The Men's AA Final was an outstanding afternoon of competition this Wednesday, with the world's top gymnasts battling in top form.
Kyleigh Romero, L10 from Colorado Aerials, has committed to Lindenwood. She finished 4th AA at her 2016 state meet and 12th AA at regionals.
At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the women's final concluded on Tuesday afternoon with a thrilling final.
Abbie Pierson, L10 at Gymkhana, has committed to West Virginia. She finished 6th AA at her 2016 state meet, 6th AA at regionals and 39th AA at JOs.
Madison Courney, L10 at Arizona Dynamics, has committed to Arizona. Last season, her first at Level 10, she finished 4th AA at her state meet and 9th AA at regionals. In 2015 she finished 3rd AA at the L9 Western Championships.
The Men's Team final at the Rio 2016 Olympics concluded this afternoon, with a thrilling race for medals.
Former Iowa gymnast Tom Buese will join the coaching staff for the men's team. He has been the program director at Geddert's in Michigan.
Collea Burgess, L10 from Apollo Gymnastics, has committed to Maryland. She placed 1st on beam and 2nd AA at her 2016 state meet. She was 5th AA at regionals and 39th AA at JOs.
The US Women dominated the qualifying competition at the Olympics, outdistancing the field by hitting 16 for 16 and outpacing 2nd place China by nearly 10 points, 185.238 to 175.279. (The format is four up, three count. It shifts to three up, three count in the finals). Simone Biles was sensational, showing only a few nerves en route to posting the highest scores of qualifying on three of four events to keep her quest for five gold medals alive. UCLA signee Madison Kocian posted the high score of the day on UB to qualify to that final.
China used big scores on PH and Rings to edge the US 270.461 to 270.405 in qualifying for the Team Finals at the Olympic Games in Rio. Russia is close behind at 269.512, Japan at 269.294, GBR at 268.67, and Brazil at 268.078. The Ukraine and Germany also made the finals. The finals should be a tight race for the medals, with the fewest mistakes likely to determine the winner in the 3 up, 3 count format.
As expected, the NCAA has officially updated the NCAA Code Modifications to change the start values of several vaults that were rated at 10.0 for last season. The original change created controversy because the Yurchenko Layout Half and the Yurchenko Layout Full were devalued from a 10.0 to a 9.95 start value last season. However, in an apparent oversight, the NCAA left the Yurchenko 1/2 to Front Layout (aka Yurchenko "Arabian" and "Hristakaeva") at a 10.0 last season, creating an unusual situation in which two vaults with slight different turn timing were given different start values.
Maryland has hired Evan Eigner as an assistant. He's a 2016 grad of Ohio State and was on the men's team for two seasons. He transferred there from Temple, where he trained under his father, Fred Turoff.
Link: Maryland Release
ASU Head Coach Jay Santos announced that star Taylor Alexx will return to ASU for a fifth year. She qualified to the NCAAs last season. He'll also welcome three more newcomers for 2016-2017, providing much needed depth to a depleted and rebuilding Gym Devil squad.
Nichelle Christopherson will transfer from Michigan, while frosh Graycee Rushton and Mekayla Jones join the squad. Christopherson competed primarily on UB and FX for the Wolverines, with a high last season of 9.9 on UB and 9.875 on FX. She'll be a junior.
Jones is a L10 from JamJev in Alabama. She placed 49th AA(t) at the 2016 Level 10 JO Nationals. She also finished 29th AA at the 2015 Region VIII L10 Regionals. Link: Video
Rushton is an in-state L10 from Arizona Dynamics. At the 2016 L10 JO Nationals, she finished 48th AA. She also tied for 34th AA in 2015. Link: Video
Link: ASU Release
UNH has hired Lindsey (Bruck) Ayotte and Harris Bergman as assistants. Bruck is a former Michigan star who has been performing and coaching with Cirque du Soleil. Bergman is a former gymnast and diver who has been serving as a volunteer assistant at Pittsburgh. Former associate Head Coach Ed Datti has retired and will serve as a volunteer.
Link: Release
Jr. Elite gymnast Shilese Jones has announced her commitment to Florida. She trains at Buckeye in Ohio. This season she placed 19th AA at the Secret Classic and 7th AA at the P&G Championships.
Former Florida commit Laurie Hernandez has chosen to forgo her NCAA eligibility and turn professional. She will continue to train elite through Tokyo.
Link: USA Gymnastics