10:55 a.m.: The Guatemalan moment. It’s a big day for Guatemalan great Ana Sofia Gomez Porras. The first year senior, fresh off an impressive performance at the World Championships, looked just as fresh two days ago during team finals/all-around qualification in Guadalajara. If she keeps it up, she could walk away as Pan Ams AA champion, which would be huge for her and her country, which has not had a notable gymnastics star since Canadian-trained Luisa Portocarrero during the early 1990s.
11:00 a.m.: Fashion notes! Elsa Garcia of Mexico looks very pretty in white, Kristina Vaculik is in green and blue, as is Peng Peng Lee. Bridgette Caquatto, the highest U.S. qualifier (fourth in prelims) is in pink and jumping around during introductions, obviously trying to keep warm. Daniele Hypolito is in sleeveless white with a blue design.
Elid Helwigg, floor: “Smooth Criminal.” Leaps before she tumbles. 2.5 to open. 1.5 to front layout full. Pretty sleeveless green and black leo. Double full third pass. Double tuck, a little low, step forward. 12.35.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras, floor: Spanish tango/guitar piece. Full in tuck, good landing. Triple full, small bounce back. Switch, switch half. Quite expressive for 16 in her dance. Switch full. Wearing a bandage on her left shin and a wrist guard on her left wrist. 2.5 to punch front. Double pike to end. Very nice routine. She’s sitting calmly waiting for her score 13.65/5.5.
Daniele Hypolito, vault: Holy blue eyeshadow! Good Yurchenko 1.5, small step forward. 14.125/5.3.
Ana Lago, bars: Ray to high, full to giant to Geinger, legs apart, clear hip to Pak, legs apart again, toe shoot to high, blind and kicks the low bar, that sounded like it hurt, giants to full twisting double tuck, too low and takes two steps forward but goes to her knees. Very expressive black, red, white and green leo from the young Mexican. 10.975/5.0.
Brandie Jay, bars: Toe stalder to Maloney to bail to toe shoot, 1.5 to Markelov. Full turn to Shushunova. Stuck full twisting double tuck, landed with legs apart but didn’t move them. Happy exchange with her coach, who looks like he’s telling her great job, and she’s responding enthusiastically. Nice work. 13.975/6.0.
Peng Peng Lee, floor: Ver dramatic, kind of “unmasking” her face and doing a little shimmy into the corner. Double layout! Well done, teeny hop forward. 1.5 to double full, stuck. Switch to Tourjete half. Turn — double or triple, hard to tell. Front full third pass. Double pike, one small step back. Very nice routine! Peng would like the title, I think. She qualified in second place, so it’s very doable. 13.675/5.2.
Paula Mejias, beam: Jump to scale. Switch to switch side, leg goes back but she saves it. Punch front, a tad low. Roundoff, back tuck. Wobble on full turn. Switch half. Doesn’t move with a great deal of command. Double tuck with a step back. In a half blue, half white leo that reminds me of ocean waves. 11.
Elsa Garcia, beam: Jump to scale. Switch half to jumps, well done. Love the all-white leo with silver sequins. Side aerial, small wobble. Side somie. Bhs, layout to two feet and falls! 12.825.
Kristina Vaculik, beam: Jump to scale. Switch to back tuck. Now she is moving with command! Rulfova. Front aerial, small wobble. Bhs, layout, very good about putting her feet down. Switch side. Nice movements adn choreo. Jumps. Side aerial, small wobble. This is a determined routine…Switch side, wobble, foot comes up slightly. Double pike, stuck! 13.725. Great job.
Catalina Escobar, vault: DTY! Great, too. So great that for a moment I mistook her for Jade Barbosa, who is not competing here due to an ankle injury sustained at Worlds. 14.75.
Yamilet Pena, vault: Handspring double front! Done as at Worlds, not truly standing it up but not truly sitting it down either. That thing has a 7.1 D-score, so even if she gets penalized for the landing she’s still going to have a good score. 14.775.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras, vault: DTY with messy legs but good landing, just a small hop. 14.525/5.8.
Yamilet Pena, bars: Hecht mount, toe stalder to blind to half turn to full to Geinger, bail to clear hip not to handstand to toe shoot and falls! Giants to double layout with two small steps back.
Bridgette Caquatto, vault: Easy FTY, hop back. Good form in the air. Gives coach Jiani Wu a kiss off the podium.
Daniele Hypolito, bars: Hecht mount, toe stalder, Tkatchev. Blind to front giant to full turn, bail to toe shoot, double layout, good landing. Big hugs all around. Daniele is talking animatedly with her coaches. 12.55/5.0.
Peng Peng Lee, vault: FTY, flairs out the ending, smal hop back. 14.325.
Kristina Vaculik, floor: 1.5 to 2.5, step forward. Double tuck, small hop. This music has something of the “international woman of mystery” to it. Leaps. More leaps. Side aerial. Double pike, small hop. Another very determined routine from Kristina. 13.425/5.2.
Ana Lago, beam: Jump to scale. Punch front, wobble. Bhs, layout, another wobble. Side aerial. Tourjete half, small check. Ooh, standing Arabian. Very well done! Switch leap to scissone. Double turn, leg comes way up but she pulls it back on. Double tuck with small hop. 13.35.
Jessica Gil, bars: Hecht mount. Tkatchev. Geinger. Toe stalder, a little slow, to bail to toe hecht to high. Full turn. Blind to front giant, half turn, giants to double pike with a step forward. 12.075/5.0.
Catalina Escobar, bars: Jaeger. Full to Geinger. Bail to Ray. Double layout with a fairly big step forward. 12.5.
Nicolle Vazquez, beam: 10.3 on bars…Silivas mount. Front aerial, pause. Bhs, layout, good. Switch, scissone. Off on punch front — was way offline going into it, so that is not a surprise. Switch side. Switch half and almost comes off again. Front layout full, just before time expires. 11.075/4.9.
Brandie Jay, beam: Gets through some of the easier requirements first — jumps, full turn. Side aerial. Back tuck. Switch to back pike? Front aerial, tiny check. Some choreo, then bhs, layout with some leg form. Switch side. Tends to drop her back leg on her leaps. Double tuck with a step back. 12.85.
Daniele Hypolito, beam: Press mount. Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet, very good. Then off on side aerial! That will be a big disappointment for her. Side somie. Switch ring, very nice. Full turn with leg up to back tuck to sheep, a combo we don’t see too often. Roundoff, bhs, double pike.
Kristina Vaculik, vault: FTY, well done, hop back. Hard to say if that’s a 0.1 hop or a 0.3 hop. 13.8/5.0.
Bridgette Caquatto, bars: Wearing the same leo Jordyn Wieber chose for AA finals at Worlds…long wait for her to begin, goes back to the chalkbowl. The bars judges are on the phone. Here we go…stalder full to toe Khorkina II, blind to Jaeger. Ricna. Church. So far, so good…Bail to Ray, giants to double layout, just a small hop. That was great!
Peng Peng Lee, bars: Toe blind to Jaeger. Full to Bhardwaj and bends legs, looks like she might have scraped the mat — hard to tell from the camera angle. Toe Khorkina II, giants, double layout. That will drop her down some. 12.9/5.5.
Catalina Escobar, beam: 12.7/4.9. Impressive gymnast.
Elsa Garcia, vault: Yurchenko 1.5 with a small step, stands there and savors the moment for a second. 14.375.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras, bars: Toe stalder to toe hecht. Full to Geinger, legs apart a little. Blind to Jaeger. Bail to Ray. Ginats to full twisting double tuck, tiny hop. Another hit routine! She has just beam to go, where she has a complicated routine…12.9.
Ana Lago, floor: Double layout, hop back. Double tuck, stuck. Switch to switch half. Vaguely Latin beat, lots of soft drumming. Double full. Tourjete half, stuck. Nice presentation all the way through. Double pike with a step back to end, and might have put her heel OOB on that stepping back…13.95.
Yamilet Pena, beam: Simple mount. Front pike, nice. Punch front, wobble. Bhs, layout, and falls. Took a breath to calm herself before that pass, but fell anyways. Too bad! Full turn with leg up. Side somie and falls a second time. Switch to wolf. Gainer pike off the end, small hop. As is her way, Pena cries for about two seconds and goes back to smiling again. It’s like a flash rainshower.
Bridgette Caquatto, beam: Jump to scale. Jumps. Korbut. Punch front, great. Bhs, layout, little wobble but stays on. Switch half, step back. Back tuck, wobble. Full turn. Switch, back pike. I like the fluidity of her work — there aren’t a lot of pauses, everything runs together well. Switch side, legs land a little apart. Easy double pike with a step back. That’s probably good for a medal — but which color? Jiani Wu is giving her the competition rundown, patting her and telling her what a good job she did today. 13.675/5.4.
Peng Peng Lee, beam: Those Talavera flairs to mount, always so impressive. Double turn, leg comes up but not much of a wobble. Switch to scissone. Side aerial to back layout, big wobble but saves it. Punch front. Barani, makes it! Small check. Illusion. Just the dismount — double full to good landing, just a little hop! She’s got to be thrilled with that. Hugs and high fives with Caquatto. 13.975/5.6.
Kristina Vaculik, bars: Toe Khorkina II to high. Full to Tkatchev. Geinger. Bail to toe shoot to high. Blind to front giant to double front, stuck. Big hug from Yelena Davydova for that. 13.775.
Brandie Jay, vault: DTY with large step back. 14.825. Only got 12.7 on floor, though.
Martina Castro, bars: Hecht on the bar is her release. A lot of missed handstands here, and even though Castro puts her hands down on her double front dismount she looks thrilled. And kisses the low bar as she gets off the podium! 9.925/3.9.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras, beam: Forward roll on. Bhs, tucked full, steps back but stays on! Switch to back pike, very good! Jumps. Switch half. She looks so square with the beam on everything. Front aerial, wobble, back tuck. Side aerial. Switch side, excellent! Bhs, bhs, 2.5 with a small hop! Big congrats from her coach, as well as Caquatto and Lee and a big, meaningful hug from her coach. That was great! 14.35/6.0.
Elsa Garcia, bars: Toe shoot to high, 1.5 to pike Jaeger, toe stalder to toe Tkatchev. Bail to Ray, blind to double front with a step forward, very good routine! Elsa takes a bow and waves to the crowd. 13.625.
Gold: Bridgette Caquatto. Silver: Ana Sofia Gomez Porras. Bronze: Kristina Vaculik.