Nationals - Friday Session: Super Six

The six best teams from Thursday have been determined and they square off tonight in Athens. Alabama will be joined by UCLA and Michigan from their afternoon session and Georgia, Utah and Nebraska from the evening.

UCLA was predictably strong on all events. They looked confident and at ease. Their floor routines were so entertaining, great variety of music, great tumbling, great choreography. On vault, there were a few small steps on landings. They continued their steady march into the Super Six round on bars and beam. Onnie Willis, Yvonne Tousek and Mohini Bhardwaj all had solid, confident all around performances. They looked very at ease, and ready to repeat a National title.

Michigan started on bars and were penalized for small steps on landings and form breaks. However, by the fourth rotation on floor they looked like they had settled in and were quite comfortable. Overall their floor routines looked clean and well executed. Elise Ray had a great round going until the final event, vault, where she hit the vault off to the side, resulting in deductions. Their cool confidence belies their desire for a National title.

Georgia led the evening session with 197.1. They had a few rough moments early on with a fall from Cory Fritzinger on bars, and a fall on beam from Cassie Bair. The team came back to be a solid set on floor with an exuberant crowd behind. The energy continued onto the vault, where surprisingly the lowest score to be dropped was that of Kristi Lichey. Fritzinger would not allow the first rotation to affect the rest of her performance and rallied back with 9.9 on beam and floor and 9.925 on vault. And as always Suzanne Sears back to back tumbling line was incredible. The Gymdogs showed they can rise above the pressure to challenge for the National title.

Nebraska came out looking strong on bars with big release moves, and generally good form. They continued the momentum on beam and bars. Vault was their nemesis this evening. This was a true team effort where they all pulled together to put in a performance worthy of a Super Six berth.

Utah made their presence known in the first rotation with some great tumbling and choreography. They had some difficulties with landings on vault and bars but really pulled it together on the beam with a 9.85 being the lowest score they counted. They were confident and solid, and stuck their landings. Shannon Bowles was a treat to watch. Her dance on floor is so elegant and the music suited her style perfectly. Her poise is a definite asset on beam where she was solid. Bars were very disappointing, as she had a beautiful set going and then sat down her dismount. Theresa Kulikowski has beautiful long lines and a unique elegance, which she clearly displayed on bars and beam. The Utah fans were terrific and a definite asset to this talented team. It was clear they want a shot at the Championship.

Thursday was a fantastic day of gymnastics, and the fans can't wait for more. Expect Alabama to be in the thick of things today. Roll Tide Roll!