Today, the senior US team rumbles into Jesolo to international-experience up a storm against teams from Russia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, France, and Belgium.

Earlier in the day, all the US juniors scored 199 billion to run away with the competition. BUT NO ONE SAW IT COMING. Perea took the AA with 57.550, followed by O’Keefe with 57.300 and Malabuyo with 56.700. Those would have been really good junior scores in the last code, let alone this one.

The first half of rotation 1 has Italy on vault, France on bars, USA 1 on beam, and Russia on floor. The second half has Brazil on vault, Canada on bars, Mixed Group on beam, and USA 2 on floor. They’ll rotate from there.

We can see the opening ceremony dancers getting ready and it looks like quite the experience, so you’ve still got time. There are big green balloons. You’ve got a lot of time.

I think the giant balloons are doing binary? Anyone know what 1101010100 is in binary? Because this is like a riddle or something. Others have some smaller balloons that look like when you’re in sex ed and blow up a condom as big as you can because hehehehehehehhehe. They’re filled with popcorn? Glitter popcorn? Oh, I love opening ceremonies.

It appears a bunch of rhythmic gymnasts have been trapped in a white sheet and they can’t get out. Someone help them? The others are just running in circles with their popcorn condoms and not helping them at all. Bitches. Is it the 10th anniversary of this competition? That would explain the binary theme.

Special tribute to Vanessa Ferrari. She is being presented with a canvas shopping bag full of flowers and her choice of three children?

When sporting events present the flags, more should do it with a series of back handsprings. Like when the military comes out presenting the colors, they should have to go at least a 4.0 beam routine with it otherwise it doesn’t count.

Anthems and introductions dispensed with, we’re into the touch warmup now. Melnikova just warmed up a double arabian to her wrists for good luck.

Looks like USA 1 is McCusker, Hurd, Nguyen, and Locklear.

Spiridonova – FX – nearly sits a double arabian with a stumble backward – 2.5 – only a couple barf grunts in her music – double tuck, chest but fine.

Hurd – BB – one step backward on her back with a full but its it – huge break on her bhs loso series and falls – oh Morgan OFF THE TEAM – hits punch front – another large break on walkover, grabs the beam to maintain balance – hits side aerial – kind of large break even on a straddle jump, nervous – switch ring is strong – hop back on full in dismount, good. Near-Stuttgart experience.

Eremina – FX – fine full in, a little short – awesome Memmel spin – secure 1.5 to front full to front tuck – double attitude turn is also well completed – no barf grunts at all in her music, well done – pace backward on double tuck

McCusker – BB – wolf triple, strong – follows with wolf double – AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION – aerial to split to straddle – two loso series, pristine – small check on the switch to switch half combo and a larger break on the side aerial but stays on – step back on double tuck. That was a bit of the “what’s an American Cup?” performance she wanted.

Kapitonova – FX – hands down on opening piked full in – THE SPELL HAS BEEN BROKEN – strong 2.5 to front tuck and mostly lovely spin work – I couldn’t name this piece, but if you were to google “stereotypical lovely Russian floor music” this would come up – lunge forward on double pike. Off to Valentina’s dungeon for you!

France just fell on what would have been a lovely layout jaeger on bars.

Locklear – BB – double wolf – bhs loso series – split leap full that was actually kind of around and might get credit – punch front to split to split 1/2, good positions – solid enough side somi and side aerial – this is one of her good beams – switch to switch 1/2 to back tuck, check there, the biggest one so far – small hop on double tuck. Strong.

Melnikova – FX – pretty double L to double turn – solid double arabian, hop forward – short DLO with a bit of a stumble – I actually sort of enjoy this routine for her – she should just do spins – deep on full in with a hop – bouncy on double pike as well. Hit all her passes, just a lot of chest and bouncing.

Dos Santos – UB – shap to clear hip to tkatchev to pak is well hit – shap 1/2 – she’s cleaning up those legs – DLO 1/1 with just a hop back.

Nguyen – BB – strong loso series – side aerial to back tuck (!) nailed – y spin to full spin with a check – switch to onodi to sheep (why are you doing a sheep in this code?) – switch ring, small check – nails front tuck to split to sissone – 2.5 dismount with lunge. Small errors only, very pretty form, love the composition choices aside from still doing a sheep, but it works code wise since she’s connecting out of onodi. It’s just…sheep.

Warmups for second half of rotation one.

Shchennikova – FX – solid double pike and 2.5, just lunges forward on landing – triple wolf to try to build difficulty – followed by immediate double wolf – automatic disqualification again! – gets around a double tuck. Fine, low difficulty set.

Derwael – BB – good loso series – aerial to split ring jump – side somi – switch to split ring leap – doesn’t really keep the back leg on these rings – illusion turn! (the year of) – side aerial, lean – gainer “lay” full off the end. Good hit. Just small check errors.

Paulson – FX – full in and triple full, first two passes and landed securely enough – solid aggression and lift into leaps – double wolf – 2.5 to front – 1.5 to front full, lunge forward, too much momentum carrying her forward on that one but otherwise a useful and solid set.

Deriks – BB – her double wolf was a physical and emotion experience but she stayed on – aerial and side aerial – falls on a switch 1/2, kind of bailed out of the leap, nowhere near the position and off line – couple other checks – check on loso series – double pike with a stumble-ish

Saraiva – VT – fine DTY, a little short coming into the mat and a step to the side, but solid.

Thomas – FX – giant DLO and giant bounce out of it and OOB – identical on the 1.5 through to double tuck – huge air and then Daiane Dos Santos-es it right back into another country and OOB – better on front double full and hitting her leaps – then deep on double pike with a hop back.

Must be cold in the arena. Gymnasts all in various states of arctic expedition when not competing.

Chrobok hits bars, simpler set, noting more difficult than a tkatchev and double front – but no major errors other than lunge forward on dismount and muscle up on shoot to high.

I missed Andrade on vault, unfortunately. She did a DTY and scored 15.000

In the first half of the second rotation, we have USA 1 on floor and Russia on vault.

We’re treated to an extended closeup of Maggie fixing Riley McCusker’s hair. NOW SHE CAN HIT.

Spiridonova – VT – struggle full, short and piked with a step forward. Very 9.650 NCAA.

McCusker – FX – solid full in – great extension on split leap full – 1.5 to front tuck to stag – gets through a double wolf – hop back double pike – double tuck to her back. GIRL. Just looked like she had nothing left for that final pass, landed in a ball and then was like, “I just can’t NAP TIME.”

Nguyen – FX – full in, low chestish but not bad – 3/1 with lunge – great split shapes – falls out of her Memmel a little – front 2/1, lunge forward – some sort of twisting switch ring I wish no one ever did – bounce back on double tuck and OOB. REPLACE ALL THE SENIORS WITH THE JUNIORS.

Eremina 14.100 on vault. McCusker 12.750 on floor. Vault feed buffering through every vault.

Hurd – FX – “Margan Har” – I love this Italian pronunciation of her name – way bouncy on the double double and OOB, they’re struggling with this floor – bounces back on the full in as well but more controlled – front 2/1 to stag – double pike – SPIETH FLOOR 4NEVER.

Dos Santos – BB – front tuck mount, check but hit – same on punch front – very secure landing on her layout to 2 feet but will be borderline with getting credit – switch 1/2 was not close to 180 and may not get credit – step back double tuck.

Melnikova hits a DTY followed by a Lopez for her second vault, a little off balance landing it with a lunge back but hit.

Boyer – BB – very strong layout to two feet – switch to switch 1/2, good 180 but loses her foot form – large break on aerial but stays on – only major errors – side aerial and side somi combo is strong and only a small hop on double pike.

I’m all about Trinity Thomas’s amplitude on these warmup Tsuks.

Pedro – UB – potential here – nice legs on her toe full, amplitude on her jaeger, but then some crazy legs on a bail and a very very very short handstand – double front with hop.

Thomas – VT – Tsuk full with a large bounce backward. Could add some more? It’s a big vault, lacks control on landing, similar to floor.

Fidelis just pulls around a tuck full bars dismount – horizontal chest but too her feet.

“Yelena Shchennikova.” ………close enough.

Derwael – FX – Finishes by Speithing OOB on her front tuck connected out of 1.5 – floor music is a sarcastic opera warmup – she knows the game and is just doing primarily leaps.

Saraiva – UB – hits tkatchev and piked tkatchev, not connected to pak, recasts and very short on hs – arches another hs quite significantly on low bar – good double front dismount, opens out of it well with just a small hop, but a number of very short handstands will be expected to destroy her E score.

Deriks – FX – split leap 1.5 – solid piked full in – 1.5 to front full, small stumble – simpler splits are good, struggles with split and turning at the same time – hits double tuck – well controlled, good set for her.

Andrade – UB – tkatchev to pak, good rhythm – toe shap 1/2, keeps legs together well – high piked jaeger, a little rushed toward the end, but strong set – short on tuck full with a lunge forward.

Eremina warming up the Nabieva. Only ALMOST died when she just brushed the bar with her toes.

Yeah, if that E score for Saraiva is listed correctly…no idea? She missed a ton of handstands and had a major arch on the low. They never updated after Andrade, so I’m wondering if that’s actually Andrade’s E score…

Nguyen – VT – lands her DTY – a little forward with a lunge but slightly stronger than in warmup.

Charpy of France is using Natalie Brown’s floor music.

Kapitonova – UB – stalder full to shalder shap to pak to stalder to shap 1/2 is GORGEOUS – lovely vertical ginish in handstands – somewhat WOGA on her tkatchev and then goes over on a 1/2 turn and has to hop off the bar. Painful in its sheer amount of Russia. Lovely opening of the routine and then falls on a toe 1/2 – tuck full dismount with hop.

McCusker – VT – good DTY, chest up – small hop – looked very comfortable for her. Major improvement over American Cup.

Spiridonova – UB – Komova to pak to toe shap 1/2, excellent – piked jaeger, solid – rando 1/2 turn, unacceptable – tuck full with hop. Not her full difficulty but good hit. That routine was like, “Kapitonova thinks she’s taking my bars spot…pssssh.”

Margan Hard – VT – small hop forward on DTY, another comfortable hit.

Eremina – UB – hits Nabieva to pak! – A good one too – legs go CRAZY on shap 1/2 but also hit – piked/layout jaeger in there – worst part of routine is random half turn that’s also way short of handstand (YOU’RE A REAL RUSSIAN NOW) – tuck full small hop. Nice.

Melnikova – UB – way late on a stalder full – shap to pak, slightly close on catch but fine – shape 1/2 with some crazy legs – hits pike jaeger but probably the most form breaks of all the Russian – annnnnnd over on a handstand, recasts and stays on but then loses her leg form and does 25 extra giants – why are you still going? – But she is, into a tuck full dismount with a stumble of a landing. She just kind of lost her mind in the second half of that one but still kept going, and I’m all about it.

Mori – UB – she has nice toes but also one inch of amplitude on all her releases – she’s catching them somehow, probably because she’s a witch – and then dismounts with a Nastia – just hopping up for a bit of a routine to be like JESOLO.

Paulson – UB – toe full to stalder shap to pak to stalder shap 1/2 – leg breaks in place but hit – piked jaeger (code awareness!) – double front, flexed feet, hop – but another good hit for her. Steady steam engine.

Thomas – UB – she’s is waiting for the judges to give her the signal for 32 minutes like a furious statue – weiler 1/2 to toe shap to clear gup full to tkatchev to pak – almost got through that whole thing but swept her legs o the pak and then struggled with the handstand after that – shap 1/2 – DLO, strong shape on DLO and controls the landing well.

I love how Shallon Olsen casually walked into a front tuck through to double back like she was doing a dance through. Good piked full in. Just don’t do any leaps. A little short on 3/1, hops it around.

Shchennikova – UB – inbar full to inbar shap to tkatchev to pak to stalder to stalder shp 1/2 – hit, feet though – finishes with a very loose back DLO with a hop. Strong routine. She wanted to connect that final stalder shap 1/2 but had to break the connection with an extra stalder. Good presence to do that though.

Saraiva – BB – two loso series, excellent – layout to 2 feet, larger break but stays on – switch to sissone – huge break on switch ring, basically improvises an illusion turn trying to stay on but ultimately falls. aerial to sheep to bhs – the sheep jump continues… – double pike, good, step back.

Moors – FX – front 2/1 to front 1/1, giant stumble forward, sideward, backward, towardswards and OOB – deep on double front but to her feet – pretty switch ring, less pretty Ferrari because obviously – split jump 1/1 – 2.5 to front tuck, barely got any punch on her front tuck but did well to get it around somehow.

Final rotation warming up now. All the US gymnasts have decided to fall all the times on bars. That’s why it’s warmup?

Nguyen – UB – inbar full, a little hesitation 0 shape to gienger – hit – jusssttt catches layout jaeger, fingertips – pak – DLO with a lunge forward – fine, a few breaks, but not the two falls from warmups

Kapitonova – BB – has a break on her loso series and on her double y spin, but only medium sized – wobbles again on side somi, but she’s staying on somehow – double tuck dismount, chest down and step.

McCusker – UB – stalder full to shap to tkatchev, very close but caught – piked rcina – then ricna to pak – shap 1/2 – good catches – keeping leg form pretty well – step back on dismount – strong day on three events, just the nap time on floor that did her in –

Spiridonova – BB – some leg-up breaks here and there – nice extension overall – finishes with a double tuck with her head below the height of her waist, so that wasn’t great, but she landed it.

Hurd – UB – inabr full to tkatchev – stalder tkatchev to pak – attempts a toe shap 1/2 and doesn’t have it – attempts to reach up to the high bar with one arm to grab it, but that was never really going to happen. Back on – inbar to inbar 1/2  – sticks tuck full dismount.

Eremina – BB – round off loso mount and is off before she even starts Sacramone 2008 style – back on – good loso series, extended and secure – check on y spin – lovely aerial to scale, super smooth – split jump full, check – side aerial – switch and split, strong – 3/1 dismount, short with hop forward.

Locklear – UB – toe full to shap to pak to toe shap to bail to stalder shoot – lovely and vertical throughout – toe 1/2 to jaeger, huge, toe point – sticks tuck full. Excellent, not as difficult as she can do but so pristine as always.

Melnikova – BB – wolf double to immediate “I’M STANDING” – switch ring, not the most extended in the split but secure – layout to 2 feet, good height and solid – hits punch front – L turn to full turn – side somi – double pike with hop. Strong one. That was a good hit.

Just half of a rotation left. USA 2 on beam, Brazil on floor, Canada on vault.

Pedro – FX – double arabian, some cowboying but good control – falls out of her Memmel right at the end – 2.5 to front tuck OOB – double tuck with a medium stumble backward – double pike, small hop. Fine.

Shchennikova – BB – triple wolf, slow but not horrifying – double wolf right after – PRISON – aerial to split to sissone, loses her feet in leaps – two loso series and falls. Inevitable. She was actually right up there in the AA until then. But we can’t have nice things. Onodi, side aerial – no real problems there. Side somi, larger check. doubel tuck, deep with a lunge back.

Paulson only US AAer today without a major error so far?

Fidelis – FX – 1/5 through to double arabian, deep with step back but overall well done – hit at least – 2.5 with stumble forward – double pike.

Thomas – BB – strong side somi – two loso series, secure and extended – check on aerial walkover – excellent extension on switch and switch 1/2 but is off line and on the switch 1/2 and falls semi-hilariously as she swings around the beam trying to stay on – alas – hits her switch side to split 1/2, which I enjoy – double tuck, step.

Andrade – FX – good full in, high – still using her Beyonce routine from 2016 – 2.5 to front full, keeps legs together pretty well through the twisting – falls out of memmel and does a stag out of it as a planned cover I assume – sticks double tuck – a little deep in double pike but fine. She had a good day.

Paulson – VT – double wolf – it’s bad when I’m thrilled when a gymnast is only doing one wolf turn – hits punch front – side aerial loso loso, check with leg but just a check – switch to switch 1/2, not the most extende – aerial to split, yeah she’ll get hit every time she does a split but not hugely – not sure why she’s trying a switch ring, but this is a comparatively solid set – 2.5 with hop.

Saraiva – FX – short on piked full in first pass with a larger lunge forward but stays on her feet – the rest of the landings are quite strong – small slide on the double pike – almost nothing on the double tuck. Crowd losing it obviously because Flavia.

Switched over the bars just in time to see what I believe was Nina Derwael clattering to the ground on a bars dismount. Sigh.

So, that was the last routine. Lauren has been up with the scores on twitter, and it looks like McCusker is going to take the AA after a 15 on bars. Pretty much every living human except Abby Paulson and Victoria Nguyen had a fall.

Unofficially, I think it's McCusker 56.6 for gold, Andrade 56.0 for silver, and PAULSON 55.8!!!

— The Gymternet (@thegymterdotnet) April 1, 2017

That was too fallsy for a US senior-team performance, but there’s still time.