Nationals Night Two

Ahhh now I can breathe.

Simone was in beast mode. Beautiful beam dismount, stuck Lopez vault, stuck bars dismount, classic floor. So naturally, despite that one fall on floor, she won by 5 points. Seriously??? This girl is a champ. Can I say that I think she should add a full twist to the Biles move on floor? She definitely has room and power.

Coming in second was Maggie Nichols! She has to be sooo proud of herself, What improvement she's had. Her Amanar looked great, especially on day two. It's funny, in person, her tumbling looks so light and effortless bu tit doesn't quite translate that way on TV. I think the loud booms from everyone's landings doesn't help. They're much more magnified during broadcasts than in the actual arena. Anyway, Maggie deserves a spot on the World's team for sure. That being said, her form isn't so great and I'm a bit of a stickler about those things.

Third was Aly and she looked back to her usual self despite that scary vault. I'm torn with thinking she needs the high D-score from the Amanar but also knowing that it's done so poorly, maybe she's better off with a nice clean DTY. But even with that she still wouldn't score as well as a crappy 2.5 so oh well. I don't really love her floor routine right now. The tumbling is great of course but the choreo and music isn't as engaging as it was in London. Maybe they can tweak it a little.

Then we have Bailie and her tuxedo. This girl is growing on me. I think I can get behind her quiet gymnastics and steady form. She sort of reminds me of vintage Kyla Ross with her lower difficulty but nice execution and consistency. So yeah, I've decided I'm rooting for Bailie Key. And she had a beautiful bar routine

Gabby looked slightly better on some events on night two and slightly worse on others. Her beam was a mess of balance checks and tentativeness but her landings on floor were improved. I still hate that floor routine, something just isn't right about it. Maddie K, Ashton and Bailie can beat her on bars so she really isn't anything special there right now. I wouldn't put her in Glasgow just yet.

I barely saw Madison Kocian because the stupid NBC broadcast only showed like five of the athletes. Made me miss the blasted livestream. They showed her bars and beam. Bars looked a little worse than night one and they took out the standing full from her beam which was a safe move.

Oh Mykayla Skinner, that leo. Good grief, someone needs to tell this girl that Ireland and Scotland are not the same land. Honestly, it's just embarrassing at this point. Her vault is so ugly with that block, sorry I can't give it up. But her floor landings looked nice and she was solid on beam so good effort for her. At 7th place, I don't see her on the World's team.

 Kyla. Sigh. Same issue on bars, headcased vault and a shaky floor. That beam helped a bit but overall a disastrous night for her. Ugh, I so want her to get it together but maybe her body is just tired and needs a break. She's been training elite for so long. It's such a catch-22 with her. If she doesn't upgrade, she hits nice watered down routines but has such a low D-score it's hard to break into the top ranks. If she does upgrade, she barely hits despite having that higher D-score. I don't know the solution because I think everyone is tired of seeing the same routines she's been competing since 2012.

Brenna Dowell had a great first half of her bar routine and then got tired of something and bombed the end. But she hit all the other events so I'm a bit pissed that she wasn't named to the NT. Headgames I guess, Brenna is always the resident punching bag. If she can become consistent on bars and gain some difficulty on floor, I really think she's a contender but sadly, I see her as being alternate again.

Rachel Gowey had a nice showing, even if it was just bars and beam. Did she do the AA at pan ams? I don't know. I hope she hasn't hurt her ankle again. But she did have a great bar set night one and her beam looked solid.

Didn't see much of Bauman or Dennis so no comment there but both were named to the team so they must have done alright.

I'm going to do a leotard post this week so stay tuned!

Natinoals Night One

WHAT IS LIFE?!?

Aly, Kyla, Simone...some other people I don't care about as much.
One by one they fell...
And one by one I screamed and grabbed my face in horror until my sister had to tell me to shut up.

It was like 2006 up in here.

I know people are saying that Simone is human and humans make mistakes but darn it, I don't want Simone to be human. Especially now when there are people who I really don't want to beat her. And yeah, she still won by over a point so that was nice but still.

Anyway, let's back up...

So I had to watch the live stream because out of all of our three hundred channels, we don't get Universal Sports! After a big dramatic episode of "Hooking the Laptop up to the TV"  I finally got to settle in and watch some guy (John something or other) make a big fool out of himself. Twenty minutes later, a beautiful montage of all the US champions for the passed 25 years or so. I yelled out, "Brandy! Kim! Shannon! and so on, right up until my girl Simone.

Let's talk about her first. Simone started out fine and then there were some issues on beam and that fall on floor. And what a strange fall it was, almost like she didn't even set up her landing. Her Amanar was beautiful, stuck like a pro! She had some leg issues coming in for the landing but overall beautiful.

I screamed when Aly Raisman fell on beam, why oh why?  On the bright side, she hit a great FX but the music isn't my favorite and doesn't seem to captivate like in 2012 but it could grow on me. She landed a scary Amanar and had a typical bar routine but I think she can pull through on Saturday. Just no more falls, ok?

Maggie Nichols hit four for four. She did her Amanar vault but I don't really remember much else fro her. She's definitely the dark horse but nothing really stood out for me last night except her upgrading beam dismount that looked pretty good.

Kyla....poor girl. Issues on bars, issues on floor and just so so on beam and vault. Actually her vault can be so much cleaner. I think she only had that one upgrade on UB and took out the others. And on floor, why the hand??? Ugh, if she doesn't kick butt on night two, it is definitely the beginning of the end for her. I want her to upgrade and hit but maybe it's just not in the cards? Whether it be physical or mental, it just doesn't seem to be working out. Prove me wrong Kyla!

For some reason, I expected that Gabrielle Douglas would do alright. I don't like her floor and was glad that it was scored appropriately and she did have some wobbles on beam. Her bars were alright but not as impressive to me anymore. I don't know, I'm so torn on this girl. I'm glad that her comeback is legit and she appears to be working for it but I hate the cockiness and the trash talk of her former gym. It's just petty and unnecessary.

Another girl who seems to always pull it together for Nationals is Mykayla Skinner and pull it together she did. Her form is still atrocious and that floor, good grief but she hit so she should be happy. She only did a DTY for her second vault though which I don't see helping her at all. I don't see her making the worlds team, barring any major injuries for the other key players.

And then there was Kim Zmeskal. Or wait, Bailie Key in Kim's old leotard. And as ugly as it was in the 90's, I thought Bailie looked kind of fabulous in it last night. Still though, I can't seem to get behind this girl. She just seems blah and needs a little spark somewhere. And she needs some height on those leaps and jumps. Honestly, I think she can take this year to improve and upgrade and really take it to the next level. I don't think she's peaked yet, or at least I think she can peak again when it counts.

Let's not forget my girl Brenna Dowell! Wast hat the first time she hit four for four since 2013? I think so. I was so nervous watching her but so happy when she made it through. Her bars had a few potential scary moments but she pulled it off and that beam was GREAT for her! Floor was nice, and solid vault despite landing OOB's. I need her to pull it out for night two. You got this Brenna!

Fellow GAGE girl, Madison Desch did not have such a good night. She fell on beam and on bars which is a shame because her bars are actually quite nice. She did not go OOB's on floor which is rare so I was happy about that.

The WOGA's, I think, have had their day in the sun. Madison Kocian fell on beam despite having a nice bar set and Alyssa Bauman needs more than a nice beam set to keep her relevant.

You know who's fun to watch? Amelia Hundley, girl just goes out and has a good time. I like that she competes for the fun of it and though her difficulty is low, she makes her routines exciting with the way she showcases them.

I know I'm missing some people but these are who I remembered! I'm not going to be home to watch night two live but I'll put it on as soon as I return and will have a blog up on Sunday. I can't wait!
What did you think???

Qualificiation Start List

Here it is folks:

Looks like Biles, Ross, Skinner and Kocian will by vying for the two all-around spots. I'd say that Kocian is a no, barring an injury for another girl. I'm hoping that Kyla's technique and form can edge out Skinners difficulty.

As for ER, I definitely see the US having the maximum 2 girls for each apparatus. Vault and floor is pretty obvious but the other two can go a few different ways.

As suspected, Desch is the alternate. I know she's not a consistent athlete and she's failed to impress many times but for some reason, I prefer her to both Kocian and Bauman. I thought she looked better than Bauman at podium training but that's here nor there now.

There will be a live webcast tomorrow at 6 am. I'm thinking that I'll wake up early and watch, worlds only happens once a year so I might as well make the most of it and see it in real time. I'm really excited to see what happens!

My Expectations for Worlds

Alyssa Bauman: Only girl besides Desch who I think could be chosen as alternate but I still doubt it. No finals for this one

Simone Biles: If she competes like her usual self, she has that second all around title in the bag. Same with vault and floor really. She could easily sneak in a medal on beam too.

Madison Desch: I think she'll probably end up as alternate, unless one of the others is hurt or performs badly in training.

Madison Kocian: Maybe (but probably not) a medal in bar finals but that all depends on how the other athletes perform. Hopefully she stays healthy but I have a bad feeling.

Ashton Locklear: I imagine she'll compete just bars and do a decent job but not the amazing routine we saw at Classics. Definitely a medal for her if she hits.

Mykayla Sinner: She'll make the vault and possibly floor final. I hope to the heavens that she doesn't medal on floor because her form is truly atrocious. She most likely has the vault silver or bronze unless she messes up...but come on, that Cheng?? It's an insult to Cheng Fei, it truly is.

Kyla Ross: She won't do her upgraded pass on floor to play it safe. All-around silver is possible for her again but both WOGA's and Locklear can challenge her bars, not to mention Queen Aliya. She could make finals in all but vault and floor but I don't see her being quite as successful as last year.

Overall
All-Around: Gold and silver/bronze
Team: Gold or silver
Vault: 2 medals
Bars: 1 medals
Beam: 1-2 medals
Floor: 1 medal

Brenna Get's Screwed Over Again (2014 Worlds Team)

Team: Alyssa Bauman, Simone Biles, Madison Desch, Madison Kocian, Ashton Locklear, Kyla Ross and Mykayla Sinner. 

Brenna Dowell is non-travelling alternate, other alternate TBD in China

Honestly, this whole thing seems a little bit suspect to me. First of all, Maggie Nichols petition must have been denied which REALLY makes me angry. This was most likely her one and only shot at being on a worlds team and it's now ruined in the name of Pan Ams?? :(

Then you have the whole Brenna debacle. She must have performed well enough at the camp all around in order to be named alternate but they are taking Desch over her? Yeah, they'll probably both end up alternates but still.

The actual team is just "meh" for me. I hate that Skinner is near it, I'm not a fan of Kocian but what other choices were there really? It is what it is. I think that Skinner and both WOGA's will be seriously in for a shock by the international scoring. Locklear even makes me slightly nervous because she apparently seemed a bit shell shocked in Canada. Hopefully she is prepared for the crowds and such.

I'll have my predictions up for what I think each athlete will end up doing but for now, I just wanted to check in.

Also, not sure if everyone has heard but Deanna Soza (JO National Team member), has a very serious eye infection in both eyes and her sight could be in jeopardy. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

World's Team Predictions

(This was originally posted on my personal blog before making this one :)

Last week at school I was so very bored and so I came up with my predictions for the US Team.
Here was my original list:

Simone Biles (duh)
Kyla Ross (duh)
Mykayla Skinner (say it ain't so...)
Madison Kocian (because WOGA)
Alyssa Bauman (because who else is there)
Alt: Desch, Locklear 

Vault: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Bauman)
UB: Kocian, Bauman, Ross (backup Biles)
BB: Kocian, Ross, Bauman (backup Skinner??)
FX: Bauman, Skinner, Biles (backup Ross)

Hmm...seems alright?? Then I remembered Locklear! The girl who came from nowhere and has better form than the WOGA's. So I might just switch Bauman for Locklear. But then we run into a problem for FX and possibly beam because apparently Marta doesn't like to use her there. So here is a revised list with Locklear:


Simone Biles (duh)
Kyla Ross (duh)
Mykayla Skinner (say it ain't so...)
Madison Kocian (because WOGA)
Ashton Locklear
Alt: Desch, Bauman

Vault: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Kocian?)
UB: Kocian, Ross, Locklear (backup Biles)
BB: Kocian, Ross, Locklear (backup Skinner??)
FX: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Kocian)

I'm pretty positive it has to be one of these two teams. I have this weird soft spot for Maddie Desch because she was so promising as a Junior and can't seem to reach her potential as a Senior. If she would just tighten up those floor landings and learn to stay on the beam...
We shall know by the end of next week!