While the NCAA gymnastics season has ended, several Gator gymnasts are still training in full swing, preparing to compete for one of five berths on the U.S. Olympic team headed to Paris this summer. Tonight, they will demonstrate their progress since Winter Cup, the first meet of this elite season, at the Core Hydration Classic.
The U.S. Classic is the last qualifying meet to the U.S. Championships, but luckily, all Gators have already achieved their qualifying scores previously. Florida’s roster of competitors here may be the largest of any school with a whopping five former, current, deferring, or future Gators: student coach and former standout Trinity Thomas, rising senior Leanne Wong, deferring sophomore Kayla DiCello, and commits Skye Blakely and Amelia Disidore.
Disidore will only be competing on bars and beam, but the other four will compete all-around. The goal today will be to demonstrate improvement, show off upgrades, and prove different levels of readiness based on how competitive each athlete might be for the team. Wong and Blakely are the likeliest to make the team, having been on the last two consecutive World Championship teams, both of which won gold medals. They will want to demonstrate comfort with their upgrades, but now is not the time to peak – the selection committee will be much more forgiving to both of them for any errors based on their significant experience and recent body of work.
DiCello is next likeliest, as both a former Olympic alternate and the alternate to the 2023 Worlds team. She, too, will want to show her full difficulty, but she’ll also probably want to avoid any major execution errors if at all possible, too. Her consistency is one of her major selling points as a team member, as is her evenness across events, so she’ll want to show that off today.
In the outside chance category, Thomas is more likely competing for an alternate berth, but if she can show consistency and a steady increase in difficulty, she could sneak onto the team, especially if others falter. Disidore is even less likely, with no real international experience to speak of, but an invite to Trials would certainly be the highlight of her elite career. Both of them will want to be clean as clean can be today while also still showing whatever upgrades are competition-ready, demonstrating that they are making efforts to be internationally competitive.
Outside of the Gators, the big storyline at this meet is that this is the first time in modern gymnastics history that three Olympic all-around champions will be competing together at the same meet. Gabby Douglas, 2012 gold medalist, is making her elite comeback debut after having to scratch Winter Cup due to a COVID-19 infection. Simone Biles, 2016 gold medalist, will be competing for a berth on a third Olympic team in what is likely her last elite season, and Sunisa Lee, 2021 gold medalist, will attempt to show that she can still hang with the top crowd after having a disastrous Winter Cup.
There are also several other NCAA teams who have current, former, and future athletes competing – Auburn with four; LSU and UCLA with three each; Clemson, Michigan, and Oregon State each with two; and Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Utah each with one. Keep an eye on Olympians Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and Jade Carey (Oregon St), as well as former Worlds team members Shilese Jones and Joscelyn Roberson (Arkansas), SEC beam champion Konnor McClain (LSU), and young contenders Katelyn Jong (Auburn) and Kaliya Lincoln (LSU).
Action starts at 7pm ET, in just a few minutes, and I will be following as many athletes as they will show on the broadcast, but based on the first session today… I can’t make any promises about getting every routine, or even every Gator routine. I will do my best, and the broadcast will do its best to get in my way.
If you’d like to watch along, the USA Gymnastics YouTube channel is broadcasting the meet for viewers outside the U.S. (if you have a VPN, you may be able to get creative), and for those of us in the U.S., it’ll be live on CNBC and Peacock, but a delayed broadcast will also be shown tomorrow at 2pm ET.
Find the start list here and results here, and we’ll get started shortly!
Wong took the Dos Santos out of her NCAA routine this year because it was so inconsistent, but here it looks excellent! Hopefully she can replicate this in competition.
Scott Bregman of Olympics.com is live at the meet and had lots to share about warmups! I’m most excited about this incoming upgrade from Thomas, but he also had good things to say about DiCello and Wong.
7:02pm: Broadcast is already much better than session 1!
Carey, FX: FTDLO, kinda bouncy but stays in bounds fine. Full in for her second pass, very low chest. Dance pass is solid, she’s clearly worked on that. DLO third pass – some athletes dream of that, it takes so much stamina. Double tuck to close – commentary is right, she could upgrade every single pass in there still.
The leo game is going SO HARD tonight and I am so here for it.
Commentary is talking a lot about Suni Lee and her kidney disease – I’m so impressed by her managing a chronic illness while pursuing another Olympic berth. It takes so much.
Major scoring delay for Carey, but she starts with a 13.8. Wong has also already vaulted, I’m hoping we’ll see a replay of that shortly, she’s leading with a 13.9.
Lee, FX: DLO to open, gorgeous, a little bouncy on the landing. Switch ring to tour jete half is excellent, great positions in the air. 1.5 to front full, great twisting form. Really making the case for one of the USA’s more artistic athletes here with her choreo. Fell out of a wolf turn, that’ll hurt her. Double tuck, a little short on that landing, looked like an ankle stinger.
Douglas, UB: Starting on her best event! Great pirouette work to start but got a little ahead of herself, had to break and recast, tried to repeat but had to hop down. Tried to go again, but had to hop down again, is going to rechalk. The crowd is chanting her name! Remounts, van Leeuwen looks good, does a DLO just rod-straight, hops on the landing. She’ll be missing the single-bar release compositional requirement, that won’t be a great score. Luckily, she’s qualified with a 3-event score to Nationals, so it’s not the end of the world.
We’ve missed several other major routines – Jones is leading with a 14.35 on vault, Chiles went on beam and hit a 13.7, Blakely went 13.2 on bars, and Thomas hit vault for a 13.0.
13.0 for Lee and just a 10.1 for Douglas, that’s rough.
Now we’re going back, excellent.
Blakely, UB: Great opening handstand, pirouette a little late. piked Jaeger is solid. Stalder piked Tkachev directly to pak, aggressive connection. Some flexed feet in the low bar work. Went for a van Leeuwen and didn’t get her hands fully around the bar, falls to her knees. Finished strong with a good dismount, 13.2
DiCello, UB: Low bar work is clean so far, maybe a recast? Goes for a Maloney and falls, yikes. Repeats the skill, much better. Jaeger is excellent. Piked Tkachev to pak, some leg sep, she went big on that release. Full in dismount, little hop forward. Good recovery, but not ideal for her. 12.7, oof.
McClain, BB: This should be a treat. Standing full, super secure. Bhs bhs2ft layout2ft – just FLOATS it down to the beam, wow. Switch leap to switch half, excellent splits. Front aerial to split to straddle, good connections. Side aerial, right to the end of the beam but doesn’t act like it. Switch ring, just a little bobble but stays on. Just a timer layout dismount, but she put together an excellent set. For her first elite meet in like three years? Good for her.
Wong, VT: DTY, practically textbook form, just a little hop back. 13.95, in second right now.
Jones, VT: Seeing this replay now too, excellent. DTY, RIDICULOUS distance, incredible form. The cleanest of clean.
Biles, BB: Switch leap springboard mount, no issues. Back pike, so satisfying. Triple wolf turn, some bobbles but gets through. Front aerial to split to straddle, so quick. Bhs loso loso, like she’s on the floor. Side aerial, just a little wiggle. Full in dismount – the hardest piece of gymnastics you’ll see on beam today – just a step back. She is CRUISING with her gymnastics, we love to see the queen so comfortable in herself.
AFTER ONE: AA Standings
1. Biles: 14.55
2. Jones: 14.35
3. McClain: 14.2
4. Wong: 13.95
5. Carey: 13.8
6. Chiles: 13.7
7. Roberson: 13.45
8. Blakely: 13.2
…
11T. Thomas: 13.0
…
17. DiCello: 12.7
Douglas has decided to scratch the rest of the meet. We know she had trouble getting here this weekend due to the weather in Houston, so it may be exhaustion and lack of sleep giving her trouble. Hopefully she’ll be right as rain in two weeks at Championships.
McClain was carried off the floor after floor warmups, where it appeared she injured herself on a double layout… that’s devastating. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but that may be the end of her quest, she was not qualified to Nationals.
7:36pm: Rotation two!
Chiles just hit a floor routine, but every tumbling pass felt short and crunched. OOB on the last pass. Big wait on the score. 13.35.
Lee, VT: Yfull, very floaty and clean, bounce back on the landing. 13.15.
Carey, VT: Cheng – which is a Yhalf-on, layout 1.5 twist off, the hardest non-Biles vault today – definitely some feet and some knees toward the end, little bounce on the landing. I’m used to more distance from her.
Roberson, FX: Moors – a double-twisting double lay – knees bent and a little wild on the landing. Rushed into her choreography. Buckled on her punch to her second pass. Third pass is no better, DLO last pass is also super low. I’m so scared for her Achilles injury, that’s rough.
Switching to the international feed for some more routines –
DiCello, BB: Candle mount, good start. Triple wolf, little bend forward on the third rotation but makes it around okay. Switch full, a little wild but doesn’t bobble on the landing. Bhs loso loso, some knees. Switch to switch half to bhs, little short of 180 on the half. Front aerial, hesitates, split to straddle, definitely a broken connection. Side aerial, balance check a bit. 2.5 twist dismount, leg form is a little wild. Hop on the landing. 13.5.
Wong, UB: Great opening handstand, little late on the pirouette. Jaeger is fine. Some leg sep on that pirouette. Bhardwaj, a little wild in the twist. Maloney had some bent legs? to pak, better. van Leeuwen is clean. DLO stuck cold – a good ending, some of those upgrades still need some work. 13.85!
Back to the main feed –
Jones, UB: Layout Jaeger!! Incredible. Tkachev to pak, to van Leeuwen, so clean. Double front, little bounce. A 15.25!! Huge!
Thomas on the international feed – super clean, much lower difficulty than Wong but way cleaner. Ricna to pak, fabulous. Sticks her DLO!
Biles, FX: Starting with a little Ready for It? from Taylor Swift, love it. Triple double to start, big bounce OOB but it literally doesn’t matter as hard as the skill is. Punch front full to double double, wow. A little overrotated on her dance passage. Loving this choreo section. Double layout half out – her eponymous element! DLO to finish is super clean and still has so much stamina – that’s the GOAT right there, y’all. Take it all in, we are so lucky to be alive at the same time as Simone Biles.
Blakely, BB: Love this rotating split headstand mount she does, so fun. Triple wolf, very steady, well controlled. Standing full, little leg up but keeps it below hip height. Front handspring front tuck series, we love a front tumbling queen. Never see that. Switch leap to switch half, landing straight-legged, she’s got too many nerves. Front aerial to split to bhs, a little slow in connections but may make them all. Side aerial is excellent, nice and solid. Roundoff double pike dismount, single step. Well done!
Main feed showing DiCello now, I wasn’t sure if they would. I do wish she’d stayed at Florida instead of deferring, I don’t love the skill selection Kelli Hill has done for her beam, I feel like Jenny Rowland would have helped design a cleaner routine while still keeping the difficulty, but that’s my personal opinion.
AFTER TWO: AA STANDINGS
1. Jones: 29.6
2. Biles: 29.35
3. Carey: 28.1
4. Wong: 27.8
5. Thomas: 27.3
6T. Blakely and Chiles: 27.05
8. Sumanasekera: 26.9
9. Zeiss: 26.35
10. DiCello: 26.2
We’ll get our first look at Disidore this rotation, if the broadcast shows her – she’ll compete on bars. Wong and Thomas will go to beam, Blakely and DiCello to floor.
How about Shilese Jones beating Simone Biles at the half?? Wild. However, Biles still has vault to come, where her difficulty outscores literally everyone else, and Jones has her best two events behind her.
8:03pm: Rotation 3!
Roberson, VT: Cheng, deep knee bend, big lunge back. Almost sat it, wow. She was not ready for this. 13.55.
Jones, BB: Switch leap mount to switch half, gorgeous. Standing arabian, a little deep on the landing but WOW so solid. Bhs bhs2ft layout2ft, not as floaty as McClain but darn close. Side aerial, maybe a little check but masks it well. L turn, another check but patient with it, adjusts well. Double tuck dismount, just a little shuffle back.
DiCello, FX: On the international feed here. Double double to open, a little short but covers well. Triple wolf turn, nice and clean. 2.5 to front full, missed her punch and sits the full, oof. Switch ring to switch full, both gorgeous. Double pike to close, a little short, chest low. Passable, but she’ll want it better.
Biles, VT: Yurchenko double pike, big bounce back – gets sooooo much height over the table, holy cow. 15.6! Absolutely incredible.
Sumanasekera, VT: Int’l feed only for now. DTY, pretty clean, good distance. Big stutter step back.
Carey, UB: She’s in third right now! Great place for her to be. Good first handstand, pirouette went a little far. Bhardwaj – oh no, misses her hand, dad catches her but she has to hop down. Remounts, doesn’t repeat. Inbar Gienger is good. Ezhova, much cleaner. Full in dismount, bounces in place.
8:14pm: Blakely, FX: FTDLO, sooooo straight in the air, just a single step OOB. Double front, really strong. This choreo section is fun, really selling it. Just a double tuck to close, gets suuuuch a good rise on that, she has to be training a full in or something to go there. Another OOB I think? But still, solid routine for her. 13.25.
Wong, BB: Switch leap mount, stumbles. Goes into her next elements but the connection is broken. Front aerial, split, straddle, gorgeous. Bhs loso, dead on. Switch ring, maybe a little shy of perfect position. Side somi, and she’s off! No! Very off her center of gravity, yeah. That’s unfortunate. Remounts, preps for the dismount. Roundoff 2.5 dismount, a little stutter step on the landing.
Chiles, VT: DTY, very clean, just a hop back. 14.1! Her best tonight easily.
Thomas, BB: They’re showing her on the main feed! Switch leap mount to switch half to korbut, no problems, such quick connections. Double wolf turn, didn’t take her time to get comfortable and now she’s off, oof. Remounts with a deep breath. Side aerial loso, and she’s off again. She’s gotten in her head, that’s tough. Crowd goes wild for her, hope she can feel the support. Front aerial to split to straddle, much more solid. Side somi, also steady. Switch leap to split half, great split positions, some flexed feet on the second element. Gainer tuck full to dismount, little hop. Not the routine she wanted, big hug from Rowland as she comes off the podium. Needs to let it go to get her head right for the upgrades coming on floor.
AFTER THREE: AA STANDINGS
1. Biles: 44.95
2. Jones: 43.65
3. Chiles: 41.15
4. Carey: 40.95
5. Sumanasekera: 40.75
6. Blakely: 40.3
7. Wong: 40.2
8T. Roberson and Caylor: 39.3
…
12. DiCello: 38.85
13. Thomas: 38.8
Disidore had trouble on bars like many others tonight, just a 12.2. Blakely and DiCello will go to vault, Wong and Thomas to floor, and Disidore to beam.
8:33pm: Last rotation!
Biles, UB: Great opening handstand work on low bar. Maloney, clean. Tkachev to pak is good, connection is clean. Van leeuwen okay. Just a little dismount hop – was that a double double dismount? Bars still isn’t her best event but it’s clean, and that’s what keeps her in the lead. 14.55! 6.2 difficulty? Good god. That’s bars final material.
Blakely, VT: DTY, super clean, body super straight, just a little hop back.
Sumanasekera, UB: Great opening handstand, pirouette a little late. Maloney to pak, legs so so clean. van Leeuwen is a lot messier, a bend and a cross, it looked like. Jaeger, some flexed feet but good turnover. The half turn to directional change irks me, but it is what it is. Full in dismount, just a small bounce.
8:41pm: Carey, BB: Split to korbut, good connection. Bhs loso, a little slow but steady. Switch side, some flexed feet. Switch to switch half to straddle jump, good connections, some short of 180? Side aerial is clean. Double pike dismount, low chest, hop forward. 13.45, passable.
Lee, BB: She skipped bars for some reason, interesting. Aerial mount, that’s fun. Mixed series to start, solid. Switch to switch half to ring jump, gorgeous. Bhs loso loso, dead on. Switch ring, a little bobble there. Gainer pike full off the end, little hop. Good for her! If she had to skip bars to do that, I think it was a smart choice.
Jones, FX: Starting in center oversplit, I’m here for it. Double double to open, good control, upright body position on the landing. Double L to double turn, a little awkward on her beginning and ending positions but made it around. DLO is clean. Dance passage also a little imprecise? Apparently choreographed this routine herself, wow! Very cool. Punch front through to double tuck, a little short but moves ahead quickly. Not her best, but definitely has good bones.
I guess they’re not going to show us any more routines? Wong went 13.25 on floor, Thomas scratched floor, and DiCello went 13.65 on vault, presumably with a DTY. Disidore also scratched beam – wonder if her fall shook her up.
FINAL AA STANDINGS
1. Biles: 59.5
2. Jones: 57.65
3. Chiles: 55.45
4. Carey: 54.4
5. Blakely: 54.35
6. Sumanasekera: 53.9
7. Wong: 53.45
8. Caylor: 53.0
…
12T. DiCello: 52.5
Thomas tied for No. 3 on bars with her 14.3, so she definitely made a statement tonight despite not competing all four events.
It’ll be interesting to see how these athletes improve over the next two weeks before Championships. There’s definitely a lot to work on, but a lot that looked really promising tonight, too!
I’ll be back here on the 31st to cover our Gators at that meet as well, so I’ll see you back here then. Thanks for joining me tonight!
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