© Qingwei Chen

STUTTGART, Germany, March 19, 2022 – Refusing to be outdone by their men’s division counterparts, the U.S. women secured a sweep of their own Saturday at Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, topping both the junior and senior DTB Pokal Team Challenge standings. American gymnasts also earned spots in seven women’s apparatus finals based on their performances in the team competition.

Konnor McClain (Cross Lanes, W.Va./WOGA Gymnastics) followed up her 2022 Winter Cup all-around victory with an impressive performance on the international stage. McClain delivered the day’s high scores on balance beam (13.766) and floor exercise (13.566), as she and teammates Skye Blakely (Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics), eMjae Frazier (Erial, N.J./Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center), Nola Matthews (Gilroy, Calif./Airborne Gymnastics Training Center) and Ashlee Sullivan (Richardson, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics) edged the second-place Italian team (163.598) by more than a point. The U.S. seniors posted a cumulative team total of 164.929 in a four-up-three-count format to claim gold. Australia finished third with a 153.297.

McClain will compete Sunday in the balance beam and floor exercise finals, while Matthews’ 14.033 on uneven bars qualified her to that event final in the third position. Several U.S. gymnasts showed top-five performances Saturday but were ineligible to advance to apparatus finals due to the one-gymnast-per-country limit. Sullivan was second on beam (13.600) and floor (13.533) behind McClain. Blakely was fourth on floor with a 13.366, and Frazier was fifth on beam with a 13.000. McClain’s 13.933 on uneven bars landed her fifth. No U.S. senior showed a second vault – a prerequisite to qualify to the vault final.

In the junior division, Myli Lew (Belmont, Calif./San Mateo Gymnastics), Ella Murphy (Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics), Ella Kate Parker (West Monroe, La./Cincinnati Gymnastics), Hezly Rivera (Plano, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics) and Tiana Sumanasekera (Pleasanton, Calif./West Valley Gymnastics School) surged to a nearly five-point team victory. Their 154.029 outpaced teams from Australia (149.831) and Italy (148.662) who rounded out the podium.

Sumanasekera advanced to the vault final in the top spot with a 13.766 (14.100, 13.433). Her 12.766 on balance beam also secured her a spot in that final. Lew will represent the U.S. on uneven bars after posting the day’s high score of 13.033. Parker is through on floor exercise with a 12.800. The U.S. juniors were similarly affected by the one-athlete-per-country rule. Sumanasekera was third on floor with a 12.566 but was edged out of the final by Parker. Murphy (12.733) and Parker (12.700) both finished in the top-five on beam behind Sumanasekera.

Women’s junior and senior apparatus finals will be held Sunday from 5-7:15 a.m. ET. The DTB Pokal Mixed Cup will close out competition in Stuttgart beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. Both sessions will be streamed live here.