Samantha Shapiro

Shapiro was born in Santa Monica, California, to Brent (a former wrestler and marathon runner) and Abbe (a former national champion baton twirler) Shapiro, and is Jewish. Her younger sister, Nicki, is also a gymnast, and a 15-time State champion. Shapiro attended Windward School in Los Angeles, and graduated in June 2011. ==Gymnastics==

She began gymnastics in 1996 through a preschool program when she was three years old. She trains at the All Olympia Gymnastics Center (AOGC) in Los Angeles with fellow National Team member Mattie Larson. Senior career Shapiro was a three-time U.S. senior elite national champion, a senior US Women's National Gymnastics Team member from 2006-11. She won the bars at the 2008 City of Jesolo Trophy (Italy) Grand Prix. Injuries, including an ankle injury in 2009, kept Shapiro from competing for most of 2009 and 2010, but she resurfaced as a Senior Elite in 2010, qualifying at the US Classic 4th on the balance beam and floor exercise. In 2010 Shapiro announced her intention to commit to joining the Stanford University Gymnastics Team. In 2011, she appeared on the cover of Inside Gymnastics "50 Most Photogenic" issue as a tribute to the artistry and grace Shapiro presented in her years as an international elite gymnast. ==NCAA career==

Shapiro was the 2014 NCAA uneven bars silver medalist. In her freshman season in 2012, she earned the First-Team All-American honor on bars and finished as runner-up on the uneven bars with a score of 9.900 at the 2012 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship in Duluth, Georgia. She was named a Scholastic All-American by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women, capping off a successful freshman year. As a sophomore in 2013, she earned academic honors including the NACGC Scholastic All-American honor for the second year along with receiving an Honorable Mention citation for the 2013 Pac-12 All-Academic Team. In Shapiro's junior year in 2014, she capped off a successful season at the 2014 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, again earning the First Team All-American honor and finishing as runner-up on the uneven bars. On the road to the nationals, in April she was co-winner of the regional title on the uneven bars with a 9.950 at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regionals. During the season, she also earned Pac-12 Conference honors, including being named to the Pac-12 All Academic Second Team and claiming Second Team honors on uneven bars for the 2014 All-Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Team. In Shapiro's senior year in 2015 she was second team All-American on bars, second team All-Pac-12 on bars, and Pac-12 All-Academic second team. ==Honors==

In 2018 she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. ==References==