Junior National Team
Jazmyn Foberg
Nia Dennis
Norah Flatley
Jordan Chiles
Alexis Vasquez
Emily Gaskins
Bailie Key
Senior National Team
Simone Biles
Kyla Ross
Maggie Nichols
Alyssa Baumann
Mykayla Skinner
Amelia Hundley
Madison Desch
Madison Kocian
Ashton Locklear
Brenna Dowell
Felicia Hano*
Senior Pan Ams Team
Madison Desch
Amelia Hundley
Madison Kocian
Ashton Locklear
Maggie Nichols
Mykayla Skinner
Felicia Hano*
*Felicia Hano replaced Alyssa Baumann on the Pan Ams team and was added to the national team then
Juniors
Jazmyn Foberg was able to make it a full eight for eight with a clean competition to take the title. She placed in to top five everywhere except beam, where she placed ninth in a very deep field, and took the title on bars due to her clean performance in a junior championships marked by errors on the event. She has a very nice DTY with a great laid out position. Her block looks like it could use a little work, but pretty secure. Jazmyn's lowest score came on beam day 2 where her front foot on her LOSO was off line and she had to wobble to secure herself and she needed a large step on her dismount. Jazmyn is a very complete and even gymnast. Her talent is pretty evenly distributed, and she doesn't have any real standout or weak event. She could be like the Maggie Nichols of the junior ranks, but a better all arounder. In the MG Elite interview with The Gymternet, coach Maggie Haney said she did not have a long-term plan for Jazmyn, which shows just how surprising her surge has been! The plan had better be mapped out soon, because Jazzy is right on track!
Nia Dennis counted three falls to her two-day total, which kept her from the junior title. On day one, Nia peeled off too quickly on her DLO dismount and ended her routine in a fall. I wonder if maybe she should try for a different kind of dismount, like a double Arabian or maybe even a twisting flyaway. Double backs seem to give her issues. Nia also fell on her standing Arabian both days of competition, which is worrying since she was so. dang. solid. on it. Nia had a great vault on day one which she stuck, but she lacked a lot of her height and power day two. Her bars day two were amazing. Nia was able to put Pac Rims and Classics behind her and killed floor both days, and I love her routine so much! It's just a party! With her raw power, high-flying releases, and inconsistency, it's hard NOT to compare her to Gabby, and next year could be AMAZING.
Chow's Norah Flatley came in third after some uncharacteristic errors. Vault maintained the improvement from Pac Rims, but it still needs some work. Norah placed second on bars, where she has nice clean lines. Her score was lower day two due to missing handstands, but she moves through the routine easily and drills the DLO dismount. Norah needs just a little bit of refinement because occasionally she bends her arms on her kips a bit, but she could absolutely be a team player on bars or even better. Norah was able to score a 14.000 on floor both nights. On day two she went out of bounds, but had higher execution than day one. The most memorable thing about Norah's performance- in a negative way- is that she fell both days on beam. Day one Norah missed her feet completely on her sheep jump and she fell on her layout night two. Norah was always a rock on beam, so it's really abnormal for her to have had those big errors.
P&Gs was an overall good competition for Chow's gymnasts. Victoria Nguyen had a good outing for her first national championships. She vaults a pretty good FTY. Her block is a bit scrappy, but she got good distance day two. Victoria, like a true Chow's girl, whips around in el grip, but her bars definitely need refinement and her swing needs improvement. Day one, Victoria had a bad outing on beam and earned only a 12.600; on day two, she received the high score of the championships, a 15.200, for a gorgeous routine with just one medium wobble and a couple small ones. Victoria's best result was third on floor for an incredible routine. Victoria has time on her side and just needs to keep it up for her senior career. After last year's disaster on bars, Alexis was able to place fifth for a national team spot. I can't quite figure out what Chow's plan is for her. I wonder if they're focusing more on a college spot than successful senior international career. Alexis had very nice FTYs both days, easing them around. Her bars, which I prefer to Norah's, were very nice but lacking in difficulty, and she, like Rachel Gowey, often misses handstand. On day two, she had to muscle a bit and stall on a handstand, which cost her a couple of tenths. Alexis has a new, more fun floor routine this year. Her half in-half out is beautiful and her execution was so clean. The big surprise of the meet for Alexis was winning the title on beam after being clean and consistent- scoring a 14.700 both days- when her biggest competition, including teammate Norah, faltered. Her routines were beautiful and I love her choreography. I just love Alexis's gymnastics and am so happy she made the national team this year!
Jordan Chiles's two days of competition were about as different as they could have gotten! Day one was pretty bad, landing Jordan in 19th. Her vault was great and her floor was fine, though not as good as she could do, but bars and beam were really troublesome for her. Jordan's biggest error on beam day one was balking her first attempt at her BHS+LOSO+LOSO connection, but it was an unsteady routine all the way through. Bars was definitely Jordan's worst event on day one, and she scored only an 11.400. She stalled a handstand which resulted in empty swings, fell after casting to far over after a transition, fumbled her grip before a half turn which required her to recast, and lost a full point in neutral deductions when her coach touched her spotting a Jaeger. Day two was a total turnaround and back to Classics form, however, earning Jordan the highest day two total of the competition and allowing her to claw her way back to fourth. Her DTY was better than day one's and she just had to buckle her knees a bit on landing, causing her to take a small hop. Bars were still her trouble spot day two, but were a huge improvement. Her only noteworthy error was a stall before her toe-on on the low bar. Her only real problems day two on beam were a large wobble on her tour jete 1/2 and a low front tuck. Jordan was able to bear her day one score on floor by .750 with an incredible routine. I love the way she doesn't cowboy her skills! Jordan is really almost the ideal gymnast, and I really hope she keeps her routines as they are now for the next couple years and none of the gymternet's worries about burnout come into being.
Gymternet favorite Emily Gaskins placed sixth to take the final spot on the national team. She ended day one in second after just about the best she could have done. She debuted her DTY in competition day one. It's not a great vault, and she loses a fair bit of her block twisting early. Bars were definitely Emily's worst event of the competition. It was her lowest scoring event day one despite being a clean routine due to her low D score. Day two, Emily only scored an 11.000 after going over on a Stalder full and missing the bar on her Tkatchev. She also fumbled her grip before a half turn. It's sad that she came to grief day two, because Emily could really be beautiful on bars. After an incredibly steady routine day one, Emily was obviously flustered on beam after bars on day two. There were several big bobbles and she lost a fair bit of difficulty. Her beautiful floor, however, went well both days, and was a highlight of the competition.
The adorable Ragan Smith missed the national team by one placing and .05. Bars was easily her worst event. Day one she fell on a Jaeger; on day two, she finished her Stalder full way past handstand and had to take an extra swing and was way to far over the low bar on her Pak, and she ended up hitting her feet on the ground. Even though it's her weak event, Ragan's swing has improved a ton and her Stalder work really suits her. I still think her bars could be decent for her all around in the future. Ragan is another gymnast who added a DTY to her repertoire this year. Day one it was super messy and had poor body position, and day two's had plenty of issues but was much improved. Like Emily, Ragan twists early of the table and has to fix her technique. On beam, Ragan placed second after two very steady routines. She had messy wolf turns both days, and I kind of think they should try another high difficulty turn. She scored a tenth higher day two with a slightly more stable wolf turn and a bit smaller hop on landing. Ragan also placed second on floor, which makes me so happy because I love her floor! She seems to go just a bit too far on her BHS into her triple full in her first pass, and lacks a bit of height because of it. She displayed great musicality and performance quality! A lot of people were upset she wasn't added to the national team with her great performance.
Deanne Soza had a hard championships after a great Classics. Vault was her best event where she had two powerful DTYs, though she had somewhat scrappy landings on both when she stepped out night one and had a bit of a jarring impact on vault. Bars was unfortunately rough for Deanne, who fell on Tkatchev day one and overshot her Ezhova day two and her hips fell to the bar. Beam day two was a highlight routine for her, for which she earned a score of 14.350. She had a nicely confident routine with really nice skills and combinations, though she broke her front aerial+front aerial+aerial cartwheel series. Floor was troublesome day one for Deanne when her double tuck out of a 1 1/2 fell to her hands and knees. She had a nice routine day two, though, for a 13.750.
Christina Desiderio was in position for a national team spot going into the final rotation, but she sadly had a disastrous final bars routine. She stalled in a handstand and had to take two empty swings and then had the same error when she repeated the skill. She then had a fall on a forward giant. She was obviously flustered before remounting, and then crashed her dismount. Unfortunately, Christina had three other falls, two on beam and one on floor. Her vault on day two was very nice and she didn't underrotate it like she has before, and I loved her floor day two.
Olivia Trautman placed second on vault with scores of 14.800 and 14.900. Her vault day two was super powerful and had great height. Lauren Navarro was able to place second on beam with scores of 13.900 and 14.800. She has a gorgeous jump to split mount and very unique skill selection.
Seniors
As of right now, only two of the gymnasts who competed at P&Gs are not on the national team, Nica Hults and Macy Toronjo of Texas Dreams. Nica only competed two events at P&Gs, bars and beam. She had low difficulty on beam and missed some handstands on bars. Lots of gymfans are sad that Nica's elite career isn't highly successful, but she will be a great Bruin. Macy Toronjo placed lowest out of the gymnasts who competed all around at nationals. She had very low difficulty, only reaching a 5.5 on floor as her highest D score. Macy's bars lacked swing, and she placed last on the event. She vaulted two clean FTYs and her floor was enchanting to the music "Feeling Good." Floor was her highest scoring event, where she received a 14.050 night two.
Felicia Hano was left off the national team originally last night after only competing three events, vault beam and floor. Her difficulty also is a bit low, having a 5.6 potential on beam and 5.2 potential on floor. She stuck both DTYs and scored 14.900 night two. Felicia scored higher on every event night two than night one and improved her score by almost a point. Her DLO was one of the best she's had night two.
Madison Desch has sadly once again been unable to fulfill the potential she displayed as a junior. She lost at least half a point in OOB penalties both nights on floor. Maddie's best event was vault, where she vaulted two nice DTYs which both scored 14.500. I personally think her night one vault was a bit underscored. Maddie had a good bars routine night one, but came close to the bar on the dismount. On night two, Maddie fumbled her grip on a Stalder half and had to add two extra giant swings. Maddie's best scoring routine (vault doesn't count as a routine) was her day two beam which scored 14.200 and was very steady. Maddie was named to the Pan Ams team but likely won't be able to compete at a higher level competition.
Amelia Hundley came in sixth after an up and down competition. Amelia vaulted a DTY on night one and nominated one for night two, but something must have gone wrong because she went with an FTY instead. She had a bounce out of it, so it looks like she was going for the double. Amelia was good on bars and tied Kyla Ross's two-day total after Kyla made uncharacteristic mistakes. She increased her score six tenths from day one to day two, and seeing as her first routine had not major errors, the discrepancy seems a bit large. Amelia was also pretty good on beam. Though it was a bit shaky, she held on well and scored above 14.000. Amelia has a very enjoyable floor, but she made errors both nights. Night one she rolled backward out of the floor, and on night two she had uncontrolled landings on both her double pike and double tuck.
Madison Kocian and Ashton Locklear both only competed bars and beam. Madison's two day two-event total beat Ashton Locklear. Maddie was able to finally overcome her inconsistency on her standing Arabian and had no falls at P&G. She had problems with her double pike dismount both nights, underrotating it night one and overrotating it night two. Maddie's bars score increased by .250 from night one to night two. She connected her Pak+Chow 1/2 night two and stuck her dismount. Ashton had issues with her aerial cartwheel+LOSO connection both nights. She had a sizable wobble night one and fell on it night two. Her night one bars scored a monster 15.850 for her very difficult routine with most of her form errors from Classics fixed. On night two, she scored 15.200, having missed her inbar full+Komova II connection, though I still think the difference was a little harsh. Both are on the Pan Ams team, so this should give Martha a great opportunity to compare the two before Worlds selection.
Brenna Dowell only competed bars both nights to drastically varying results. On night one, Brenna scored the second-highest score on bars, 15.400, for a hit routine. She missed her toe-on full+Maloney connection, but hit her Tweddle+Ezhova and Church+Pak connections with no major error, and downgraded to a double layout dismount. On night two, she had a very rough routine. Brenna missed the half turn on her first Tweddle attempt and did just a Ray before hitting the Tweddle+Ezhova; however, her toe full turned into a toe 1 1/2 when she was over in her handstand. She also broke her Church+Pak connection before tucking her legs and hitting her feet on the ground. However, to quote Tim Dagget, "If it's all about fight, I want her in a foxhole next to me." She is still on the national team, though, and she plans on competing all around at selection camp, so there is still a glimmer of hope.
Mykayla Skinner hit eight for eight and scored above 14.000 on every routine on vault, beam, and floor. Bars was obviously her lowest scoring event. She is basically allergic to handstand, and her form wasn't perfect either. Beam was a decent event for Mykayla. She wobbled on her BHS+tuck full both nights and was very off split in her switch 1/2. She will never be great on beam, but she was definitely consistent. Mykayla went out on her Moors night one, but it was fairly well laid out. Her body position on the Moors was not as good night two, but she stayed in bounds. She also overcooked her 2 1/2 a little bit at the end of her routine. Switching the passes seems to have been the trick for her. I really wish she had kept her old music though, dramatic just doesn't work for her. Vault was a great event for Mykayla. Her half-on block was still a little wonky, but- and I may just be seeing what I want to see here- she seemed to block better night two. What happened since Jesolo?! Her DTY also definitely looked like it could have been an Amanar night one, so I have a sneaking hope she can bring it back during selection camp.
Alyssa Baumann overall had a good first senior nationals. She scored a 14.800 and 14.900 on vault for two nice DTYs. Bars was definitely her worst event. Her form was scrappy night one and she had lots of leg separations. Night two, Alyssa fell on her Maloney and hyper extended her elbow. She is out of Pan Ams, and there hasn't been any official word as to whether she will be back for selection camp. Alyssa tied with Simone for second on beam with two very confident routines which both scored 15.150. Alyssa also doubled her scores on floor with a 14.450 both nights, which was definitely great for her.
Maggie Nichols was one of the few gymnasts who hit eight for eight to place third. Her vaults were very nice, especially night two which was gorgeous and got a ton of air. Bars was the best she's performed this season night two, the only of her three performances where she didn't stall after catching her Pak. She was able to place third on bars after errors by Kyla Ross. On beam, she also had two strong routines, but cut her Grigoras. her front aerial+sissone+split was amazing night two. Maggie also placed third on floor. She really enjoys her routine, you can tell she loves performing it! She had two great double layouts and stuck her 1 1/2+double tuck night one. I especially love the way she spots her turns! Maggie is a great team player.
Kyla Ross and Simone Biles decided to remind us that they are human at P&Gs this year, just in case we were wondering. Or maybe it's all part of their master plan to lull us into a false sense of security, who knows. Both gymnasts counted falls over the competition. Simone fell on her aerial cartwheel on night two after breaking her connection out of her wolf hop. Kyla fell, as I suspected she might, on her whip+double Arabian night one, which she replaced with her normal pass night two and completed well. Kyla also fell night one on her DLO bars dismount which she appears to have had trouble adjusting to her new height this year. Kyla's vaults were both beautiful, and she scored above a 9.2 in execution on both. Her bars were gorgeous on night two, and she earned a 15.000. She made up for falling on her dismount night one by almoooost sticking the landing. Seriously, I had to take a second look to tell that her feet had moved. If this were the 80s, the judges would just have said "eh, close enough" and given her a 9.95 anyway. As much as I love Kyla, her E scores on beam were laughable. Day one, she had a large break after her front tuck and cut her wolf jump. One thing I love about Kyla is she knows where her value comes from. When she breaks a connection and the second skill doesn't count to her D score, she doesn't do the second. For the large break after her front tuck, she still received a 9.2 E score. On night two, she had a fair wobble after her switch ring and it was a fairly jittery routine, especially for Kyla, but she got a 9.35 E score. On floor, Kyla had a very clean routine and scored 14.800. I think the new choreography that's been added this year actually makes her performance stiffer and wish they'd go back to what it was like last year.
Simone went seven for seven before her last routine, but still won by four points. And came in second on beam, tied with Alyssa Baumann. Bars was her lowest scoring event, scoring a 14.550 and 14.750. It was the only event where she didn't score above 15. It is also the only event where she has a D score below 6.0. Both nights were hit routines and she planted the landing on her dismount night two. Vault was her highest scoring event, where she received a 15.900 both nights for super explosive vaults with just a tine hop back. Her Lopez was also beautiful and totally secure both nights. She had a great layout position and just landed a little to the side with a teensy hop. Simone's night one beam brought in a huge 15.700. She had a little correction after her second LOSO and front tuck, and a larger wobble after her wolf hop. It started with one of the best wolf turns she's done in complete control and ended with her beautiful BHS+BHS+full-in dismount combo. Floor was of course where she shone the most at nationals. I'm pretty sure she got downgraded both nights, on her switch 1/1 night one and Gogean night two. Night one she stuck her double layout perfectly. I mean, what really is there to say about this routine? It's perfect and she will destroy everyone this year. It's almost scary how strong Simone is when you know she still has wells of talent.
The white leo curse is most definitely over as Jordan Chiles, Simone, and Kyla all wore white leos one night and had falls the night they didn't.
No comments:
Post a Comment