HONOLULU – Allyse Ishino proved consistency is the key in winning the Senior Women’s all-around gold medal on Friday at the 2004 Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships presented by Outrigger Hotels in Honolulu, Hawai`i.

 

Ishino (Santa Ana, Calif./Charter Oaks) scored a 37.782 to edge crowd favorite Carly Patterson by a mere 0.066. Just a few tenths separated the two throughout the competition, until Patterson lost her momentum on the uneven bars in her final event to earn a 0.500 deduction. Ishino’s score of 9.433 to Patterson’s 9.050 allowed her to walk away with the gold.


“I’m really happy and relieved. Tonight’s performance just helped boost my confidence knowing that I can do my best,” said Ishino, who won the uneven bars final at the Rio World Cup event less than two weeks ago. “It was really nice to hear ‘USA’ and then ‘Hawai`i.’ This is a major international competition – it’s one of my first – and it’s one of the major ones for USA Gymnastics.”

Ishino and Patterson, and teammates Katie Heenan (South Riding, Va.) and Alicia Sacramone (Winchester, Mass.), carried the United States to team gold with a final score of 112.580. Australia took second at 109.530 followed by China at 108.763.

USA’s Mary Sanders (Toronto/Ritmika) grew her lead in the Senior Rhythmic all-around to win her second consecutive Pacific Alliance title and help Team USA to the team silver. Sanders earned a final mark of 95.450 for the all-around gold, with Russia’s Svetlana Putintseva at 91.250. Russia won the team title with a score of 261.825 followed by the United States at 258.825.

“It’s great to maintain my title and compete up to the high international standard of this event,” Sanders said. “I’m also really proud of our team. We came in with a new, amazing team that really stepped up and kept it close with Russia, so we’re all very happy with the team result.”

Competing for the U.S. Senior Rhythmic Team were Sanders, Lisa Wang (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Olga Karmansky (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Brennan Stacker (Lincolnshire, Ill.).

The event concludes Saturday with Junior Men’s and Women’s Event Finals at 1 p.m., Junior & Senior Rhythmic Event Finals at 3 p.m., and Senior Men’s and Women’s Event Finals at 7 p.m. Rhythmic events take place in the University of Hawai`i’s Klum Gymnasium, with artistic competition at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships will be broadcast by NBC Sports from 1-3 p.m. ET on May 16.

Formed in 1981, the Pacific Alliance of National Gymnastics Federations was created to develop the sport of gymnastics among the member nations that are contiguous to the Pacific Ocean. All-session tickets from $30-$75 and individual seats from $5-15 are on sale now through all University of Hawai`i ticket outlets including the Stan Sheriff Center, Aloha Stadium, the Campus Center, Rainbowtique at Ward Center, and the OCET Office at Windward Community College, by phone at 944-BOWS (2697), or on-line at www.eticketHawaii.com and local gymnastics clubs listed at www.usa-gymnastics.org.

For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.
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r. Women’s All-Around Final

1, Allyse Ishino, USA, 37.782. 2, Carly Patterson, USA, 37.716. 3, Allana Slater, AUS, 37.532.
Sr. Women’s Team Final
1, United States, 112.580. 2, Australia, 109.530. 3, China, 108.763.
Senior Rhythmic All-Around Final
1, Mary Sanders, USA, 95.450. 2, Svetlana Putintseva, RUS, 91.250. 3, Alexandra Orlando, CAN, 90.950.
Senior Rhythmic Team Final
1, Russia, 261.825. 2, United States, 258.825. 3, Canada, 240.975.