. Bob Emery, the 1969 winner of the Nissen award.

The award winner must also display the qualities of sportsmanship and fair play and maintain a high standard of scholarship. In his four years at Illinois, Spring has won two individual national championships – the high bar title in 2004 and the parallel bars title in 2005 – and is also the 2005 Visa U.S. Championships high bar champion. At Illinois, he has flourished in an atmosphere that he says he may not have found at other universities. His numerous individual accomplishments, head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said are what make Spring the right choice for the award.

“He’s the very obvious choice,” Hayasaki said. “He’s certainly deserving, and someone who has done a lot more than the other candidates.”

Spring and the rest of the Illini will look to close out the year with a team championship tonight. It is the only thing that remains missing from Spring’s resume.

“Everyone is going to put in 110 percent effort,” Hayasaki said. “And we are going to try to win an NCAA national championship.”