© John Cheng

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 18, 2014 — Five U.S. senior titles were determined today at the 2014 USA Gymnastics Championships at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., where competition continues on Saturday with the finals in junior and senior trampoline, rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics. The senior champions decided today are: rhythmic gymnastics – Jazzy Kerber of Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, clubs, and Ronit Shamuilov of Brooklyn, N.Y./Isadora, ribbon; and acrobatic gymnastics – Eirian Smith and Brian Kincher, both of Livermore, Calif./West Coast Training Center (mixed pair, balance), Ciera Wilson of Riverside, Calif., and Kailey Maurer of Colton, Calif., Empire (women’s pair, balance), and Hannah Silverman of Clarksville, Md., Christina Antoniades of Eldersburg, Md., and Emily Ruppert of Baltimore, Md., Emilia's Acro Gymnastics Club (women’s group, dynamic).

Tomorrow’s senior finals at 6 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center include rhythmic gymnastics all-around; acrobatic gymnastics combined routines in women’s group, mixed pair and women’s pair; and men’s and women’s individual trampoline. The finals for elite tumbling and double mini-trampoline begin at 9 a.m. at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

Earlier today, the U.S. men’s and women’s junior synchronized trampoline champions were named: Armand Reichelt and Caleb Fritz, both of Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Gymnastics & Trampoline (men), and Ginger Hansen of Holmdel, N.J., and Courtney Walsh of Red Bank, N.J., both of Elite Trampoline Academy (women).

Acrobatic gymnastics

For the mixed pair balance routines, Smith and Kincher won with a 28.830, finishing just ahead of Kiley Boynton and Ryan Ward, both of Riverside, Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy, who earned a 28.213. In women’s group, Silverman, Antoniades and Ruppert posted a 27.100 to clinch the title. Xtreme Acro’s Daphne Kirschner of Rockville, Md., Mackenzie Meyer of Silver Spring, Md., and Savannah Bentley of Annapolis, Md., were second with 26.080, followed by Lily Bowler, DeShay Eisenmenger and Natasha Villarreal, all of Boerne, Texas/Boerne Gymnastics Center, at 24.153. Wilson and Maurer’s women’s pair score was 26.573.

Rhythmic gymnastics

For clubs, Kerber easily won the title with her 16.050. Serena Lu of Staten Island, N.Y./Isadora, and Gabrielle Lowenstein of Huntington Beach, Calif./Eurogymnastics, tied for second with 15.700. Shamuilov brought home the ribbon gold with a 15.800, which put her ahead of Rebecca Sereda of Staten Island, N.Y./Isadora, at 15.550 and Kerber’s 15.350.

Heading into the all-around finals, Sereda is atop the rankings at 63.700, followed by Kerber at 62.400 and Shamuilov at 61.950.

Trampoline

The preliminary rounds for trampoline, tumbling, and double mini-trampoline determined the eight men and eight women for each event who will compete in tomorrow’s finals. The athletes with the top qualifying scores are: trampoline – Neil Gulati of Irvine, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, and Charlotte Drury of Laguna Niguel, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics; tumbling – Alexander Renkert of Indianapolis, Ind./Geist Sports Academy, and Yuliya Stankevich-Brown, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics; and double-mini – Noah Orr of Phoenix, Ariz./Air Sports, and Erin Jauch of Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley T & T.

The senior elite finals for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline are at 6 p.m. July 19 at the KFC Yum! Center. The junior elite finals for those three events are also at the KFC Yum! Center and begin at 9 a.m. The Junior Olympic sessions for all three disciplines are being held at the Kentucky International Convention Center, and the sessions begin at 9 a.m.

For results, a more detailed schedule, other information and a live webcast of the elite sessions at the KFC Yum! Center, please go to USAGymChamps.com.

Evening session tickets at the KFC Yum! Center are: July 17, $20; July 18, $20; and July 19, $25. The all-session pass, which grants access to all sessions at both venues, is $75. A $25, single-day pass is available for the events at the Kentucky International Convention Center onsite on competition days. Tickets may be purchased at the KFC Yum! Center or Kentucky International Convention Center box offices, ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Acrobatic gymnastics combines the beauty of dance with the strength and agility of acrobatics. Routines are choreographed to music and consist of dance, tumbling, and partner skills. At the elite level, each pair or group performs a balance, dynamic and combined routine. Pyramids and partner holds characterize the balance routine, while synchronized tumbling and intricate flight elements define the dynamic exercise. An acrobatic gymnastics pair consists of a base and a top. A women's group is comprised of three athletes - a base, middle and top partner – while a men's group has four athletes, a base, two middle partners and one top partner.

Rhythmic gymnastics is characterized by grace, beauty and elegance combined with dance and acrobatic elements, while working with ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes and clubs in a choreographed routine to music. The choreography must cover the entire floor and contain a balance of jumps, leaps, pivots and balances. Only four of the apparatus are competed each quad, and the four for 2016 are hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Each movement involves a high degree of athletic skill. Physical abilities needed by a rhythmic gymnast include strength, power, flexibility, agility, dexterity, endurance and hand-eye coordination.

Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat. Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.