INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., July 29, 2011 – Defending U.S. all-around champion Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas, who is also the 2010 World all-around bronze medalist, and 2010 U.S. and World vault champion Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass., headline the women’s field for the 2011 Visa Championships, Aug. 17-20, in Saint Paul, Minn. The 50-gymnast field, which features both veterans and rising stars in the junior and senior divisions, also includes 2011 AT&T American Cup champion Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich., and 2011 CoverGirl Classic all-around champion Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass. Performances at the Visa Championships will determine the members of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Junior and Senior National Teams, as well as the 2011 U.S. champions.
This past weekend’s CoverGirl Classic set the stage for a very competitive Visa Championships. Raisman, who trains at Brestyan’s American Gymnastics and was a member of the silver-medal 2010 World Championships Team, increased the difficulty in her floor routine and executed a Yurchenko two-and-a-half on vault to win the all-around title. Sacramone, who also trains at Brestyan’s and was a 2008 Olympic team silver medalist, tied for first on both vault and balance beam, as well as gave a dramatic performance in her first floor exercise routine since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Wieber, who trains at Gedderts’ Twistars USA, won the uneven bars and tied with Sacramone for top honors on the balance beam.
2008 Olympic team silver-medalist and 2005 World all-around champion Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis./M&M Gymnastics, made an impressive return to competition on the national stage. She finished second in the all-around, just 0.300 behind Raisman.
The efforts of two former collegiate standouts at the CoverGirl Classic qualified them to the Visa Championships Aca a