California women's gymnastics' Sage Melkonian has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Co-Specialist of the Week, announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.
 
This is the first weekly conference honor of Melkonian's career and the fourth notched by a Golden Bear this season after Annalise Newman-Achee was named ACC Gymnast of the Week following week one and Tonya Paulsson was awarded ACC Newcomer of the Week after weeks one and five.
 
Melkonian recorded a personal-best 9.925 on uneven bars in Cal's upset over Clemson on the road this past weekend. It was her first routine that scored 9.900 or higher this season. She tied with Paulsson for first place on the event, which was her first event title of the 2026 season, and helped Cal to a 49.400 overall uneven bars score, which was the highest event score of the entire meet. Melkonian ties for 75th in the nation on the event, according to the week six Road to Nationals rankings.  
 
She also competed on the balance beam against Clemson. As the leadoff routine, Melkonian posted a 9.750 to help the Bears record their best beam rotation of 2026 with a 49.275 and defeat the Tigers.
 
Melkonian, a sophomore from Mission Viejo, made her collegiate competition debut in the 2026 season and was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List. She competed a handful of exhibition routines as a freshman last year and was named a WCGA Scholastic All-American for her excellent work in the classroom. Prior to Cal, Melkonian was a two-time national qualifier (2022 & 2023).
 
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