Simone Biles  leads the senior women's field after the first day of competition at the 2013 P&G Gymnastics Championships in Hartford, Connecticut.  

Ariana Guerra of Texas Dreams started off the competition on vault, where she performed a one-and-a-half twisting Yurchenko for a 14.1.

Abigail Milliet of Denton was the first competitor on beam.  Milliet hit a nice routine, despite some large wobbles that caused her to lose connections.  She ended with a nice double pike dismount with a small hop on the landing.  She received a 14.6.  

Elizabeth Price made her 2013 competitive debut with a powerful double twisting Yurchenko, scoring 14.95.  

On bars, Simone Biles of Bannons hit her two sky-high tkatchevs and double twisting half in, half out dismount for a 14.75.
 
Despite some balance checks, 2013 Olympic gold medalist, Kyla Ross, demonstrated her trademark consistency, hitting a beam routine that included a front aerial sheep jump combination, side somi, and solid switch leap back tuck.  She dismounted with a tucked double back with a small hop, earning 14.7.  

Kennedy Baker of Texas Dreams followed with a clean full twisting Yurchenko on vault, scoring 13.85.  

On bars, Brenna Dowell of GAGE missed her connection in her Tweddle to straddle back, but showed nice toe-on tkachevs and covered well for her error.  Dowell scored 14.5.   

First-year senior, Peyton Ernst of Texas Dreams, began her competition with a strong, stuck double twisting Yurchenko, for a 14.95.
 
Trickster McKayla Skinner began on bars, showing great amplitude on her release moves and dismounting with a full-in dismount, for a 13.45.

Twin City Twisters' Maggie Nichols started her P&G Championships on beam, where she performed a stuck routine, despite some wobbles and missed connections.  She dismounted with a clean double pike, for a 14.0.

On bars, Madison Kocian of WOGA performed a beautiful, hit routine featuring a stalder shaposh half and a stuck full-in dismount.  

After the first rotation, Madison Kocian was in first place with her 15.0 bar routine. Elizabeth Price and Peyton Ernst tied for second place, with their matching 14.95s on vault.  In fourth place was Simone Biles, with a 14.75 on bars.  Kyla Ross was in fifth place with 14.7 on beam, followed by Abby Milliet, with 14.6 on beam.

Highlighting the second rotation was the return of 2012 Olympic gold and silver medalist McKayla Maroney of AOGC on floor.  Competing only for the second time since the Olympics, Maroney performed her new floor routine, including a high double layout, on which she struggled to stay in bounds.  Maroney showed nice dance and artistry, as well as a beautiful double Arabian.  Dismounting to loud cheers from the crowd, Maroney earned 14.850, the second highest floor score of the night.

Elizabeth Price got off to a rocky start in the second rotation, unable to regain her swing following a  pirouette, and took a fall.  Price rebounded nicely with the second half of her routine, connecting three releases and landing her dismount.  Price received a disappointing 12.25.

Simone Biles took to the beam, hitting a solid, albeit slightly watered down routine.  Appearing confident and solid, Biles performed a handspring layout and stuck her trademark full twisting double back.  Biles scored 14.9, with a huge 9.2 execution score.

2012 Olympic Trials competitor, Kennedy Baker, struggled a bit on bars, missing a connection and adding an extra swing, but showed high releases and a clean double front dismount, earning 13.650.  

On beam, Brenna Dowell performed a clean routine featuring a full twisting back handspring and double wolf turn, side somi.  Dowell dismounted with a double pike with a large squat.  Dowell scored 13.75.


Maroney's Olympic teammate, Kyla Ross headed to floor next, where she showcased her beautiful execution on leaps like her switch ring, and nice tumbling, including a double Arabian,  and full in.  She was short on her third pass, a double pike, but finished strong with a double tuck with one step.  Ross scored 14.25.

Peyton Ernst performed a gorgeous, hit bar routine, including a clean Jaeger and nice combinations and flow.  Ernst scored 14.6.

Up next on beam was McKayla Skinner, who showed her trademark difficulty, but unfortunately fell on both her first skill, a wolf turn, and her back handspring tucked full.  Skinner watered down her routine, taking out her back handspring Arabian, but recovered with a nice double tuck dismount with a hop, receiving 12.15.
  
On beam, rotation one leader, Madison Kocian hit her routine beautifully, performing elements including a standing Arabian, switch ring, handspring layout stepout, switch side leap, and a stuck double back tuck dismount.  She earned 14.8, with a 9.0 execution score. 

Ariana Guerra of Texas dreams performed a nice bar routine, featuring a Jaeger, pak salto, toe full, and Maloney to an overshoot.  She dismounted with a huge full twisting double layout, scoring a 14.250.  

Maggie Nichols took to the floor for her second event, featuring her powerful double layout, piked full in, one and a half through to a two and a half.  She bounced out of her last pass, a tucked double back, scoring 14.1.  

Last on floor, Abby Milliet hit her artistic, well floor routine showing her lines and flexibility and dismounting with a stuck double pike.  Milliet earned 14.4.

At the conclusion of the second rotation, Madison Kocian retained her lead with a combined total of 29.8.  Just 0.15 behind Kocian was Simone Biles, who had 29.65.  In third place was Peyton Ernst, with 29.55, followed by Abby Milliet with 29.0.  Kyla Ross remained in fifth place, with 28.95, followed by Ariana Guerra in sixth place, with 28.35.

Kyla Ross started off rotation three with a clean, stuck double twisting Yurchenko, scoring 15.3 and awarded a 9.500 in execution.
 
On beam, Kennedy Baker stuck a unique combination of two consecutive wolf turns, to loud applause from the crowd.  Baker hit a solid routine, dismounting with a nice Arabian double front with just a step back.  Baker received 14.3.



On floor, Brenna Dowell mounted with a powerful double layout and continued to her trademark punch front double pike.  Dowell continued with a nice front handspring double front, and dismounted with a nice, open double pike.  Dowell showcased the beautiful dance and execution that has become GAGE's trademark, scoring 14.6.  

Next on beam was 2013 U.S. Secret Classic beam champion, Peyton Ernst.  Unfortunately, Ernst fell on her three-skill flight series.  Ernst recovered nicely, showing beautifully executed jumps and leaps, a front tuck to wolf jump, and dismounted with a
nice back handspring, back handspring double pike with one step.  Ernst received 13.7.

Following Ernst on beam was McKayla Skinner on floor.  Skinner, the first woman to compete a laid out double twisting double layout, performed the pass well.  The crowd clapped along as Skinner prepared for her third tumbling pass, a huge tucked double twisting double back, her third pass.  Skinner watered down her fourth pass slightly, but completed it nicely, for a 14.75.  

Over on vault, Maggie Nichols performed a solid double twisting Yurchekno, for 14.75.  

On beam, Ariana Guerra had a nice back handspring layout stepout and a solid punch front, but had some small balance checks on her dance elements.  She dismounted with a clean double pike with a small step, earning 14.05.  

On her third event, floor, Madison Kocian opened with a tight full twisting double back.  She continued with a two-and-a-half twist to front full.  Kocian showed nice dance throughout, but fell on her third pass, a triple twist, rolling her left ankle.  Despite reportedly hearing her ankle pop, she continued her routine, ending with a double pike with a small step.  Medical personnel attended to Kocian following her routine, which scored a 13.700.  

Over on vault, Abby Milliet performed a tight, clean double twisting Yurchenko, for 14.6.  
Next on floor was Maddie Desch.  Like teammate Brenna Dowell, Desch showed expressive dance and excellent form throughout her routine, which featured a clean double Arabian and triple twist.  Desch scored 14.6



All eyes then turned to McKayla Maroney, who received a warm welcome from the crowd.  Maroney performed her powerful Arabian.  Maroney had so much momentum that she needed to take additional steps on the landing.  On her second vault, Maroney performed her Mustafina vault, on which she similarly had too much power and took additional steps.  Maroney earned 15.7.  

The powerful Simone Biles next took to the floor, mounting with a high and flowy double twisting double back.  Biles came up slightly short on her second pass, a double layout, but remained on her feet.  Biles watered down her routine from the Secret U.S. Classic, where she performed a double layout with a half twist.  The crowd erupted in cheers after her dismount, a solid full twisting double back.

At the conclusion of the third rotation, Simone Biles took the lead with a combined total of 44.700. Just behind Biles was Kyla Ross, who had a 44.250 In third place was Abigail Milliet, with a 43.600, followed by Madison Kocian with a 43.500.  Peyton Ernst dropped to sixth place following a disappointing beam score of 13.700, and Brenna Dowell of Gage was in sixth with a combined total of 42.850

In the fourth and final rotation, McKayla Skinner opened with a her Cheng vault for a 15.1.   Her second vault was a Yurchenko double full, for a 14.85.
 
On floor, Peyton Ernst opened with a gorgeous double layout and a solid Arabian double front into a stag leap.  Ernst showed beautiful artistry and execution on her dance elements as well.  She dismounted with a low double tuck, earning 14.2.  

On vault, Maddie Desch performed a hit double twisting Yurchenko, for 14.85.  

On bars, Maggie Nichols had some leg separations but caught her two releases, a Jaeger and Ray nicely and ended with a stuck double layout.  Nichols scored 14.100.  

Ariana Guerra opened her floor routine with a high, powerful double layout, and proceeded to a two and a half twist to punch front full.  Guerra had a nice double pike with a small hop for her third pass, and ended her hit routine with a solid tucked double back.  14.15

On vault, Simone Biles performed a high, powerful Amanar with a hop forward for her first vault, for a huge 15.8, with a 9.5 execution score.  For her second vault, Biles performed a half on, front layout half, scoring 15.4, with a 9.4 execution score.
Abby Milliet performed a nice bar routine with excellent in-bar skills, but some mistakes in her combinations.  She finished with a good double front, scoring 13.25.

Kennedy Baker finished night one on floor, where she performed a one and a half through to a double Arabian with a jump.  Baker performed a huge, nearly straight, Arabian double pike for her third pass.  She had some difficulty on her last pass, but remained on her feet.   Baker scored a 14.050 for the routine.

Over on vault, Brenna Dowell ended her night with a solid Amanar, scoring 15.600.  

Concluding her competition on bars, Kyla Ross performed a clean, gorgeous routine, featuring a shaposh half, Jaeger, and multiple, well-executed in-bar skills, She ended with a stuck double layout, for a huge 15.5.  

After the first day of competition, Simone Biles stood in first place, with a combined score of 60.5.  Just 0.75 behind her was Kyla Ross, with 59.75, followed by Brenna Dowell with 58.45.  In fourth place was Peyton Ernst with 57.45, followed by Maggie Nichols with 56.95.  Rounding out the top six was Abby Milliet, with 56.85.

For individual events, Simone Biles had the top scores on beam and floor 14.9 and 15.050. Biles finished second on vault with a 15.800 average but outscored McKayla Maroney’s famous Amanar.  Kyla Ross posted the top score on bars with a total score of 15.300 with an impressive 6.5 difficulty rating.

Watch for Gymnastike's continuing coverage of the P&G Championships with day 1 of the men's junior  and senior competitions on Friday, August 16; day 2 of the women's junior and senior competitions on Saturday, August 17; and day 2 of the men's junior  and senior competition on Sunday, August 18. 

Recap by Marina Mazor

2013 P&G Championships, Aug 15, 2013

Senior women’s gymnastics – day one of two

Women's all-around

1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 60.500

2. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 59.750

3. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 58.450

4. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 57.450

5. Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn., 56.950

6. Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas, 56.850

7. Ariana Guerra, League City, Texas, 56.550

8. Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan., 56.400

9. Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, 55.850

10. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 55.450

11. Erin Macadaeg, Redwood City, Calif., 54.150

Vault

1. McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif., 15.500

2. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 15.400

3. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 14.850

Uneven bars

1. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 15.500

2. Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas, 15.000

3. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 14.750

4. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 14.600

5. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 14.500

6. Ariana Guerra, League City, Texas, 14.250

7. Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn., 14.100

8. Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, 13.650

9. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 13.450

10. Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas, 13.250

11. Erin Macadaeg, Redwood City, Calif., 13.100

12. Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan., 12.800

13. Elizabeth Price, Coopersburg, Pa., 12.250

Balance beam

1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 14.900

2. Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas, 14.800

3. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 14.700

4. Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas, 14.600

5. Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, 14.300

6. Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan., 14.150

7. Ariana Guerra, League City, Texas, 14.050

8. Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn., 14.000

9. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 13.750

10. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 13.700

11. Erin Macadaeg, Redwood City, Calif., 13.450

12. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 12.150

Floor exercise

1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 15.050

2. McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif., 14.850

3. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 14.750

4. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 14.600

4. Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan., 14.600

6. Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas, 14.400

7. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 14.250

8. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 14.200

9. Ariana Guerra, League City, Texas, 14.150

10. Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn., 14.100

11. Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, 14.050

12. Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas, 13.700

13. Erin Macadaeg, Redwood City, Calif., 13.500