April USA National Team Training Camp Recap

April USA National Team Training Camp Recap

May 2, 2013 by Anne Phillips
April USA National Team Training Camp Recap
 
L to R: Kyla Ross and Laurie Hernandez. Photos by Melissa Perenson

The latest USA women's National Team Training camp has concluded at the Karolyi Ranch. 2012 Olympic Champion Kyla Ross is still in great form after a successful 2013 competition season debut in Europe and led the group of ten senior elites at camp. 

In the junior division, Laurie Hernandez of MG Elite led the way. Hernandez is an exciting up-and-coming gymnast who was the youngest junior competitor at the 2012 Visa Championships. Hernandez finished just 21st all around with a fall on bars, but showed serious promise for future and impressed the crowd with her charismatic floor routine. 

Hernandez competed recently at the WOGA Classic and impressed us with numerous upgrades. Expect Hernandez to easily make the U.S. Junior National team this year as all but three members (Amelia Hundley, Bailie Key, and Polina Shchennikova) have turned senior in 2013. 

Watch Hernandez train her upgrades at the WOGA Classic:


Below is the release from USA Gymnastics. 
Click any gymnast's name to watch their videos. 

HUNTSTVILLE, Texas, May 2, 2013 – The April Women's National Team camp concluded Tuesday at the USA Gymnastics National Training Center, an official U.S. Olympic training site in Huntsville, Texas. Ten senior athletes including 2012 Olympic team gold-medalist Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, participated in the camp, as well as sixteen junior athletes.

On first day of camp, joint junior-senior physical abilities testing was held. Ross finished with the highest total score, followed by Nia Dennis of Westerville, Ohio/Buckeye Gymnastics, and Peyton Ernst of Coppell, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics.

The camp also featured junior and senior verification on all four apparatus. In the senior division, Ross again topped the standings, followed by Brenna Dowell of Lenexa, Kan./Great American Gymnastics Express, and Maggie Nichols of Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters.

Laurie Hernandez of Old Bridge, N.J./MG Elite, Bailie Key of Montgomery, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics, and Polina Shchennikova of Arvada, Colo./Tigar, finished first, second and third, respectively, in the junior verification.

The camp comes after a successful March and April for the women's program, which scored team victories at the Jesolo Trophy Invite and the USA-Germany-Romania tri-meet. Ernst finished second in the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup the first weekend of April.

Under Armour outfitted the entire National Team, as well as their coaches and USA Gymnastics National Staff members for this camp.

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