American's Nearly Sweep in Jesolo
After a slightly surprising American Team was named for the 2016 Jesolo Trophy, the Americans took home 15 out of 16 Senior Medals (only losing the Uneven Bars Bronze to Loan His from France), and all of the Junior Gold Medals. Gabby Douglas, the Olympic All Around Champion from 2012, continues her hot 2016 by winning the All Around Gold, Uneven Bars Silver, and Floor Bronze. Douglas should hopefully be able to get some rest for now until the real competitions with Simone Biles begin later this year. Aly Raisman continued her return from her hiatus by reclaiming the Floor title, and Beam Bronze. However, Raisman fell on her Amanar on the first day of competition to place seventh All Around. A lot of gym fans are concerned about Raisman's blunders here and at World Championships last fall, but Raisman looked so solid in floor finals, it was as if she never left. Hopefully Raisman can gain some confidence from her stellar floor routine on Sunday.
The biggest surprise of this meet was new seniors Laurie Hernandez and Ragan Smith. While both have been considered "in the mix" for the Olympic Team, both of their stocks increased a lot after this weekend. Hernandez took the All Around Bronze, Vault Silver, and Beam Gold, while Smith took All Around Silver, Beam Silver, and Floor Silver. It should be interesting to see how these new 16-year olds fare in the Olympic Year.
Another hi-light from this competition was the international return of 2014 World Champion Ashton Locklear. Locklear looked strong on her flagship event, winning the Uneven Bars Gold. However, in order for Locklear to make the Olympic Team, she needs to upgrade and become consistent on beam as well. On a 5 member team, a gymnast will need at least 2 prelim-worthy routines to be considered for the Olympics.
Carlotta Ferlito OK After Scary Fall
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In the Beam Finals at the Jesolo Trophy this weekend, Carlotta Ferlito of Italy missed her foot on her dismount and landed her double pike on her neck. She was lying still on the mat for several minutes while being evaluated by medical staff, and was later taken to the hospital on a stretcher. After a scary afternoon with little information available, Ferlito informed fans that her MRI scans were clean, and was awaiting information on her foot, which started hurting after it missed the beam. Her neck pain is being to attributed to whiplash. We are thankful and relieved to hear that Ferlito will be ok after a scary fall and wish her the best in her recovery.
NCAA Regionals Announced
The top 36 College Teams that qualified to the post season were assigned their to their Regional Site yesterday. In the regional competition, the top 2 teams from each regional qualify to the NCAA National Championships. This year looks to be a fun regional round, as who will qualify to Nationals is less clear than in past years. Previously, most of the time the top 12 teams were able to qualify to Nationals with few upsets, however the path for the top 12 teams isn't as clear as it has been in years past. The Regional Rounds all take place on April 2nd. See the bracket here.
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