© USA Gymnastics and John Cheng
ROSARIO, Argentina, Nov. 21, 2008 – All seven U.S. gymnasts advanced to the final rounds at the 2008 Pan American Gymnastics Union Individual Event Championships in Rosario, Argentina. The women’s vault and uneven bars finals and the men’s floor exercise, pommel horse and still rings finals are on Nov. 22, with the finals in women’s balance beam and floor exercise and men’s vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar on Nov. 23.
In the preliminary round, the U.S. women finished first and second on all four apparatus. Samantha Shapiro of Los Angeles/ All Olympian Gymnastics Center is entering the finals for both the uneven bars and the balance beam in the top spot. She scored a 15.475 on bars and a 15.650 on beam. Corrie Lothrop of Danvers, Mass./Hill’s Gymnastics, heads into the finals with the best prelim performances on vault and floor exercise and was second on bars and beam. Her prelim scores were: bars, 15.000; vault, 14.313 (14.850 and 13.775); beam, 14.975; and floor, 14.950. Olivia Courtney of Orlando, Fla./Orlando Metro, placed second on vault (14.288) and floor (14.925).
For the men, both Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif./SCATS-HB, and Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla./Universal Gymnastics, advanced to the final rounds. Leyva finished in the top spot in the vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar, and Ishino got the highest score for the pommel horse. Leyva’s prelim performances included: first on vault (15.875 – 15.900 and 15.850), parallel bars (15.400), and horizontal bar (15.800); fourth on pommel horse (14.200); and floor exercise, tie for sixth (14.250). In the prelims, Ishino finished first on pommel horse (15.150); second on parallel bars (15.000); and seventh on the horizontal bar (13.950).