ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It was a night for champions to retain their titles as the teams of Shannon Miller (Edmond, Okla.) and Amy Chow (San Jose, Calif.) and Chris Waller (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Chainey Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M.) tumbled to victory in the 1998 Reese’s Gymnastics Cup, held before a sell-out crowd of 5,393 here Saturday night at Bayfront Center Arena.

Miller and Chow, members of the 1996 Olympic gold medal team known as the Magnificent Seven, were magnificent once again, scoring perfect 10s on each of their second-round routines to tally a 39.700. They needed the perfection to overcome a strong first-round showing from the tandem Kristie Phillips (New York, N.Y.) and rhythmic gymnast Jessica Davis (San Anselmo, Calif.). Phillips, always an impressive performer in the unique entertainment format of the event, entranced the audience with a first-round beam routine dedicated to the memories of Gianni Versace and Diana, Princess of Wales, to post the first 10.0 score of the evening from the celebrity panel of judges which included Olympic gold medal swimmer Brooke Bennett, Olympian gymnasts Brandy Johnson and Mitch Gaylord and legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi.
Umphrey and Waller also were perfect in their second-half routines, with Umphrey flying into the sky during a remarkable floor exercise to complement a solid high bar routine in the first half.
For a complete review of each performer’s routine, access USA Gymnastics Online, the official Internet website of USA Gymnastics, at www.usa-gymnastics.org. The event will be televised on NBC on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 4:30 p.m. EST.

Final Results
1998 Reese’s Gymnastics Cup
Bayfront Center Arena, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Women – 1, Shannon Miller (Edmond, Okla.) and Amy Chow (San Jose, Calif.), 39.700. 2, Amanda Borden (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Kim Zmeskal (Houston, Texas), 39.575. 3, Kristie Phillips (New York, N.Y.) and Jessica Davis (San Anselmo, Calif.), 39.475. 4, Dominique Dawes (Silver Spring, Md.) and Dominique Moceanu (Houston, Texas), 39.425.


Men – 1, Chainey Umphrey (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Chris Waller (Los Angeles, Calif.), 39.825. 2, Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) and John Roethlisberger (Minneapolis,. Minn.), 39.500. 3, Mihai Bagiu (Orange, Calif.) and Gregg Curtis (New York, N.Y.), 39.000.