The Friendship Classic has been known to be one of the largest international meets held in the United States. This annual competition has gained interest from all around the world, and this year the nations of Great Britain, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and Australia decided to participate. Unfortunately, the competitor from Romania, Steliana Nistor, opted to not compete. Also out of the competition were two US gymnasts originally on the roster, Annie Fogerty and Geralen Stack-Eaton, both from Parkettes.

 The Russians have been a powerhouse in the sport of gymnastics for decades, and they are still one of the dominant teams in the world today as evident by the strong group of gymnasts that they presented: Maria Kryuchkova, who ended up winning all events and the all-around in the Junior division, Gulnara Zhiganshina, bronze on bars and floor, Alexandra Shevchenko, senior floor champion, and Ekaterina Orlova, senior all-around champion. 

Although not absolute world-class material yet, Kryuchkova shows great potential for the future. She's already vaulting a Yurchenko 1 ½, which she performed well enough to win the event. Her vault, along with many of her skills, was a bit sloppy, but she has a good basis on which to improve, and the talent to make it possible. On bars, like all of the Russians, she showed some really innovative stuff, but struggled a little with technique, seeming to muscle her way through everything. Her main combination was an inside stalder, inside stalder handstand 1/2 pirouette to L-grip, L-grip giant full to regular grip, Tkatchev. The inside stalders were very weak; she had to put all of her energy into making up to complete handstand, arching her back on the way. However, one cannot deny her unique selection of skills! Her beam routine was very nice, showcasing many split jump moves include a split leap 1/1, split jump 1/1, and tour jete. Most of her skills were in combination which was very nice to see. With a full-in double pike to a stuck landing, a 2 ½ twist to a front layout, a whip to a triple full, and a double pike, she is obviously a very strong tumbler - even over rotated her triple twist a bit.

Although Gulnara Zhiganshina had some problems in the competition, she ended up with the bronze on uneven bars and floor exercise. Her bars had a nice L-grip endo, L-grip giant full to regular grip, Gienger combination, an additional Tkatchev release and a Pak salto, and a simple double back dismount. A typical Russian, her bars flowed nicely and she had good form. Her beam routine has the potential to be very good, but she had problems connecting everything and getting all of the skills around. The most unique combination she used was a switch side to a Shushunova ½. She also went overtime which cost her a couple of tenths and a medal on that event. Her floor routine was exceptional, as was her tumbling. Zhiganshina is a twister, doing a whip to a stuck triple twist, 2 ½ twist, and a double twist. She showed her powerful side with a double pike second pass. The routine was very nice and it was great to see a triple full completed and stuck.

 Ekaterina Orlova is an equally exceptional gymnast. She won the Senior all-around, bars, and beam and got 2nd on floor exercise. Her bars had great form and nice toe point. She kept her legs tight and her arms locked throughout the whole routine, giving away very few tenths. Although she needs to add a little bit to her start value, Orlova could possibly make a statement at Worlds on this event with her great lines. Also beautiful was her beam routine, which showcased a high Arabian, an Onodi to a Rulfova, a straight jump 1 1/2 (most of the Russians did this skill), and a 2 ½ twist dismount. This is also an event on which she could make a statement in future meets. Underpowered in her tumbling, she showed she was a bit weaker on floor. She did 2 whips through to a 2 ½ twist, a triple twist, and a double full, however the triple twist was nowhere near complete. She probably just watered down for this meet, but it would be nice to see her do some harder tumbling. Tumbling or no tumbling, her lines were still really nice.

Finally, Alexandra Shevchenko, the tallest of this team, did a typical Lucconi vault that we saw most of the gymnasts doing. Her bars were pretty good; the most interesting portion of it was a five-tenth combination of an inside stalder to a Shushunova (a Tkatchev with a full twist). The skill could have been a bit cleaner, but just the fact that she attempts the combination is top notch. She isn't a natural bar worker, muscling a couple of elements and on her dismount, she pulled in too close to the bar and almost hit it, causing gasps from the two IG3 correspondents. Her beam routine was superb. The best combination was a roundoff - layout, and she did it both as a mount onto the beam and as a tumbling series later in the routine. She went on to stick her double back dismount. Having proved she could conquer the beam, she showed in the next rotation that she's definitely the strongest tumbler of the four Russians. She opened with a full-in double pike, then tumbled a 2 ½ twist to front layout, whip, triple full, and closed with a strong double pike. It was overall a little messy, but good enough to give her the title on that event.

The Aussies only brought two gymnasts, Lisa Skinner and Hayley Wright, but Lisa Skinner was really one of the main reasons for attendance at this meet. She is a well-known gymnast who is just coming back from retirement and attempting to make her third Olympic team. She was a bit weak here in Pottsville, but she's still in the early stages of her return to Olympic-caliber competition. On vault, she did a simple Yurchenko layout, the same vault that possibly lost her an all-around medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. However, she was probably just keeping it safe at this competition and hopefully will upgrade to a higher start value soon. It was hard, throughout the competition, to differentiate between a gymnast that was warming up or competing. At one point, Lisa mounted the bars and proceeded to do about ten blind changes and inverts in a row on the high bar. We breathed a sigh of relief when we figured out that her actual routine consisted of much more than that. The routine was pretty short, and aside from the hecht mount, she did not even touch the low bar which is quite odd. However, her work on the high bar was exquisite, sporting a quick invert 1 ½ to a giant 1 ½ (amazing shoulder flexibility), a Gienger, and she dismounted with a giant full to tucked full-out, stuck! Lisa's beam was equally nice, other than the fact that she went way overtime, possibly 10-20 seconds. Aside from that, she showed up at the meet with a batch of new skills and combinations up her sleeves: a switch leap to tour jete, front aerial to Shushunova half, and a double turn that she performed with a big wobble, but it was interesting nonetheless to see her reinventing her routines. Her floor routine was performed to the same Middle Eastern music that she used in Sydney. She showed new code-satisfying dance combinations which, to the delight of the crowd, didn't really ruin the intricate choreography. Her tumbling wasn't too bad (triple full opener, double pike last pass), much better than might be anticipated from a gymnast on her way back from a long period of time away from the sport.

 Hayley Wright showed beautiful lines and toe point on all the events. On bars, she did a very short routine, but dismounted with a gorgeous endo full pirouette (perfectly in handstand) to double front dismount, stuck. The nicest thing in her beam routine was possibly her mount, a press handstand pirouette, going on to various handstand positions, showcasing loads of flexibility. She had a lot of interesting moves in the routine, but unfortunately a fall on a tuck jump full late in the routine marred an otherwise pretty set. Her floor tumbling is a bit weak and she had some problems in her second pass, landing with locked legs and causing her to bounce out of bounds and put her hands down in order to catch her from falling. Overall, though, she shows a lot of potential; her great execution will serve her well in the coming years as she beefs up her difficulty.

The Mexicans brought a bunch of girls that we haven't gotten to know yet, though Brenda Magana has gotten a lot of exposure. Currently training at WOGA under Valeri Liukin, Magana is an absolute powerhouse. She stuck a high Khorkina vault, and on floor, her tumbling is unreal with all four passes involving a double somersault. If she hits all of her tumbling and cleans up her form a bit, she is in real contention for a medal at the next World Championships on this event. She started out with a nice double layout, punch front, and came back with a high double Arabian. Her third pass, a full-in double pike, gave her trouble when she landed a little stiff-legged, went out-of-bounds and put her hands down. She finished with a good double pike. Though the tumbling was the highlight, it was nice to see Magana use her floor music, "Victory" by Bond, with such enthusiasm. What wasn't especially nice to see was that, despite practicing some very high double back bars dismounts, she omitted the triple back bars dismount at this competition, choosing a simpler full-in instead. She also had a fall on her overshoot. Though she had some misses at this competition, we at GymnStands are still blown away by her longevity and dynamism!

Elsa Garcia had great form on bars, dismounting with a double front. She tumbled a double Arabian and a double pike on floor, but fell on her 2 1/2 twist to punch front. Christina Lozoya's floor routine was packed with difficulty (full-in and 2 1/2 twist-punch front 1/2) but she counted two falls. Rocio Leal performed an excellent beam routine: roundoff to layout stepout mount, tuck jump 1/1, front aerial, punch front, and a double full dismount off the side; unfortunately she had falls on a split jump 1/1 and a side somi. All of the Mexican gymnasts struggled a bit, counting falls all over the place, but it was exciting to see them attempting some very difficult skills. They just need some more time to fully develop them.

 Great Britain brought one gymnast, Emma Jagger. She wasn't particularly strong, needing some work on her form, consistency, start values, and presentation. Her choreography didn't really push any envelopes artistically, and rarely did we see her smile throughout the competition. However, she was one of the few gymnasts to perform a double front on floor, and she did it pretty nicely, albeit with a stumble on the landing. She also tumbled a double pike and a 2 1/2 twist. She has a nice base on which to build some good gymnastics - I think we'll see more from her in the future.

The Ukrainians brought perhaps the two most recently-decorated gymnasts, Irina Yarotska and Mirabella Akhunu, World balance beam bronze medallist and junior European floor champ, respectively. Akhunu was a fun gymnast to watch. She has the typical Ukrainian good form and dance, but she has added power and expression that makes her all the more enjoyable. Her floor routine showcased a big smile throughout; she really seemed like she was enjoying what she was doing. This routine was backed up with difficult tumbling passes, full-in, double front, 2 ½ twist - punch front, and triple twist, though a fall on her double front reflected a noticeable lack of the power that she usually shows. She also encountered falls on her double front bars dismount, and a punch front and layout stepout on beam. However, with her previous success to fall back on, Akhunu will most likely be back to top form soon enough.

Similarly, Yarotska was a little weak at this competition, sluggish on many of her skills. She almost fell on a double front on floor, taking several steps backwards, and didn't showcase the same expression as that of her teammate. She also had a fall on the uneven bars on her signature stalder hecht, though her later L-grip endo combination into a piked Jaeger was superb. Irina's beam routine was nicely composed, with many of the skills done in clever combinations. The most unique of these joined skills was a gainer back handspring to an Onodi to side aerial. With great fluidity and continuity from beginning to end, it was easy to see why she's the reigning world bronze medallist on this event.

The U.S. contingent was the largest of the meet, as expected, but it was clear who the real standouts were. Nicolle Ford of Southern Tier Gymnastics was the "spokesperson" for the American gymnasts, speaking for them during the march out, and showed some nice gymnastics as well. Her most impressive routine came on the uneven bars, on which she performed a Gienger, a cast handstand 1/2 to reverse grip to a Jaeger, and a stuck double layout dismount. Not only did she have nice amplitude, but she kept really tight form throughout. Coached by former World and Olympic Champion Natalia Laschenova, Ford will be heading to the University of Utah in top shape.

A trio of excellent gymnasts representing Rebound - Kayla Hoffman (pictured at right), Austyn Fobes, and Stephanie Seich - showcased perfect form and extension on all events. Hoffman's bars were a treat; her free hip handstand 1/2, giant 1 1/2, shootover handstand combination was right on. She was exquisite on beam, mounting with a press to handstand, full pirouette in handstand, moving down to a V sit. In addition to her gorgeous form and presentation, she had an interesting array of skills: two back handsprings to a layout to two feet, switch leap to Popa, wolf jump 3/4, high double tuck dismount. Her beautiful choreography also carried over to her 'Two Guitars' floor routine, where she tumbled a double pike, whip through to double twist, front full, and 2 1/2 twist. Austyn Fobes was quite possibly the most diminutive of all the athletes competing, but that didn't stop her from bringing the house down with her charming floor routine. Struggles on bars (fell twice on her Pak salto) and beam (three falls: back handspring to back tuck, punch front, ring leap) kept her down in the standings. Seich struggled on bars, taking an extra swing after her free hip 1/1 and counted two falls on floor (double arabian and 2 1/2 twist, nice double pike). She started off well on beam (switch leap, sheep jump) but then counted two falls (back handspring to back tuck, front aerial to tuck jump 1/1). She had a rough meet but her form and presentation, like her teammates, was clearly not sacrificed.

Parkettes, though their squad was lessened by the withdrawal of Fogerty and Stack-Eaton, had a nice competition with their two athletes, Kristina "Sharky" Coccia and Alex Brockway, finishing 4th and 5th, respectively, in the junior all-around. Coccia warmed up a piked Lucconi vault, during which her hands went completely off to the side, missing the vaulting table completely. In competition, however, she was steady as can be, sticking it cold. She had a solid routine on beam (front aerial, flip-flop, layout) and was entertaining on floor as well as solid in her tumbling (piked full-in to open) to finish her meet with only a slight disappointment from her uneven bars routine. Brockway, on the other hand, finished her bar routine without a major error (nice Pak salto and Tkatchev, a little messy on her full-in dismount), and was solid on the other three events (tumbled a triple twist, double pike, and 2 1/2 twist).

The highlight of the USA representatives was without question South Carolina's Grace Taylor. She started the meet steadily with a high piked front vault and a large step forward. On her next event, however, her confidence climbed as she caught her Ricna for the first time in competition at the end of her fingertips. She went on to perform her unique Comaneci salto and stick a double layout dismount, punctuated with a huge smile on her face. Her flashy consistency remained on balance beam, where her only miscue came on an incomplete straddle jump full. The rest of the routine - gainer layout, back tuck; flip-flop, two-foot layout; front aerial; new switch side half; two flip-flops to a double tuck dismount - were near perfect. Energetic and charming as ever on floor, she tumbled a high triple full to begin the routine (two steps back due to over rotation), consecutive whip backs through to a 2 1/2, expressive dance to her trademark "I Dream of Jeannie" music, and a double pike to finish. Unfortunately it was this pass that caused her quite an anticlimax to her competition, bottoming out at the last second. Frowning just wasn't her way, however, as she looked thoroughly satisfied with her second-place finish (and the special happy birthday announcement that she and Nicolle Ford shared on the awards podium).

 Highlights of the remaining USA contingent were Alex LaChance (pictured at left), Nicole Lyons, and Jamie Deetscreek . LaChance struggled with her tumbling on floor, going out of bounds on her double pike but vaulted a nice front pike. Lyons clearly favors double fronts, dismounting off bars and usually beam with the skill - here she just did a simple front layout off after falling on a punch front. She tumbled a double Arabian (out of bounds), a 2 1/2 twist to punch front, and closed with another 2 1/2 twist. Deetscreek, a J.O. Nationals competitor last year, struggled on bars, falling on her Tkatchev and overarching her double layout. She was solid on floor with three nice tumbling passes (triple twist, double twist, double pike) and showed clean skills on beam (Onodi, stuck double twist dismount).

The Friendship Classic is a meet to look forward to, an amiable gathering that gives lesser-known gymnasts a chance to compete in the same arena as the international stars, and the audience a chance to see it all come together. We saw some gymnasts sizzle - and some, well, fizzle - but overall it gave us a look at what we might see from gymnastics a little farther down the road, and was as entertaining as it is meaningful.

Senior Results Name VT UB BB FX AA  1. Ekaterina Orlova - RUS 9.250 9.400 9.575 9.300 37.525  2. Alex Shevchenko - RUS 9.375 9.225 9.500 9.250 37.450  3. Irina Yaratska - UKR 9.375 8.900 9.200 8.550 36.025  4. Gulnara Zhiganshina - RUS 9.125 9.150 8.200 8.975 35.450  5. Nicolle Ford - USA 8.900 8.450 9.250 8.000 34.600  6. Lisa Skinner - AUS 8.725 9.000 8.450 8.400 34.575  7. Rocio Leal - MEX 9.050 8.700 7.900 8.550 34.200  8. Brenda Magana - MEX 9.400 8.225 8.100 8.150 33.875  9. Mirabella Akhuna - UKR 9.300 7.300 8.200 8.375 33.175  10. Christina Lozoya - MEX 9.150 7.950 8.000 7.900 33.000   Junior Results Name VT UB BB FX AA  1. Maria Kryuchkova - RUS 9.375 9.100 9.550 9.175 37.200  2. Grace Taylor - USA 9.000 8.950 9.025 8.150 35.150  3. Kayla Hoffman - USA 8.925 8.450 8.750 8.750 34.875  4. Kristina Coccia - USA 9.200 7.950 8.950 8.650 34.750  5. Alex Brockway - USA 8.850 8.600 8.700 8.550 34.700  6. Elsa Garcia - MEX 8.200 8.550 8.575 8.550 33.875  7. Jamie Deetscreek - USA 9.100 8.000 8.775 7.950 33.825  8. Hayley Wright - AUS 8.625 7.850 8.350 8.000 32.825  9. Emma Jagger - GBR 8.475 7.900 7.850 8.600 32.825  10. Nicole Lyons - USA 8.550 8.150 7.650 7.450 31.800  11. Michelle Stout - USA 8.950 6.550 8.275 7.500 31.275  12. Stephanie Seich - USA 8.700 7.700 7.300 7.500 31.200  13. Austyn Fobes - USA 8.825 7.100 6.700 8.350 30.975

Photos © Amy Kasi and Tim Vienckowski