The Women’s March National Team Camp

The Women’s March National Team camp was held last week at the USA Gymnastics National Training Center, an official U.S. Olympic training site, in Huntsville, Texas.    The 24 gymnasts included many familiar faces including Elizabeth Price of Coopersburg, Pa./Parkettes Gymnastics, Madison Desch of Lenexa, Kan., and Sarah Finnegan of St. Louis, Mo., who both are from Great American Gymnastics Express.

The camp started with physical abilities testing. The top three finishers (juniors and seniors combined) were Amelia Hundley of Hamilton, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics, Bailie Key of Montgomery, Texas/Texas Dreams, and Polina Schennikova of Arvada, Colo./TIGAR. 

The camp also was a selection camp for the upcoming European Exchange Trip for the meets in Jesolo, Italy, and Chemnitz, Germany.  Verification was held on all four events. The top three seniors in Verification were 2012 Olympic team gold-medalist Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, AT&T American Cup runner-up Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, followed by Lexie Priessman of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics, the reigning U.S. junior champion, who is making her debut onto the senior elite ranks this season. The top three juniors were Hundley, Key, and Laurie Hernandez of Old Bridge, N.J./MG Elite. 

U.S. Women’s National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi announced the selected team for the European exchange trip: Ross, Biles, Priessman, Hundley, Key, Peyton Ernst of Coppell, Texas/Texas Dreams, Maggie Nichols of Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters, and Brenna Dowell of Odessa, Mo./GAGE Gymnastics.

With the appointment to an international assignment, Ernst and Nichols were named to the U.S. Senior Women’s National Team.  They were presented team plaques from Martha Karolyi at the Ranch.

Ernst will also represent the USA at the Tokyo Cup in April. Ernst and her coach Kim Zmeskal-Burdette, who became the first U.S. woman to win the World all-around title in 1991, will travel from Europe directly to Tokyo to compete in this International Gymnastics Federation World Cup Series event. 

The newly selected European Exchange team stayed longer at the camp to train for the upcoming meets and received their new Under Armor apparel and GK Elite leotards.