Houston – Teammates Tasha Schwikert and Jordan Jovtchev dazzled the audience and were crowned champions of the 2001 Reese’s Gymnastics Cup, an entertainment team competition at the University of Houston’s Hofheinz Pavilion. Olympians Schwikert and Jovtchev earned a total score of 199.10.

“This was such a fun evening,” said Schwikert. “It’s great to go out there and let my personality shine and just have fun with my gymnastics. It helps me in the gym too to show more personality in my routines.”
Highlighting the evening was a standing ovation for Shannon Miller following her balance beam routine, as this was the final competition of Miller’s legendary career. She performed to “God Bless the USA”.
“This is a wonderful way to end my career – a wonderful beam routine to a wonderful song,” said Miller. “I’ve always wanted to perform to this song and obviously this was the appropriate time to do it. This was a very emotional evening for me. The time has come to move on but tonight was a great way to end it with good friends and a hometown crowd.”

Results of the 2001 Reese’s Gymnastics Cup are as follows:
  1. Jordan Jovtchev and Tasha Schwikert, 199.1
  2. John Roethlisberger and Svetlana Khorkina, 198.8
  3. Steve McCain and Jamie Dantzscher, 197.9
  4. John Macready and Chari Knight-Hunter, 197.7
  5. Paul Hamm and Susan Jackson, 197.3
  6. Lance Ringnald and Shannon Miller, 196.9
  7. Sean Townsend and Yvonne Tousek, 194.6
  8. Alexei Nemov and Mohini Bhardwaj, 194.3
Straight “Perfect 10” performances were earned by Miller’s patriotic “God Bless the USA” routine, Schwikert’s “Michael Jackson” medley, both Macready’s “Baby” high bar routine and his patriotic medley on floor exercise along with Roethlisberger’s “We Will Rock You” floor routine.
2001 U.S. National Champion Sean Townsend said, “Tonight was great. It reminded me a lot of the tour and we all have such a good time together. It was really cool.”
“This was really exciting and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought,” said hometown gymnast Susan Jackson, the youngest competitor in the competition at 14 years old. “This makes me want to compete even more and I’ve learned a lot from the experienced gymnasts.”
Athletes performed to the following themes:
  • Ringnald- “Scooby Doo” (FX) and “The Conqueror” (HB)
  • Miller- “Closer to Free” (UB) and “God Bless the USA” (BB)
  • Townsend- “Popeye” (PB) and “Tarzan” (HB)
  • Tousek- “All for You” (UB) and “There Will Come a Day” (BB)
  • Hamm- “Zoolander” (FX) and “Harry Potter” (HB)
  • Jackson- “God Blessed Texas” (BB) and “Annie- Hard Knock Life” (FX)
  • Nemov- “James Bond” (FX) and “Young Guns- Bon Jovi” (HB)
  • Bhardwaj- “Livin’ on the Edge” (BB) and “Fly Away” (UB)
  • Jovtchev- “Mortal Combat” (FX) and “Clown” (PB)
  • Schwikert- “American Woman” (UB) and “Michael Jackson Medley” (FX)
  • Macready- “Baby” (HB) and “USA Medley” (FX)
  • Hunter- “Be Like Mike” (UB) and “God Bless America” (BB)
  • Roethlisberger- “Too Legit to Quit” (HB) and “We Will Rock You” (FX)
  • Khorkina- “Madonna” (UB) and “Beseme Mucho” (FX)
  • McCain- “Top Gun” (HB) and “Electric Guitar” (FX)
  • Dantzscher- “If You’re Not in It for Love” (UB) and “Let’s Get Loud” (FX)
Routines were judged by celebrities from the sports world including Houston’s own legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Dominique Moceanu and 1991 World Champion Kim Zmeskal. Five-time U.S. National Champion Blaine Wilson and the Houston Comets’ Sheryl Swoopes also judged.
The competition was judged based on difficulty, originality, presentation and audience appeal. Each gymnast competed in two events of their choice. The women selected from uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, while the men chose from floor exercise, high bar and still rings. Each routine was performed to music.