ROTATION ONE: Hollie Vise was finally able to capture a WOGA Classic title, something she has never been able to do since training at WOGA! She started the meet out with the best piked Lucconi of her life, drilling it into the mat for a 9.250. Nina Kim nearly stuck her Yurchenko 1 1/2 and junior teammate Nastia Liukin opted for a safe Yurchenko full, scoring 9.475 and 9.000 respectively. Lindsey Vanden Eykel warmed up some nice Onodi + sheep jump + Rulfova combinations but fell on the Onodi in competition for an 8.150. She also struggled with her Kochetkova + flip flop + back tuck, stalling in handstand during the Kochetkova, but her choreography and presentation was as crisp as ever. It's great to see her back in competition, albeit with a very noticeable scar on her hip. Monette Russo, fresh off her 2003 Worlds success, looked great here as well. She had solid landings on all her tumbling passes (double arabian, tucked full-in, 2 whips through to 2 1/2 twist, and double pike) and nice choreography for a 9.300. Stephanie Gentry came to grief on her front aerial, the first major element in her routine, but showed a nice sheep jump, switch leap to wolf jump full, and flip flop to 2 foot layout before falling again on a punch front for a 7.925. Despite her frustrating consistency, Gentry's gymnastics is still amazing... her switch side leap is nearly four feet off the beam! Inna Teslenko, a member of Ukraine's 2002 Jr. European Team, appeared out of shape and fell twice on bars for a 7.700; Diane Grey of Cypress also struggled on bars, counting at least one fall on a Gienger, scoring a 7.000. Nadezda Ivanova showed impeccable form on her pirouetting elements (stalder 1/2 to L grip, front 1/1 in L, front 1/2 to regular, giant 1/1, Tkatchev) and her double layout (tiny hop) but her 8.850 reflected not only her initial 9.5 start value but a lack of a high to low bar transition. Daria Zgoba was impressive on this event as well, showing difficult combinations (inbar stalder + inbar stalder 1/2 to L + Bi turn + Jaeger, Pak salto + stalder 1/2, clear hip 1/2 to L + front 1/1 in L + double front) for a 9.625.

Meghan Blair added a new back tuck full to her beam routine but nearly fell on it; most of her routine was quite wobbly throughout and she also had a huge stumble back on her double pike dismount for a 7.650. Nikki Childs hit a nice beam routine (switch ring, Onodi, Omelianchik) for a 9.150 but teammate Kailey Tissue suffered two falls (Onodi, side somi) for a 7.300. She appeared to be unfazed by the falls, moving through the rest of her routine with confidence; she looks to have a lot of potential but could use some improvements in her form. Australia's Stephanie Moorhouse nearly went out of bounds on her opening pass (2 1/2 twist to front layout) and it proved to just be the beginning of her problems; her 2nd pass was only two whips to a layout, her dance combinations were sloppy, and she fell out of bounds on her double pike for an 8.425. Lanky Hayley Wright showed off beautiful dance and turns on floor but lacked the big tumbling to score higher than 8.500 (low double pike, 2 1/2 twist, front through to double twist). Ashleih Brennan is disturbingly thin and some how managed to remain in one piece after her floor routine (2 1/2 twist, two whips to full twist, fall on double pike, nice flexibility) for an 8.000. Amelie Plante from Canada hit floor for an 8.900, with her hardest pass being her opening piked full-in. D'Andrea Smith showed a nice beam routine with a high flip flop + 2 foot layout, dismounting with a double front for an 8.700. Teammate Emily Peacock mounted with a huge layout stepout for an 8.600. Samantha Miller of Dallas Gym Center started out well on bars with a clean Jaeger, giant 1/1 + shootover, and Kim + double front for an 8.400. Carly Patterson sat out vault and Lisa Skinner did not compete floor.

ROTATION TWO: Vise's new height made her bars even better, especially with most of her pirouettes landing dead in handstand; just a small hop on her dismount earned her a 9.650 and some loud applause from the audience. Kim didn't fair as well, falling on her Endo 1/2 and dismounted with only a double tuck for an 8.100 (stalder 3/2 to L, front giant 1/2.. shootover to stalder 1/1... Tkatchev). Liukin showed a new combination of stalder 1/2 to L, Bi turn, giant 1/1, Pak salto but struggled with the connection. She also fell on her beautiful layout Gienger for an 8.875. Blair showed a new "James Bond" floor routine but her tumbling was mediocre, falling on her running double front and double pike to score a 7.300. Gentry did not fair much better, going out of bounds twice (full-in, 2 1/2 twist to front layout) and falling on her triple twist dismount for an 8.000. Anna Grudko was impressive on beam (front aerial to side somi although not connected, punch front, Onodi) showcasing her gorgeous lines and form to score an 8.400 while Yulia Khorkina fell twice for a 7.450. Ivanova took everyone back to the days of the Soviet dynasty with her immaculate presentation, form, and choreography. She also did a little gymnastics, showing a switch ring, Onodi to Rulfova, front aerial to flip flop to layout, Kochetkova, 2 1/2 twist. Unfortunately some slow connections and wobbles kept her score down to an 8.900. 

Zgoba had another clean routine on beam, mounting with a straddle handstand and showing difficult skills throughout (front aerial to Rueda.. good save on near fall, punch front to sheep, switch ring, gorgeous Popa, full turn with leg above horizontal, roundoff to 2 foot layout, switch side 1/4, double tuck with a hop) for an 8.625. Russo showed a new Yurchenko 1 1/2 with a great landing for a 9.500 and Moorhouse showed a new Lucconi for a  9.100. Childs did the most complete triple twist she's ever done and also had a clean whip to 2 1/2 twist but scored only an 8.350 (to those readers who are impatiently waiting for Childs to get a new floor routine, she is supposedly going to have a new one this summer). D'Andrea Smith's bad luck on floor continued here (she had an awful accident on floor at Junior Nationals last year, tripping while running for her double front and landed on her neck), where she tripped on her front double twist. Her double front was nice and high for an 8.100. Yeny Ibarra from Mexico had an awesome floor routine, really involving the crowd and showing off some strong tumbling at the same time (double layout) for a 7.900. Australia's Aleea Newton showed a cool stag handstand pirouette mount, 2 front aerials, tuck jump 1/1 + sheep + double stag, Shushunova 1/1 (awkward landing, appeared to hit her face on the beam), and dismounted with a reverse gainer for an 8.350. Teammate Stephanie LoPiccolo fell on her layout stepout mount for an 8.200 (switch leap + switch side, Rulfova, Kochetkova + Shushunova). Miller was solid on beam, mounting with a press to straight handstand, full pirouette to reverse planche, press back to handstand. She also showed a front aerial + flip flop + layout, switch leap + tour jete 1/2, and a double twist dismount (8.500). Tissue, Patterson, Skinner, and Vanden Eykel all sat out this rotation.

ROTATION THREE: Blair's bad meet continued on vault, where she fell on her Yurchenko 1 1/2 for an 8.600; teammates Tissue fell on her Hristakieva (8.200) and Childs had a poor front pike (8.800). We got our first look at Carly Patterson in this rotation, where she showed some new combinations on beam; standing arabian, front aerial to flip flop to layout (fall), punch front to sheep, switch leap to back tuck, and did only a double tuck dismount for a 9.025. Vise also had a new combination in her routine, a switch leap to Yang Bo jump (large wobble)... back tuck full (stuck), front aerial to sheep, switch ring, walkover to 2 flip flops to double tuck (step) for a 9.475. Ivanova's "Don Quixote" floor was brilliant but she fell on her 2 1/2 twist to front layout. She also showed a triple twist, triple turn, double pike, and glorious choreography and leaps for an 8.500. Grudko tumbled a very cowboyed double arabian, whip to triple twist (out of bounds), and 2 1/2 twist to music from "Moulin Rouge" to score an 8.650. Kim mounted with a layout stepout (nearly fell) but took out her back tuck full. Her routine included a front aerial to flip flop to layout, switch leap to sheep jump, side somi (touched beam), punch front, switch side, and dismount series of roundoff + flip flop + 2 1/2 twist for an 8.875. Plante fell on her Def (Gienger with additional 1/1 twist) but stuck her double layout to score an 8.625. Emily Peacock had struggled with her layout Hristakieva (8.700) while her teammate Smith showed a huge front pike (8.850). Yulia Khorkina uses her older sister Svetlana's (you may have heard of her before..) exact routine from the 1996 Olympics; despite injuring her ankle during warm-ups, Yulia showed a nice triple twist (out of bounds) and 2 1/2 twist + front full for an 8.800. Leysira Gabdrakhmanova tumbled well (double layout, full in, double pike, front through to triple twist) for a 9.175.

Russo increased her difficulty on bars (toe on to handstand + toe on 3/2 + Jaeger, toe on 1/1 + shootover + toe shoot, Kim + double front) for a 9.525, while Lisa Skinner showed some invert work on bars for a 9.225 (giant 1/2 to L + front 1/1 + front 1/2 to regular + Kim + Jaeger, giant 1/1 + Gienger, shootover, full-in). Teammate Moorhouse also hit bars, showing a giant 1/1 + Tkatchev, Pak, Kim + double front for a 9.450. Liukin was gorgeous on beam as usual (flip flop to 2 layout stepouts, side somi, Onodi + wolf jump 1/1, front aerial to sheep, switch leap + switch side, triple twist.. a little under rotated). Newton under rotated her triple twist and didn't have the difficulty in her other tumbling passes to score higher than an 8.500. Wright showed an Endo 1/1, Jaeger, shootover, and a double front for an 8.550 and Breenan did a clear hip + stalder 1/1 on the low bar, Tkatchev, Pak, and a double pike dismount for an 8.100. Zgoba showed a nice double front and double pike on floor but went out of bounds on a 2 1/2 twist (8.650).

ROTATION FOUR: Zgoba had a clean Lucconi (9.100), Gabdrakhmanova showed the meet's only Yurchenko double (9.500), and Ivanova also had a clean Lucconi (9.200). Vise didn't exactly close the meet out on a good note. Her hands slipped on the floor mat during her opening pass and instead of a front double twist, she did a 1 1/2 twist and flew out of bounds, losing a lot of important tenths. An incomplete triple twist didn't help her case much and she ended up with an 8.600, a very generous score. WOGA teammate Vanden Eykel competed on bars at the same time and faired much better, hitting a near perfect routine (clear hip 1/2 to L + front 1/1 + front 1/2 to regular + Tkatchev, Kim + giant 1/1 + shootover + stalder shoot, double front) for a 9.525. Moorhouse skidded off after a tuck jump 1/1 and a new side somi for an 8.050 (front aerial + flip flop + layout, punch front, switch side, Popa, double tuck). Brennan's highest score (9.000) came on beam, where she showed an effortless front aerial + front walkover + 1 arm flip flop, side somi, switch side 1/4, punch front, switch leap + switch side, and a double tuck dismount. Coach Peggy Liddick watched intently. World beam finalist Russo lost the meet on her specialty, falling on a switch side 1/4 for an 8.500. The rest of the routine was pretty solid though (2 flip flops to 2 foot layout, front aerial to Rulfova.. near fall, punch front, tuck jump 1/1, switch leap + switch side, 2 flip flops to double tuck). Meanwhile Kim was competing on floor, tumbling a full-in, front double twist + front tuck, 2 1/2 twist to front layout (out of bounds), and a double twist (9.150). Skinner mounted beam with a layout stepout and also performed a front aerial + Shushunova 1/4, Valdez variation, sloppy tuck jump 1/1, punch front, 2 flip flops, switch leap + tour jete that did not hit full split, switch side, double turn (which was applauded by the very knowledgeable audience), but dismounted with a simple layout (8.950). The other Wogettes had a solid rotation on bars. Childs hit her routine (stalder 1/1 + Gienger, stalder 1/2 + giant 1/1 + Kim + Pak, double arabian) for a 9.100. Gentry showed a clean Tkatchev and double layout but fell out of handstands and missed elements for an 8.000, clearly it was not her day. Ironically Blair had her highest score of the day on bars (8.675), her weakest event (giant 1/1 + Tkatchev, shootover, double layout). Tissue also needs work on bars, showing a clear hip on the low bar, giant 1/1 + giant 1/2 + shootover, toe shoot, giant 1/1 + Tkatchev, and a double pike (8.450).

Liukin debuted a brand new floor routine but she also struggled with the mat, slipping and doing only a front Rudi instead of her usual Randi and putting her hand down. It didn't seem to affect her, as the rest of the routine (triple twist, 2 1/2 twist) was amazing and she performed her new choreography brilliantly (8.800). Wright's gorgeous beam mount was one of the highlights of the meet, doing a straddle L press to handstand, 1/4 turn to straddle, rotating to split while she did a full pirouette, then planching, then went to a double stag planche - simply gorgeous and difficult! After all of that, she threw a switch leap + split jump, front aerial + sheep + double stag, side somi (wobble), Onodi, flip flop + layout, underrotated tuck jump 1/1, and dismounted with a double twist (8.700). Unfortunately, it's doubtful that too many people were watching... Patterson was going on floor at the same time! Patterson brought the house down with her swing floor, hitting all her dance combinations perfectly, including her new cat leap 2/1 to 3/2. She hit all her tumbling passes (full-in, 2 1/2 twist to front layout, double pike) with the exception of going out of bounds on her double arabian. She really enjoyed performing in front of the home crowd and won floor with the huge score of 9.700... it goes without saying the score was quite inflated.

All in all, it was a great meet despite the numerous falls.