January News Roundup

Only one month of the new year has gone by, but there has already been an abundance of gym news, including the elite, NCAA, and Junior Olympic levels and non-competition headlines.

American Cup Selections
Kyla Ross, Danell Leyva, and Jake Dalton have been selected to represent the US in this year’s American Cup. Joining the women are Victoria Moors (Canada), Vanessa Ferrari (Italy), Elizabeth Seitz (Germany), Koko Tsurumi and Asuka Teramoto (Japan). Recent World Cup Champion Elizabeth Price and Romanian Olympian Larisa Iordache have withdrawn from the competition. Price has suffered a hip strain, while Iordache’s reason for withdrawal is unknown. The second American woman will be announced and decided after a February training camp. Iordache’s replacement will also be later announced. On the men’s side will be Marcel Nguyen (Germany), Kristian Thomas (Great Britain), Sergio Sasaki (Brazil), Oleg Verniev (Ukraine), Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez (Colombia), and Hiroshi Ishikawa (Japan). The American Cup is scheduled to occur on March 2 at 11 P.M. EST in Worcester, MA at the DCU Center. It will be televised on March 2 from 1-3 P.M. EST on NBC.

Photo Courtesy of chronicle.augusta.com

Priessman Floor Upgrades
Reigning junior national champion Lexie Priessman is planning numerous upgrades for her floor routine this year, her first year a senior. They include a double double, a laid-out full in, 1 ½ to full in, and a double tuck.  Click (here) to see Lexie's upgrades on bars and beam.

Ebee Upgrades2012 Glasgow and Stuttgart World Cup champion Elizabeth Price is also planning upgrades of her own for the new year. Price is training a second vault, a Mustafina. She will also be adding a double layout with a full twist to her floor routine.

Komova Injures Back
Recent speculation by Russian press reports that 2012 Olympian Viktoria Komova (Russia) has suffered a back injury. It began as back pain, but has gotten worse. Now a performance from Komova in upcoming competitions, such as the European Championships, is questionable. We wish her all the best in her recovery.

Photo Courtesy of  unknown

 Sacramone Announces Retirement
On January 29, 2008 Olympian Alicia Sacramone officially announced her retirement. After the 2012 Olympic Trials, it was inferred that the veteran would take this action, but it has not been formally announced until recently. Although she will no longer compete in the sport, she would still like to be involved. Best wishes to Alicia in her retirement! For more information on Sacramone’s retirement and career, go to http://usagym.org/pages/features/130129_sacramone/.

Nastia Cup Qualifiers
The Nastia Liukin Cup qualifiers have finally began as Junior Olympic gymnasts compete for spots to one of the most popular non-elite competitions. The January 11-13 weekend kicked off the beginning of qualifiers as Emily Schild (Texas East Gymnastics), Kiera Brown (World Class Gymnastics), and Sydney Doggette (Buckeye Gymnastics) qualified. The January 18-20 weekend qualifiers include Emily Gaskins (Cincinnati Gymnastics), Reagan Campbell (Texas Dreams), Samantha Partyka (Champions Gymnastics), Ashleigh Gnat (ACE Gymnastics), reigning Nastia Cup Champion Charity Jones (Dynamo Gymnastics), Mariah Peterson (USA Gymnastics World), Mackenzie Brannan (Capital Gymnastics), and Drew Watson (Texas East Gymnastics). During the Janury 25-27 weekend, Alex McMurtry (Richmond Olympiad Gymnastics), Alicia Boren (North Stars Gymnastics), Lexy Ramler (KidSport Dynamos Gymnastics), Ashton Locklear (Everest Gymnastics), Miranda Cabada (Winners Gymnastics), Bridget Dean (Orlando Metro Gymnastics), and Rachel Daum (Stars Gymnastics) qualified. For more info on the Nastia Liukin Cup, go to http://usagym.org/pages/events/nlc/.

Teen Choice Live Tour Canceled
The Teen Choice Live Tour has officially been canceled. Fierce Five gold medalists Gabrielle Douglas, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber were scheduled to join 2008 Olympian Shawn Johnson and musical guest Megan and Liz and Noelle Bean for a multi-city tour. Due to scheduling conflicts and other conditions, the tour had to be canceled. Ticket refunds are available. For more info, go to http://www.teenchoicelive.com/, or contact the venue.

Haidu Leaves Romanian National Team
Romanian gymnast Raluca Haidu has left the Romanian national team. She has returned to Deva, and it is unlikely that she will return to maintain one of Europe’s best teams. Haidu was a part of the gold-medal-winning 2012 European Championships team.

Photo Courtesy of Thomas Schreyer

NCAA Week 3 Highlights
For the 36th time in NCAA history, the Michigan women's gymnastics team beat the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, 197.350 to 195.100 on January 19. Michigan swept all events including the all-around. Just one day before Michigan’s victory, Florida Gator and former elite Mackenzie Caquatto earned her first perfect 10.0 in her NCAA career. Caquatto scored a 10.0 on one of her best events, the uneven bars. For more NCAA week 3 recaps and news, go to
http://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=11303&prog=h
 

^{NCAA Raises Breast Cancer Awareness}
Alabama, Florida, Arizona State, and Illinois hosted "pink meets" during the January 25-27 weekend to raise awareness for breast cancer. Alabama hosted the Kentucky Wildcats in their Power of Pink meet. Florida hosted Auburn in their Link to Pink meet. Arizona State hosted the UCLA Bruins. Kentucky, Florida, and Arizona State all had their meets on January 25. Illinois hosted the Michigan State Spartans in their pink meet on January 26. All home teams were victorious in their duals with the exception of Arizona State, who lost to UCLA.

NCAA Week 4 Highlights
The Oklahoma’s women’s gymnastics team will compete at the Metroplex Challenge Champions on January 26 by defeating LSU, Oregon, Georgia, and Washington. The Sooners posted 3 back-to-back 9.9s on bars to create their best bar routine of the season in their victory. The former number-one-ranked Michigan Wolverines competed in a quad meet on January 26, but did not finish in the top spot. The Wolverines came in second behind Minnesota.

Miller Pregnant with Second Child
After surviving ovarian cancer and having her first child, seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller announced her miraculous pregnancy. Miller received surgery to remove a germ cell tumor, her left tube and ovary, and then began chemotherapy. After this, Miller and husband John Falconetti realized their chances of having a second child, which they have wanted and planned, were slim. Now Miller is expecting her second child this summer and is cancer free. Congratulations, Shannon! For more info on her pregnancy and cancer, go to http://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=11283&prog=.

Photo Courtesy of unknown

Liukin to Walk in Fashion Show
2008 Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin is set to walk in The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection Fashion Show. The show will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom on February 6. Nastia will be walking the runway to represent the presenting sponsor’s (Diet Coke) partnership with Subway. For more information on The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection, go to http://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=11316&prog=.

Written by: Amanda