I've been gone for a week and a half, so I missed the American Cup (or Simone Attack, as I am rechristening it) and have only just been able to catch up with it and the videos from Russian Championships.
Simone Attack
I couldn't help but read the #ATTAC hashtag as "attack," and so, with Simone dominating (62.299!?!), I shall now officially be calling the 2015 American Cup "Simone Attack".
Simone is Not Human Yeah, we all already knew that and it was made official at Classics last year, but with a 62.299 and a SIXTEEN on floor, it needs reiterating. Plus, I was really impressed at Simone Attack by how good her bars are her technique on them is despite not being natural swinger.
JLo Breaking My Heart And everyone's. Oh, why did she fall on that layout? Her beam was so good otherwise!! And those errors on floor! Speaking of floor, I think I like last year's better, but a lovely routine still.
Fasana Is Awesome I love that floor. I really do. It's just so different and... awesome. No other word for it, really. But yeah, such a great achievement for her to come in third and beat Ferrari! She really is becoming a favorite of mine.
Fragapane's New Floor Yeah, not her best outing, she had a bad day, whatever, it happens. What we REALLY need to talk about is that floor! Very cutting-edge, and I think it actually has a greater quantity of choreography than last year's had. I think I might end up liking it better than her old one, but I'm going to hold off decision until she's competing on a day where she's got a bigger goal than "don't die". Oh, and that leotard! Seriously can't figure out what's going on there. Needed about half the design it had to be removed.
The Boys YESSS! Oleg won!!! We need to appreciate how Tim Daggett was fangirling over him too. I want Supreme Overlord Kohei to win every AA title until he retires unless the one to dethrone him is Oleg. Then I'm down.
Russian Championships
Afan's Floor Yes, no more Christina Aguilera howling for the music! Dramatic improvement over the one from DTB/Voronin for that reason alone. *Sigh* But the inevitable Rod-era choreography. It's nice, but so, so underwhelming! CONDITION YOUR ATHLETES!!!
Vika's Jager Can she just go ahead and do a pike now? Has it ever actually been laid out? And she definitely shouldn't be getting credit for it anymore.
Maria Winning AA Suffice it to say I didn't expect that to happen... Seda needs to up her game. The question is how she will fare at Euros with only an FTY. And what her beam scores will look like... Not too steady at Championships.
Daria is the New Russian Bars Queen At least, she's the front runner for now. We can't say with certainty until Aliya is back with a coach. But she's definitely outdone Vika. Monster routines, and she kills them! So pretty!
Russian Euros Team
So, Kharenkova, Afan, and Daria are going, with the last spot between Soz, Seda, Vika, and Bee Farm. Soz is the provisional fourth, and I really think she's the most logical. I don't think Bee Farm makes any sense to bring. Soz beat her on vault by a big margin and has potential in the AA and on floor as opposed to Bee Farm who came in third on bars, but really isn't good enough to justify being brought for that event. Seda unfortunately didn't show much at Championships to make a case for herself, but taking her could be a good investment for Worlds. Her difficulty and consistency both need improvement, though. Vika also doesn't have the difficulty or the consistency to really justify being brought as a specialist. She won't be getting 15.000 for a routine like that internationally. to me, Soz is really the only logical choice.
US Jesolo Team
This is actually looking to be an incredibly interesting team. First of all, of course we have Balie's senior debut. What a debut! However, that's the least of my cares on this team. Aly and Gabby are making their comebacks! I can't wait to see what these two have up their sleeves! What we've seen in their USAG videos has been very interesting, and I really want to see how they fare in competition again. Gabby's potential as an all arounder for the US will be especially of note. And then there's the inclusion of Emily Schild. We know almost nothing about her, having been unable to compete domestically the last two years, but there must have been something Martha saw. I'm very intrigued by what we'll see from her.
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