The 2023 Xfinity US Championships brought to you by “real companies want to give us money again, y’alllll, bye OOFOS” has arrived, so let’s get into it with the first day of senior women.
Developments from the warmup today include Simone doing the Cheng in addition to the Yurchenko double pike. Mostly that. Also Elle Mueller is out, and Lexi Zeiss is on vault/bars only.
In the opening rotation, we’ll have several critical routines first up with Roberson on beam and Carey showing her first real competition floor of the year. Having Roberson and Carey in simultaneous positions in the working order was a solid move.
Intros and anthem done, leotard reveal and nonsense crowd games begin.
Rotation 1
Wong – VT – hits a nice DTY, sdmall movement, pretty
Carey – FX – double double lay is hit, only small movement, some pike – double double tuck, very good landing – split leap 1.5, a little under, probably won’t get it – front through to double pike, small bounce – switch full – double tuck, struggles more, short landing and a lunge.
Pretty good overall, just ran out of a steam a little.
Roberson – BB – hits back full – side aerial loso loso is secure
Bounce back on Podkopayeva second vault for Wong.
Roberson finishes with double pike on beam, good landing, small hop. Had more checkies in the middle there than she did at Classic.
Woolford gets caught up in her initial toe full attempt on bars and has to correct after 1/2 turn.
14.250 for Wong on vault. — 14.075 up in arena, must be her 2-vault average.
Hit Y1.5 for Pineda on vault, medium hop forward.
Just 13.350 for Carey. 5.9 D, 7.450 E. Seems like we’re going to hard to Artistry Deduction Land
Matthews – VT – Yfull, bounce back, some pike, overall clean.
13.200 for Roberson on beam. Some lost D, more wobbles including bend at the waist on her broken triple series and a bigger break on the onodi, also maybe a little stricter than the pretty loose beam scoring we saw at Classic.
Blakely – UB – stalder 1/2 to piked jaeger, good – stalder tkatchev piked to pak, beautiful – good hs on how – toe full, strong finish – van leeuwen, hit – toe 1/2 to front giant to double front 1/2 out, small hop. VERY good.
14.400 for Blakely. Big.
DiCello – UB – good first hs – toe 1/2 and falls immediately, can’t get the full just like at Classic. The rest of the routine was strong – finishes FTDT with a little hop. 12.300
Lew – BB – front tuck mount, well done – switch to switch 1/2, small pause before back tuck but nice back leg on that first switch – aerial to split with a wobble – wolf double, good – bhs loso, large break, brings it back, leg up wobble above horizontal – side aerial, step back, nice form – dismounts only a lay. Pretty work on the beam.
Miller – BB – bhs loso loso, well done to save that because she was wayy short on that first layout – secure aerialt o split to tuck series – shorter leaps but solid – side aerial, smooth – sissone to wolf jump hit – straight jump 1/1 from side, good height – bhs bhs double pike, hit, chest well down, step forward. But through it.
And that’s the first half of the first rotation. Good start for Blakely with that 14.4 bars score, and a solid DTY 14.250 for Wong. Neither Roberson nor Carey got the scores they wanted there, but not a devastating result. You’d imagine by selection camp, Carey will have the juice to get through those last passes better, but will it get her to a 14?
And a 13.050 is in for Miller on beam, which is definitely a win beam score for her.
Chiles – BB – bhs loso loso, solid series – aerail, pause before straddle to bhs, so may not get series bonus, but secure – side somi, hit – switch, wobble – side aerial, arm wave, saves it – lean forward on switch side – double pike, hop back. Interested to see the score. Shaky moments as we went along but a hit.
Zeiss vaults a Y1.5, secure landing, some knees and slightly deep.
Strong DTY for Jones, hop. 14.350. Jong follows with a solid DTY of her own, some knees, hop back.
Just 13.000 for Chiles beam.5.2 D score mostly the culprit.
Biles – BB – switch mount, wobble, breaks the combo so now does switch to switch 1/2 to back pike to make sure she gets the series bonus – wolf triple, a bit of a wobble, hits it – aerial to split to straddle. clean – bhs loso loso, no problem – side aerial is good – bhs bhs FTDT, good chest up, hop back.
A little shaky town on a couple skills at the beginning, got it together after that and was very strong.
Meanwhile, Kaliya Lincoln hit a solid bars, which she didn’t do at Classic, while that was going on.
Simone’s beam is up with 14.450, which is still a top number even if not what she’d normally be looking for.
Sumanasekera – BB – candle mount, hit – bhs bhs layout 2 feet, solid – aerial, just a bit of knee, into split jump to korbut – switch to switch 1/2, some feet, but hit – split ring jump has some form, – side aerial, solid , and hits sissone – full turn – bhs bhs double pike, chest down but good, step back. That’s the beam she needed today.
It was 12.8 for Lincoln on bars. Fatta went 13.350
Johnson – UB – good first hs – stalder full, a bit late – maloney to pak, legs apart, connects to toe on to van leeuwen – toe 1/2 to jaeger – cast 1/2, late – double tuck, step back.
After 1:
Biles – 14.450
Blakely – 14.400
Jones – 14.350
Wong – 14.250
Jong/Sumanasekera 13.850
They’re bringing a dog out onto the podium and I’m not having it. The dog-industrial complex has taken over USAG.
Rotation 2
Blakely – BB – shoulder mount, good – wolf triple with a pretty big wobble but keeps it on the beam, got squatty awkward there – back tuck full is very good – front handspring front tuck, step forward – switch to switch 1/2, pause before back tuck – aerial to split to bhs, on – side aerial, step back – double pike, step back. Mostly got it together after the wolf but won’t be her best score.
Good DTY from Disidore, high, slide back.
Matthews – UB – jaeger, hit, just a bit close – stalder tkatchebv, hit, break connection into pakl – pak to toe full to van leeuwen, way short and falls – does van leeuern again and hits – stalder – DLO, a bit short, hop
DiCello – BB – hits wolf – split leap full attempt – WHYYYY – short of split and under-rotated and a wobble – bhs loso loso short landing, large leg up wobble – switch 1/2 with a wobble – aerial, small check before sdance – side aerial., gets it, little step through – double pike and sits it down. A really rough one from start to finish.
Zoe Miller near fall, maybe hand brush, on her final pass.
Lee – VT – clean Yfull, no trouble for her, good form, hop back.
Zeiss comes through with a hit bars, college stick on her FTDT, nearly held it long enough.
The same cable-carrying camera helper man who tripped his pants off yesterday just ran into a chair today.
11.700 for DiCello, 11.800 for Miller.
Chiles – FX – back 1.5 through to full in, solid, small hop – DLO, just a tad short, hop back – leg up full turn – split leap 1.5, tries to pull it around, maybe a little under – wolf double, kind of rolls out of it – went OOB on her double tuck third pass, pulls around double pike to finish, chest down. Things, but much better than her training floor.
Jones – UB – Stalder full to stallder shap to tkatchev, good – toe full to stalder tkatchev piked to pak – van leeuwen, some leg break but hit – toe 1/2 – double front, stuck. Nice!
13.100 for Chiles on floor.
Lincoln – BB – wolf double, slight hesitation but around – bhs lay 2 feet, nice – aerial, arm check – split to straddle good – switch, lovely position but breaks connection to switch 1/2, hit – side aerial, solid – bhs bhs double pike, step back. Good overall, but lots of littles to take that will take the score down lower than her form warrants.
Damn! 14.900 for Jones on bars. Top US bars score.
Biles – FX – DLO 1/1, small hop, good – front full through to double double, hit, little slide forward – wolf double – switch to split leap 1.5, looked around to me – DLO 1/2, no connection, steps forward OOB – switch full, around – DLO, hop back. Will be a big one even with the Biles landing.
13.250 beam for Lincoln is still a useful number. 7.850 with checks speaks to the form.
A casual 14.800 for Biles.
Zhou – VT – medium bounce back on full
Sumanasekera – FX – DLO, hop back, keeps it in bounds – wolf double – double tuck, good leg position together, little hop forward – switch ring to split leap full, around – double pike, bit of a larger bounce back.
Carey – VT – Cheng is a real struggle, much more than in training – lots of legs and a short landing with a lunge forward. Surprising.
Wong – UB -clear hip 1/2 to jaeger, good – toe full, late into bhardwaj, good hit, saw her miss a hand on that earlier today but no trouble in competition – maloney to pak, just small leg break – van leeuwen – DLO, pretty stick. Good work.
Carey – VT 2 – DTY is better, step.
Roberson – FX – double double lay is hit, bounce back – DLO 1/1, slide back OOB there – leg up full, no credit for me, leg not above horizontal – split leap 1.5 – wolf triple is around – 1.5 through to double tuck, another bounce back OOB – front layout stepout to double pike is well done.
Those OOBs are going to add up.
14.000 for Wong on bars, useful score.
Sullivan hits her arabian on beam, step forward, but falls on her loso loso series. Long wait for Roberson’s score.
And it’s just 13.3, which is lower than Carey. Floor woke up today and said NO and I am here for it.
Caylor – FX – double L is around, pretty – full in, hit, chest down – double pike, bounce back OOB – switch ring to split leap full, solid split – double y, good style, leans out of it some – back 1.5 to front full, low amplitude, steps forward OOB – double tuck, small hop.
Woolford – BB – wolf triple, one of the better editions today – bhs loso, secure – aerial to split jump to straddle jump, connected – swtich to switch 1/2, pauses before switch 1/2 and low on split – side somi – long pause before dismount, 2.5 dismount and sits it down.
After 2:
1. Biles & Jones 29.250
3. Blakely – 28.450
4. Wong – 28.250
5. Jong – 27.900
Simone is going to pull ahead going to vault now, but a big deal for Jones to be tied with her after two. Blakely also holding her own well after two events and keeping her 14 streak going. Wong having a lovely day through two. The lower-than-expected scores for Carey, Roberson, and Chiles are sure making things interesting.
Rotation 3
Chiles – VT – much much better block than training, good height on DTY, small hop. 14.300
Jones – BB – hit the arabian – switch 1/2 issue – bhs bhs layout two feet, grabs the beam – side aerial, secure – full turn – switch to sissone, clean – bhs bhs double pike, step back
Biles – VT – Yurchenko double pike, turned it on again for competition, has a new best-ever edition of her double pike – excellent, small movement. 9.8 execution score. 15.700
Biles – VT 2 – Cheng is hit, great distance, bit bounce back
Jong – BB – switch mount, little hesitation – back tuck full, secure hit, a little deep – side aerial, secure – standing loso loso and falls
Lincoln – FX – double double tuck, so high and comfortable, littel hop – DLO 1/1, little bounce, little pike, but good – split leap full – wolf triple, good – front full to double tuck, good
Carey – UB – Ray, hit with feet – blind to yezhova, – hits maloney to bhardwaj – overbalances a cast handstand, really looked like she was going to be able to save it for a second but has to go over and add an extra cast
Roberson – VT – Pretty nice Cheng, definitely won the Cheng battle today (at least the not-Simone category), bounce back
Roberson – VT 2 – DTY also better than warmups, knees, hop to the side.
14.650 for the Cheng for Roberson. And 14.350 for Lincoln! Here we go.
Wong – BB – side aerial to switch to wolf jump full, excellent work – bhs loso, clean – L turn, small wobble into full turn – switch ring will risk no credit – side somi, solid – aerial to split to straddle, clean, good rhythm – 2.5 dismount, hop forward – a good day continues. 13.750!
Johnson – FX – full in, chest down – switch ring to switch 1/2 is hit – back 1.5 to front full, some knees, little step – wolf double – split 1.5-ish, but good split position – double tuck, solid landing, small movement. 12.900
That floor score for Lincoln was a big deal in this rotation, way eclipsing some of the other floor gymnasts.
Booth – UB – toe tkatchev pak to yezhova is nice – maloney to pak, small leg break – van leeuwen, legs together – giant full, late – DLO, hop forward. Good one.
We have a bounce OOB from Sullivan on floor.
Miller vaults her Y1.5, lands shortish with a couple steps backward to save it
Matthews – BB – bhs mount is nice – bhs loso, saves it with a little lean despite being short – wolf 2.5, some arms but fine – switch to split jump 1/2, well under on the back leg on the split 1/2 – side aerial, nice – aerial – double tuck dismount, step back
Blakely – FX – double double tuck, hits but a step OOB – DLO, bounce back, does keep that one in – wolf 2.25 – switch ring to split leap full – split jump full, a bit under on back leg – switch full, good attack on that one – front tuck through to double tuck, really tries to pull it around but short with a lunge. Through a hit in her first floor of the year, though that will break the 14 streak. And it’s 12.900.
DiCello – FX – music issue, so she stops – now it’s time – double double tuck, around, a little short, hop – wolf triple, good – split jump full – back 1.5 to front full, little shuffle – switch ring to split leap full, solid – double pike, bounce back but much better.
After 3:
1. Biles – 44.950
2. Jones – 42.700
3. Wong – 42.000
4. Blakely – 41.350
5. Sumanasekera – 41.200
6. Roberson – 41.150
7. Chiles – 40.400
8. Lincoln – 39.900
Chiles and Lincoln will look to move up on Sumanasekera and Roberson in this rotation since the latter two have to go to bars. Blakely falls a little off the pace after floor, but still good bars and beam results today. Wong continues putting together lovely gymnastics and just being like, “try not making mistakes, goobers.” Going to be very close between Blakely and Wong here since Blakely goes to vault.
DiCello goes 13.500 on floor, which is a solid result today.
Rotation 4
Wong – FX – very silly wold double that she somehow leans around – double double is hit, hop back, just keeps it in bounds – DLO, looked kind of low but got it around, this time does go OOB – leg up full to switch 1/2, nice – double L looked around today from my angle – back 1/2 to front full, hop – double pike, chest a bit forward, little movement. What a nice day for her.
Meanwhile Sumanasekera also fell on her opening toe full again this time.
Carey – BB – aerial, arm check – bhs loso loso, knees, secure – straight jump full from side and falls. She’s having a day. Another wobble on her side aerial – bhs bhs double tuck, step forward.
Roberson hits her bars without a same-bar release. But a solid one for her in the overall performance.
13.350 for Wong on floor, gives her a 55.350, which is a quad best for her.
11.800 for Roberson after 11.550 for Sumanasekera.
12.150 beam for Carey. Just a 51.500 for her today. Didn’t see that coming.
Lew – UB – stalder full, well done connected into maloney to pak, lovely height – connects to stalder – stalder shap to gienger- toe 1/2 to piked jaeger – 1/2 turn, a bit late – DLO, step back. Good hit. 13.900
Miller – UB – inbar full is a miss, only goes half turn, tries to correct with an extra swing but never really has it, attempts a stalder and comes off – stalder shap 1/2 is good – toe 1/2 to jaeger, a bit sloce – stalder tkatchev piked to pak, she’s back on track now – shap 1/2 is hit – DLO, some legs, small hop. A miss in an important routine.
It’s a big 14.350 DTY for Blakely to bring her to 55.700, passing Wong.
DiCello goes 14.00 for her DTY.
Jones – FX – wolf 3.25, good – double double tuck, good, little bounce – double L turn is around, almost connects it to a triple – front full to double tuck, hop back OOB – FTDT, shuffle back. leg up hop full to switch 1/2. Good day as well for Jones. Did what she needed.
Chiles was going on bars at the same time, did her normal hit save for a close catch on the toe shoot that almost made Laurent explode.
Lincoln goes 14.100 on DTY
Biles – UB – weiler 1/2 to maloney, legs apart, connects to giant full to tkatcehv piked to pak, good – van leeuwen, hit – toe full is better today, connects to FTDT, no trouble. Good one.
13.850 for Jones on floor, even with 0.3 OOB.
Lincoln goes 54.000 in the AA, in behind Chiles on 54.600.
Lee – BB – wolf triple, nice – aerial to split bhs, smooth connection – switch to switch 1/2 to split ring jump, secure landing – side aerial to loso loso and falls – switch ring with a leg up wobble – gainer tuck full, stuck.
Cecile Landi’s sad face when Suni fell was all of us.
14.350 bars for Biles, which takes her to 59.300, improving on her Classic score.
FINAL
1. Biles – 59.300
2. Jones – 56.550
3. Blakely – 55.700
4. Wong – 55.350
5. Chiles – 54.600
6. Lincoln – 54.000
7. Disidore – 53.050
8. Roberson – 52.950
9. Jong – 52.900
10. Johnson – 52.850
Biles, Jones, Blakely, and Wong the winners of the day. Tough world for DiCello and Carey, who are tied for NINETEENTH in the AA.
The highest-scoring team after today is Biles, Jones, Blakely, Lincoln’s floor, and Sumanasekera’s beam, so that’s fun. Let’s go with it.