Boston – 2000 U.S. National Champion Elise Ray (Columbia, Md.) maintained her number one position after the first night of competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Gymnastics.
Ray turned in another solid performance scoring a 9.812 on uneven bars. She earned a 9.80 on the floor, a 9.70 on beam and a 9.499 on vault. Ray’s total score, which is combined with results from last month’s John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships, was 54.081.
1998 and 1999 National Champion Kristen Maloney (Allentown, Pa.) held on to second place with a score of 53.376. 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Amy Chow (San Jose, Calif.) moved up to third all-around with 53.045. Chow’s top score was a 9.712 on bars.
Jamie Dantzscher (Palmdale, Calif.) is in fourth place with 52.715. She scored a 9.812 on floor exercise, the highest score of the evening.
Morgan White (Fairfield, Ohio) finished in fifth place with 52.526 while Vanessa Atler (Canyon Country, Calif.) is in sixth with 52.161.
1996 Olympic Gold Medalists Dominique Dawes (Silver Spring, Md.) and Shannon Miller (Edmond, Okla.) finished the night in seventh and eleventh place, respectively. Dawes’ best scores of the night were a 9.525 on beam and 9.462 on bars. Her combined score was 51.751. Miller, who did not compete at the 2000 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships, scored a 8.893 on vault, 9.712 on bars, 9.287 on beam and 9.162 on floor exercise.
Kendall Beck (Allentown, Pa.) withdrew from the competition with a sore left hip.
Standings after the Women’s Preliminary Competition are as follows:
- Elise Ray (Columbia, Md.) 54.081
- Kristen Maloney (Pen Argyl, Pa.) 53.376
- Amy Chow (San Jose, Calif.) 53.045
- Jamie Dantzscher (Palmdale, Calif.) 52.715
- Morgan White (Farfield, Ohio) 52.526
- Vanessa Atler (Canyon Country, Calif.) 52.161
- Dominique Dawes (Silver Spring, Md.) 51.751
- Alyssa Beckerman (Wyoming, Ohio) 51.517
- Tasha Schwikert (Las Vegas, Nev.) 51.282
- Rachel Tidd (San Marcos, Calif.) 51.126
- Shannon Miller (Edmond, Okla.) 37.054
- Jeanette Antolin (Paradise, Calif.) 35.687
- Amanda Stroud (Blue Springs, Mo.) 35.161
- Kendall Beck (Allentown,Pa.) 34.557
***Forty percent of the score from the John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships combined with 60 percent of the score at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials is used to determine a final ranking, or a combined rank order. The top 12 gymnasts plus approved petitions from the 2000 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships in St. Louis, July 26-29, advanced to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
The 2000 Women’s Olympic Team will be determined after the finals on Sunday. Six gymnasts and up to two alternates will be named to the 2000 Women’s Olympic Team.
For complete results, please check www.usa-gymnastics.org.
QUOTES
Elise Ray
“I felt like I really got my head together today. I try to go for perfection and I’m really happy when I do it…It just felt really good to go out and compete. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”
Kristen Maloney
“There were good things and bad things overall tonight but I’m pretty happy. I was no more nervous than any other meet. I know it’s been hard since Championships to stay up. Tonight I was just cheering and pulling for everyone.”
Shannon Miller
“I really enjoyed the competition all the way through…I’m happy I made it through all four events…I know where my mistakes were and I know that I will clean them up by Sunday.”
Morgan White
“I just want to keep consistent and move forward towards Sunday. One of the best things that I have going for me is that there is a lot of room for improvement.”
Jamie Dantzscher
“I want to do better on Sunday and make this Olympic Team.”
Vanessa Atler
“I’m still going to be happy no matter how I do…I came here to have fun…at this point that’s all that really matters. The vault was a good event for me–it got me started off well.”
Alyssa Beckerman
“At this point I have no choice but to stay positive and look toward Sunday.”
Dominique Dawes
“I’m very happy I made vault. I feel pretty good about today. I made some mistakes that I’m looking forward to correcting on Sunday.”
Rachel Tidd
“Tonight was obviously a big night. I was a little more nervous than I usually am…it was my biggest meet ever. I did some things wrong but overall I felt like I did pretty well.”