Saturday, July 29, 2000
Local gymnasts' hopes ride on tonight
3 women seek Olympic Trials
By Scott MacGregor
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Dominique Moceanu and Morgan White practice at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.
(Enquirer file photo)
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ST. LOUIS — The task facing each of Cincinnati's three Olympic gymnastics hopefuls is significantly different tonight, but the goal is the same: finish in the top 12 at the U.S. national championships and move on to the Olympic Trials next month.
For Morgan White, the 17-year-old from Fairfield, it means burying the mental anguish of a rare mistake, a slip on the vault Thursday that dropped her from second to eighth place in the all-around standings.
For Alyssa Beckerman, the 19-year-old from Wyoming, it's about staying focused after tying for the national championship on balance beam Thursday. She's in fifth place in the all-around standings entering tonight's final competition.
For Dominique Moceanu, the 18-year-old former Olympic star who came to Cincinnati in January, it's a matter of survival. She had a solid night Thursday but finds herself in 10th place, fractions of a point from falling out of contention for the Trials after judges found her routines to be less challenging than other top contenders'. The left ankle she rolled in warmups Thursday won't help either.
Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy coach Mary Lee Tracy sees all three in the top 10; no other gym in the country has more than one. But Tracy also knows each woman has a mountain to climb.
“It's going to be tight for all of them,” Tracy said. “For Morgan, it's going to be very important for her to move up, and she's very determined to move up. If Alyssa can pull out what she did (Thursday), she has room for small error. Dominique is going to have to hit. It's going to be critical for her to hold her spot.”
Two-time defending national champion Kristen Maloney is the leader after the first day with a 38.262 score. Elise Ray is second and 1996 Olympian Amy Chow third.
Tonight is critical not necessarily because it determines the national champion but because of what it means to the Olympic selection process.
The athletes have to finish in the top 12 to move on to the Trials, and they need a good score here, because 40 percent of this score will be used to determine the Olympic ranking, with 60 percent of the Trials score taken into account. In past years, the top six finishers at the Trials composed the Olympic team. But this year, the top six in the rankings will only be considered. A selection committee then will decide on the final squad. That could hurt Beckerman and Moceanu more than White.
Insiders like White's chances because she's tough and brings an all-around game, with a speciality on uneven bars. But she'll need to show that toughness tonight. Rebounding from that slip in the vault will be crucial.
“I want to have a little bit of anger in me about what I did wrong,” White said. “That can fuel me.”
Beckerman's fifth-place standing puts her right in the hunt. She knows all eyes — especially those of national team coordinator Bela Karolyi — will be on the subtleties of her performance.
To that end, Beckerman played the part to perfection Thursday, flashing a smile after what Tracy said was a “beautiful” beam routine. Beckerman received a 9.65, which tied her with Chow for the national title.
“Rank order, with all the procedures going on, doesn't matter. It matters how you present yourself, how you handle the pressures,” Beckerman said.
“You have to show proper attitude, the right kind of presence, always think positive. ... They want people who can help this team, and I hope I showed that.”
Moceanu could petition to the Trials and not compete tonight because of her ankle. Two-time Olympian Shannon Miller did that after a cracked right leg allowed her to compete only on uneven bars Thursday. Former CGA athlete Jaycie Phelps, now training in Arizona, also successfully petitioned to move on to the Trials after placing 17th Thursday with knee tendinitis.
But there's a risk: If the petition is turned down, Moceanu wouldn't be allowed to compete tonight and would have no shot at the Olympics.
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