Congrats Class of 2014! :D

Lots of college commits lately! I'd like to say congrats to all of the girls who have committed and take a closer look at the top 6 ranked teams!


1. Florida

Property of Kennedy Baker

Kennedy Baker - Texas Dreams
As 2 time US National Team Member and 2009 Jr. Bars Champ, Kennedy is possibly one of the most underrated gymnasts in the country. I'm interested to see a "Gator Chomp" in her floor routines, which have been notoriously unique.

Ericha Fassbender - Stars
Ericha was a member of the 2010 US National Team and competed at Top Gym there earning 4th place all around. Ericha has clean lines on bars and big skills on beam.

Grace McLaughlin - WOGA

Grace, who was Chellsie Memmel's replacement on the 2011 Pan American Games team and has had a decent Elite career overall. Like many of the other girls, she's had strong execution with not as strong difficulty. Her lines on bars are strong and has pretty skills on beam. 

2.Oklahoma
Stefani Catour  - Desert Lights
Stefani qualified to US Championships in 2010 and was named to the National Team Training squad in 2009. Stefani has very pretty floor and beam routines but struggles on bars, particularly in hitting handstands.


3. UCLA
If Miss Val's recruited any of these girls, she's keeping it well under wraps. I haven't been able to find anyone committed to UCLA for the 2013-2014 Season.

4. Alabama

Property of Ryan Schulz 

Mack Brannan - Capital 
The victim of Tim Dagget's unintentional creepiness, Mackenzie has phenomenal lines on bars and beautiful tumbling on floor. Although she's never had the most difficult routines her gorgeous gymnastics is likely to earn her college acclaim.

Kiana Winston - Texas Dreams
Kiana is the definition of a power gymnast, except her bars don't suck. She's got huge skills on beam and is solid on all four events. I can't wait to see her compete for Bama, where I feel like she fits well.

Aja-Monet Sims - Brandy Johnson
Aja-Monet Sims is one of those elites not a lot of people know about. She wasn't shown on TV at the 2012 Classics, but her bars totally stood out. That Wieler-Comaneci combo of her's is worth remembering.



5. Nebraska
Kamerin Moore - Geddert's Twistars 

Property of Kamerin Moore 

Many people remember Kami as the "girl with glasses" who competed alongside Jordyn Wieber in her junior years. That "little girl" now has contacts, has overcome a whole host of health issues, and is kicking ass in Level 10. She's fairly strong all around and will be a force to be reckoned with as long as her body doesn't rebel against her.

Grace Williams - Geddert's Twistars 
Grace, 2011 Nastia Liukin Cup Champion, 2012 Bronze Medalist and former Elite has a fabulous floor and beam set. She's looked like a college gymnast since she made it big on the gymnastics scene and could be a standout for Nebraska.

6. Georgia
Brianna Brown - Cincinnati Gymnastics

Property of CGA

Pretty, pretty, pretty gymnastics from this one. She's got pretty bars, a decent beam and a fun floor. Like Brannan, she's never had the most difficult routines, but she's got strong execution.

Chanen Raygoza - Wildfire Gymnastics 
She was one of the ninety-hundred-million Jr. Intl Elites from GymMax in 2009, she qualified to Nationals in 2010 and then decided to compete Level 10 in 2011. She's a pretty dancer and has All Around potential.

Uncommited Big Names

Gabrielle Douglas - Chow's 

Most likely, she hasn't gone pro, and in my opinion should head to UCLA stat.

Napualani Hall - KGDC 
Who as of September was looking into all of the top 6 schools with the exception of Georgia. I'm hoping to see her at Utah.

Brenna Dowell - GAGE 
I'd bet money that Al Fong is wanting this National Team Member to wait until after the Olympics to go on college visits. I could see her at Oklahoma with former teammate Rebecca Clark.

Elizabeth Price - Parkettes 
Fabulous on Bars, yet still super powerful. I could see her at Florida, UCLA or Bama. I have heard that she'd love to go to Stanford, though.

Lauren Marinez - Orlando Metro 
Lauren placed 4th on beam at last year's nationals and could end up at Georgia (with former gym mate Shayla Worley), or somewhere less prominent like Missouri, Michigan or even Denver.

(Can anyone confirm one way or another if Vega & Maroney are pro?)

10 Weekly Tidbits - 3/17-3/23

Pac Rim Event Finals

Property of Jennifer Buchanan

Pac Rims concluded last Saturday with the American Women earning every gold with the exception of Senior Vault, which no one attempted to earn. (Do any of those girls even have a second Vault?) Arguably, the biggest disappointment of the meet was Victoria Moors of Canada, who many expected to contend for floor gold, who struggled on her final two passes. You can check out USAG Coverage of both Junior and Senior Event Finals on Youtube. 

Spanny tells us "How (she) Learned to Dougie"

Spanny Tampson posted a remarkable tribute this week to Gabrielle Douglas. If you haven't read it yet, you should certainly check it out.

Property of Ryan Schulz

Kamerin Moore to Nebraska, Kiana Winston to Alabama 
The Recruiting Class of 2014 lost two high profile recruits after both Kamerin Moore of Twistars and Kiana Winston of Texas Dreams committed to Division I schools. McKenzie Wofford of 2014 also previously committed to Oklahoma, and Chanen Raygoza to Georgia, but many 2014 recruits remain uncommitted.

Casey Jo Magee Continues to Upgrade

Casey Jo Magee, who Marta seemed to count out for quite a while has been making major upgrades and has the Facebook Videos to prove it. Most impressively, she's got a roundoff-full-beat jump combo on beam. CJM, who looks as fit as ever, could legitimately factor in to this Olympic Picture.

Aliya Mustafina takes Russian Championship
Not shockingly, with Komova out due to an ankle injury and the reigning champion Dementyeva home sick with tonsillitis, Mustafina took the All Around Gold Medal at the Russian Championships. Long time veteran Afansnasyeva and first year senior Grishina earned silver and bronze respectively. Kristina Goryunova, who is unable to compete in London due to testing positive for illegal substances earlier this quad, topped the beam rankings with a 14.933.

Dare Maxwell Returns to Dynamo

Property of Gym Examiner

After Sara Maxwell posted videos of her daughter Dare at Level 10 Oklahoma States, I asked around and discovered that Dare returned home about two weeks ago to train at Dynamo. I've been reassured that although she'll compete Level 10 this season, she will compete both Level 10 and Elite Bars and Beam next year. She's already been working on upgrades on those two events. No word on the reason for Dare's move.

Double Front brings fundraiser to a close

Kristal Bolden of Double Front gained a press pass to this years European Championship and is still looking to raise a little bit of money to get there. If you can help at all and enjoy top notch blog coverage, please help support her!

Cottubus Qualifiers

The Cottubus Cup is underway and qualifications have concluded. Big names on the women's side include Brittany Rogers and Dominique Pegg of Canada who are both returning from injury, He Kexin and Elisabeth Seitz on Bars and Diana Chelaru who qualified to three event finals. 

Ellie Black of Canada is a BAMF

I got a link on Twitter showing "Canadian Olympic Hopeful" Ellie Black's superb combo on beam. She's fairly good on Vault, Beam and Floor and could possibly factor into that picture. But with at least 12 Canadian girls with a legitimate shot, anything could happen.

NCAA Regionals

Property of UGA Gymnastics

Women's NCAA Conference Meets begin this weekend. Keep you eyes peeled on Twitter to see all of the fun  unfold and check out College Gym Fans for links to results and live coverage.

Physical Struggles keep Moore out of Elite Competition

Earlier this year, rumors widely circulated about 2008 Junior National Team Member Kamerin Moore returning to Elite competition after spending this season as a Level 10. Other blogs have even reported that she confirmed her comeback on several social networking sites.

Unfortunately, it looks like circumstances have changed.

I spoke with coach John Geddert who said the following:
"Kami is focusing on gaining a scholarship. She would love to do elite gymnastics, but it's just not in the cards. Her mind is willing, but we can't get the body to cooperate."

(Property of Geddert's Twistars)

Kamerin has experienced numerous physical challenges in the past including a torn labrum, a hip socket issue, and a foot surgery late this spring.

I wish Kamerin the best in her future endeavors, wherever gymnastics may take her. Best of Luck in 2012!