Indianapolis- Two-time Junior National Champion Kristal Uzelac headlines the U.S. women’s squad that will face Romania and China at the 2001 Pontiac American Team Cup, March 30-31 at 7:00 p.m. at the Neal Blaisdell Center. The team was named at a national team training camp that concluded yesterday at Karolyi’s Gymnastics in Huntsville, Texas.

U.S. Women’s Line-up

  • Terin Humphrey, 14/Bates City, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express
  • Ashley Kelly, 17/Tulsa, Okla./Krafft Academy
  • Ashley Miles, 16/San Antonio, Texas/Harris Unlimited Gymnastics
  • Carly Patterson, 13/Baton Rouge, La./World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
  • Kristal Uzelac, 14/Johnstown, Pa./Parkettes
  • Hollie Vise, 13/Dallas, Texas/World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
Uzelac and Kelly represented the U.S. in the prestigious Visa American Cup last month. Uzelac earned the all-around bronze medal while Kelly placed sixth. Humphrey, Kelly, Miles and Vise were members of the 2000 Pontiac International Team Meet squad that won the gold medal over Romania and China last November.

 

“The competition in Honolulu foreshadows what we expect to see at the 2001 World Championships,” said Bob Colarossi, President of USA Gymnastics. “It is the first time since the 2000 Olympic Games that these teams have competed together so we are looking forward to a fantastic competition.”

Competition Update

Romania’s Andreea Raducan and Andreea Isarescu are unable to compete in the 2001 Pontiac American Team Cup. Both gymnasts have been working to overcome injuries. Raducan has a ruptured bicep sustained in mid-February. Isarescu recently recovered from an injury but has not been able to train at the level necessary for a competition of this nature.
“It is unfortunate that Romania will not be sending their Olympic Gold Medalists, but I am confident that their team will still be very strong.”
Romania has a legacy of producing excellent gymnasts. Among the expected stars in Honolulu is Sabina Cojocar, the all-around gold medalist at the 2000 Junior European Championships.
The men’s competition will take place on Friday while the women will compete Saturday. Each men’s and women’s team consists of six athletes. Five athletes compete on each individual apparatus and the top four scores count. The team with the highest point total is the overall team champion. The competition will be hosted locally by the Hawaii Hawaii Tourism Authority and OHANA Hotels of Hawaii. It will be held in conjunction with the Hawaii State Gymnastics Championships.
The 2001 Pontiac American Team Cup will be televised on NBC on April 7 (men) from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and April 14 (women) from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST.
Tickets are available at the Neal Blaisdell Center Box Office at (808) 591-2211, through Ticket Plus at (808) 526-4400 or online at ticketplushawaii.com or tickets.com.

Following is the roster for the 2001 Pontiac American Team Cup:

United States Team

MEN

  • Paul Hamm, 18/Waukesha, Wis./Swiss Turners, 2000 Olympian
  • Morgan Hamm, 18/Waukesha, Wis./Swiss Turners, 2000 Olympian
  • Sean Townsend, 22/Dallas, Texas/Team Texaco-Houston, 2000 Olympian
  • Mike Dutka, 22/Fairless Hills, Pa./Team Texaco-Houston, 1997 World Team Member
  • Brett McClure, 20/Mill Creek, Wash./Team Texaco-USOTC, 2000 Olympic Trials
  • Guard Young, 23/Provo, Utah/University of Oklahoma, 2000 Olympic Trials
WOMEN
  • Terin Humphrey, 14/Bates City, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express
  • Ashley Kelly, 17/Tulsa, Okla./Krafft Academy
  • Ashley Miles, 16/San Antonio, Texas/Harris Unlimited Gymnastics
  • Carly Patterson, 13/Baton Rouge, La./World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
  • Kristal Uzelac, 14/Johnstown, Pa./Parkettes
  • Hollie Vise, 13/Dallas, Texas/World Olympic Gymnastics Academy

Romanian Team

MEN WOMEN
Marian Dragulescu * Andreea Ulmeanu
Rares Orzata * Melina Druta
Ioan Suciu * Alexandra Barac
Dorin Petru * Carmen Ionescu
Constantin Covaci Silvia Stroescu
Dan Potra Sabina Cojocar

Chinese Team

MEN          WOMEN
ZHAO Zhe          HUANG Mandan*
YOU Yanan          LING Jie *
DAI Tengfei          PENG Sha
LIU Jinyu          ZHOU Lan
XIE Jianhui          KANG Xin
FENG Jing