California women’s gymnastics athletes Annalise Newman-Achee and Tonya Paulsson have received the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first weekly honors of 2026. Newman-Achee was named ACC Gymnast of the Week, while Paulsson earned Newcomer of the Week. Both are receiving these conference awards for the first time in their careers.
Newman-Achee secured a podium finish in her debut all-around meet at the Best of the West Quad hosted by Washington, scoring a 39.200 to take silver. She tied for second on vault with a 9.850 and posted a career-best 9.900 on balance beam, which was good for fourth place at the event. After week one, she is tied for fourth nationally in the Road To Nationals all-around rankings, making her the top-ranked ACC gymnast in that category. She also holds national top-10 positions on vault (tied for seventh) and beam (tied for fifth).
A junior from Brooklyn, New York, Newman-Achee made her collegiate debut last season competing on uneven bars and eventually became a regular contributor to Cal’s lineup. She performed 11 uneven bars routines last year with two podium finishes and achieved scores of 9.825 or higher ten times, including a personal best of 9.95 at the 2025 ACC Championships, earning All-Championship team honors. In December, she was included in the ACC’s Preseason Watchlist.
Paulsson started her NCAA career by scoring a 9.925 on uneven bars during her first routine as a collegiate gymnast, tying UCLA’s Jordan Chiles and Oregon State’s Taylor DeVries for first place in that event and contributing to Cal’s leading team score on bars. This result places Paulsson tied at No.1 nationally on uneven bars after week one alongside Chiles and DeVries. In addition to bars, she competed on vault (scoring 9.775) and floor exercise (scoring 9.750), sharing twelfth place in both events as Cal finished second as a team on vault.
Paulsson is a freshman from Malmo, Sweden who has represented Sweden internationally since joining its national team in 2019. She won back-to-back Swedish all-around titles in 2019 and 2020 along with individual apparatus titles that included balance beam and floor exercise golds plus an uneven bars silver medal in 2020. Paulsson reached European all-around finals twice (2021 & 2023) and helped Team Sweden reach the European Championship final last year; she also took home gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise plus silver on uneven bars at the World Challenge Cup of Szombathely in 2024. She appeared on the ACC’s Preseason Newcomer Watchlist this past December.
“Newman-Achee had a podium finish in the all-around in her first-ever meet competing on all four events, claiming silver with a 39.200 at the Best of the West Quad hosted by Washington last Saturday,” according to California women’s gymnastics.
“She earned a share of second place on vault with a 9.850 and also recorded a career-high 9.900 balance beam routine, which tied for fourth at the meet,” California women’s gymnastics stated.
“After week one, Newman-Achee is tied for fourth in the Road To Nationals rankings, making her the highest-ranked ACC gymnast in the all-around,” California women’s gymnastics added.
“She also ranks in the top-10 nationally on vault (T-7th) and beam (T-5th),” according to California women’s gymnastics.
“Paulsson began her collegiate career with a 9.925 on uneven bars in her first-ever routine as an NCAA gymnast,” said California women’s gymnastics.
“Her score tied with UCLA’s Jordan Chiles and Oregon State’s Taylor DeVries for the event win and helped lift Cal’s squad to the top team score on the event,” they continued.
“She ties with Chiles and DeVries for the No.1 ranking in nation on uneven bars after week one,” California women’s gymnastics reported.
“Paulsson also competed on vault (9.775) and floor exercise (9.750) … earning share of twelfth place … helping Bears to second-place team finish,” said California women’s gymnastics.
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