Just 30 seconds into the Sunday session at Bama's practice gym, Salto knew that something was different - very different. And he quickly saw that the 'something different' was the presence of an unfamiliar, diminutive gymnast with dark, flashing eyes and platinum hair pulled back into a severe bun.

"Hey, who's the new girl?" Salto asked, turning to a nearby PBA.

"Beats me!" said PBA1 with a shrug. "I've never seen her before."

As the other gymnasts furtively looked on, trying to appear nonchalant, the tiny gymnast raced down the vault runway in a blur and exploded off the vault table into a soaring front tuck vault.

"Holy Moly!" cried a stunned Salto. "That was a triple!"

"Good job, W!" called Stephanie Kite from across the gym. "Attagirl!"

"Good one, W, keep it up!" yelled Erin Rightley from her perch atop the balance beam.

'N-no way," stammered PBA1, shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't believe my eyes, only the men do triples!"

As Salto and PBA1 watched, the 'Blond Blur' (as they began calling her) continued on with vault practice, throwing front triple tuck after front triple tuck. Too soon, it came time for the gymnasts to rotate to new apparatuses. PBA1 took the opportunity to wave a grinning Coach David Patterson over to the spectator area.

"So, David," queried PBA1, "what's new?"

"Oh, nothing much, really," answered David with a innocent look. "Why do you ask?"

"OK, cut the comedy. You know what she means," said Salto. "Who's the new gymnast?"

"You must mean Uranya," said David. "She's not really new, though."

"Now, now, I've been to practice quite a bit," said a puzzled PBA1. "I think I would remember someone doing a front triple tuck vault!"

"Well, she's been working mostly on her own until this week," explained David. "Uranya's from Russia, see, and she had some big-time NCAA clearinghouse and student visa issues. She's been cleared to practice with the team now, though."

"Uranya, huh?" asked PBA1. "But...why do they call her 'W'?"

"Oh, that!", chuckled David. "It's actually 'Double-U', from her initials, Uranya Ushakov."

About that time Coach Bryan Raschilla ambled over. He must have guessed what, or rather, who, the topic of conversation was.

"I presume David has been bending your ear about Double U's bar routine," said Bryan.

"Actually, we were discussing who the mystery girl was with the big vault," said Salto. "She's impressive on bars, too, eh?"

"Impressive?" said Bryan with a knowing smile. "How about seven release moves, including a Ushakov, named after herself, of course."

"Never heard of it, what's a Ushakov?" asked PBA1.

"You've heard of the release move the men do called a Kovacs, right?" asked David.

"Sure," answered PBA1. "Basically a back somersault over the high bar, followed by a recatch."

"Right, right," nodded David. "A Ushakov is pretty much the same thing except that Uranya is so tiny - only 4'7" - that she can swing through the bars with scarcely any break. That allows her to have such a powerful 'tap' that she swing up over the high bar, do a flip halfway in-between and recatch on the low bar."

"Oh, I gotta see that!" cried Salto.

"You'll get your chance," said Bryan. "Double U's going to bars right now."

With that the coaches trotted over to the bar sets. Salto and PBA1 just looked at each other, still in shock.

As advertised, Double-U soared and flew her way through her bar workout. Along with her Ushakov, Uranya's routine included a Tkatchev, a Geinger, a Healy to a pike Jager, Pak Salto, and a full-twisting Tkatchev. As with many elite gymnasts, Uranya's 'polish' was a little lacking. The coaches worked with her on 'hitting the verticals' on her handstands and pointing her toes.

As soon as the gymnasts were through with the bar rotation, David came back over to the two Bama fans.

"What's really amazing," he said with a sheepish look, "is that we had to order special 'chalk' from Romania. The regular stuff just won't hold up for one of Uranya's bar routines!"

"I think I need to step outside for a little air," said Salto, as the gymnasts once again prepared to rotate to new apparatuses.

"I'll come with you," said PBA1. "I need to clear my head before Double-U goes to Floor."

It turned out to have been a good idea for Salto and PBA1 to take a break, as they were soon in for yet another shock. By the time they returned to the gym, Double-U was deep into her floor routine featuring music from Paul van Dyk's Techno-Trance smash hit,"Nothing But You". The balletic Russian dance training was very evident, but the fifth (!) tumbling pass was what the two Bama fans had come to see as 'pure Uranya'. A layout 3 ½. Just let that sink in for a moment...a layout...three...and ½!

"Yeah, I think I like the 3 ½ better, Double-U," said Bryan, as the little gymnast trotted off the floor mat. "You were kind of 'faking' the landing on the QUAD."

"Wow, Salto, d-did you see that?" stuttered PBA1. "I never thought I'd see...uh oh, there he goes!"

Sure enough, as PBA1 and the gymnasts looked on, Salto slowly sank to his knees in a typical 'Salto swoon'.

"Call the trainer!" cried PBA1. "Bring some smelling salts!"

"What wrong with old man?" said Double-U, bending over the passed out form of the Bama fan. "He not come to gym practice before?"

"He'll be OK in a minute, Uranya," said PBA1 with a ironic smile. "But, somehow, I think you'll be seeing a lot of this!"*

* The spirit of the foregoing fictional and, hopefully, humorous story was inspired by a certain dedicated fisherman and crackerjack gymnastics coach (who doesn't mind combining the two!) - and is dedicated to the memory of another athletic prodigy, the immortal Sidd Finch.