INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Veterans Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., headline the five-woman squad selected to compete in the 2005 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, Oct. 6-9, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Pan Am Championships is gymnastics’ qualifying tournament for the 2007 Pan American Games, slated for July 13-29 in Rio.

Joining Memmel and Sacramone on the USA squad are Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla./ Twisters Gymnastics Academy; Bianca Flohr/ FLYTZ USA Gymnastics of Creston, Ohio; and Natasha Kelley of Katy, Texas/ Brown’s Gymnastics – Houston. Memmel, Sacramone and Bieger are senior national team members, with Kelley and Flohr members of the junior national team.
At the 2005 Visa Championships, Sacramone, who competes for Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, won the title in both the vault and floor exercise, as well as third on the balance beam. Sacramone’s 9.9 in the floor exercise finals was the first 9.9 or better awarded in the women’s division of the national competition since 1996. Memmel, who competes for M&M Gymnastics, was second in the all-around, the uneven bars and balance beam and placed third in the floor exercise. Bieger claimed bronze medals in the all-around, vault and uneven bars. Kelley and Flohr went one-two in the junior all-around, with Kelley winning the crown for the balance beam and floor exercise and Flohr winning the uneven bars title. The duo recently claimed 10 medals between them at an international junior competition in Japan, including the top two all-around medals.
Coaches for the women’s squad are: Ashly Baker, Brown’s Gymnastics, Houston; Andrea Bieger, Boca Twisters, Boca Raton, Fla.; Mihai Brestyan, Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, Ashland, Mass.; Terry Gray, Flytz USA, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; and Andrew Memmel, M&M Gymnastics, New Berlin, Wis.
The U.S. men’s team is comprised of David Durante of Garwood, N.J./Team Chevron; Guillermo Alvarez, Denver Colo./Team Chevron; Jamie Henderson, Houston/University of Oklahoma; Joseph Hagerty, Albuquerque, N.M./Team Chevron; and Jonathan Horton, Houston/University of Oklahoma. Henderson is the men’s Pan Am Championships Team’s alternate. All five are members of the men’s senior national team. Mark Williams of the University of Oklahoma in Norman and Mike Burns of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis are the men’s coaches.
Also see: | Additional information for the 2005 Women’s Pan Am Team | and | ATHLETE BIOS |