1996 Coca-Cola National Gymnastics Championships

Women's Senior International

Visit our Quick Hit page for Women's Senior Optionals, June 7, 7:00 pm-10:00 pm, and for Women's Event Finals, June 8, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm.

Results from event finals

Dominique Dawes wins all four event titles! This is the second time she has accomplished this feat; the first time she swept all four events was in 1994. She is the only gymnast in history to sweep all four event titles TWICE!

Results from optional session

"The fall woke me up and got me going. I've had competitions before that I've had to come back in."
--Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller, 1st AA

After an unexpected fall in the first rotation on beam, Shannon Miller, from Edmond, Oklahoma, came back with fantastic routines on the next three events to win her second all-around national title at the 1996 Coca-Cola National Gymnastics Championships in Knoxville, TN. She won her first title in 1993. Miller, who is nineteen years old, is the USA's most decorated gymnast. She has won five medals in Olympic competition, and has also won the all-around title at the World Championships twice, in 1993 and 1994. Miller trains under coaches Steve Nunno and Peggy Liddick at Dynamo Gymnastics. Her highest score was 9.90, a score which she achieved on floor and vault, both events where she displayed a new, higher level of difficulty.

Jaycie Phelps, 2nd AA

Jaycie Phelps, who trains at Cincinnati Gymnastics with coach Mary Lee Tracy, lead through the first three rotations of the night but was edged by Miller on the last event, scorinng 9.725 on vault to Miller's 9.85 on bars. Phelps was pleased with her performance, but she was already focusing on her training during the next few weeks before the U.S. Olympic Trials. "I have two weeks to go back and improve. I need to work on sticking my landings."

Third place went to Dominique Moceanu, from Karolyi's Gymnastics, who won the title last year. "I wasn't that nervous," noted Moceanu. "I just need to go back and concentrate on being sturdy. I hope to do better at the next competition." Her coach, Bela Karolyi, saw this competition as a good experience for Moceanu. "This is the National Championships; it is important, of course," noted Karolyi. "This will make her a stronger gymnast."

Amanda Borden, Phelps' teammate at Cincinnati Gymnastics, captured fourth place, after not being able to compete in 1995 because of injury. "I was very pleased with my performance," said Borden. "God will do what is right for me. He's just setting me up for what I hope will be one of my best years in gymnastics."

When coach Mary Lee Tracy was asked about her accomplishment of placing two athletes among the top six, she replied, "I can't describe the feeling. The girls came here to do their job, and they worked together. It was a very big highlight of my career, tonight."

Both Miller and Borden were pleased with their strong showings as two of the older gymnasts of the competition. "I don't think the winning proved that I was back. It was the new difficulty in my routines, and hitting them," said Miller. Borden summed it up by adding, "You're never too old if you still love it."

Results from compulsory session

When asked if she had anything to prove tonight, Shannon Miller replied, "I've proved to myself that I haven't lost it; if anything, I've gotten better over the years." Miller's confidence was fully evident on the competition floor throughout the women's compulsory session. Miller's four strong routines edged her into first place over defending national champion Dominique Moceanu.

Dominique Dawes, 1994 National Champion, unfortunately inserted an extra giant swing on uneven bars and experienced difficulty on beam to finish in tenth place.

The top scores on each event were as follows:

Compulsories account for 60% of the final scores. As such the score sheet reflects "weighted" scores. The final 40% of the scores will come from the optional round of competition, which will be on Friday night.

Quick Numbers

The top 16 gymnasts will make the National Team.
The top 6 gymnasts on each event, Optional score Only, will advance to Event Finals.
The top 14 gymnasts will advance to the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Competition Format

 Women's Senior International gymnasts will compete one round of compulsory competition and one round of optional competition. These two rounds will be added together with 60% Compulsory, 40% Optional weighting to determine All-Around rank order.

In event finals, scores do not carry over.

Qualification

 Athletes qualified to the Championships by being a member of the 1995 World Championships Team, or by either the American Classic, in February 1996, or the U.S. Classic, in May 1996.

Roster

 The following 22 athletes have qualified to participate in the Championships:
Mary Beth Arnold        Flips
Amanda Borden           Cincinatti
Mohini Bhardwaj         Brown's
Shannon Bowles          Atlantic Gym TC
Amy Chow                West Valley
Dominique Dawes         Hills
Monica Flammer          Cypress
Larissa Fontaine        Hills
Deidra Graham           Olympus
Alecia Ingram           Dynamo
Theresa Kulikowski      Colorado Aerials
Kristen Maloney         Parkettes
Shannon Miller          Dynamo
Dominique Moceanu       Karolyi's
Jaycie Phelps           Cincinnati
Andree Pickens          Cypress
Kristy Powell           Colorado Aerials
Elizabeth Reid          Karon's
Kerri Strug             Karolyi's
Katie Teft              Great Lakes
Jennie Thompson         Dynamo
Raegan Tomasek          Hills
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