© Filippo Tomasi

JESOLO, Italy, March 28, 2015 – Team USA won the junior and senior team gold medals and swept the all-around podiums today at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. Two-time World all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre, and Lauren Hernandez of Old Bridge, N.J./MG Elite, won the senior and junior all-around titles, respectively.



In the senior competition, the Americans totaled 241.300, finishing ahead of Italy (224.350) and Canada (221.750). Biles scored 62.100 for the all-around title. Bailie Key of Montgomery, Texas/Texas Dreams, posted a 59.500 for second, and Aly Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan's American Gymnastics, finished at 59.100 for the bronze.



The U.S. team began on the vault, posting a 61.950 behind a 15.950 from Biles’ huge Amanar vault. Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics, (15.400) and Alyssa Baumann of Plano, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, (15.350) performed clean Yurchenko double fulls. Gabrielle Douglas of Virginia Beach, Va./Buckeye Gymnastics, and Maggie Nichols of Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters, tied for the United States’ fourth best score with 15.300.



On the uneven bars, Biles led the way once again with a 15.050. Her routine included a piked Tkatchev to Pak salto and a stuck full-out dismount. Ross posted a 14.950, nearly sticking her new double front dismount. Key added a 14.900. Douglas and Nichols again tied for Team USA’s fourth score at 14.600. The team totaled a 59.500.



Biles earned a 15.050 on the balance beam, after executing a back handspring, layout stepout, layout stepout series and a full-twisting double back dismount. Baumann was elegant as the lead off and scored a 15.000. She performed a standing Arabian to begin her routine. Ross and Douglas added matching 14.900 scores. USA’s beam score was 59.600.



Closing the meet with the floor exercise, Biles delivered again with a 15.950. Her sky high tumbling included a layout full-out mount, the Biles to sissone, and a full-in dismount. Raisman opened with the same pass that won her a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London: one-and-a-half stepout to Arabian double front, punch layout. She added a piked Arabian double and double layout to earn a 15.200. Key scored 15.000. Douglas and Baumann had matching 14.100 scores.



In addition to sweeping the podium, the U.S. took the top five spots in the all-around with Douglas (58.900, fourth) and Baumann (58.700, fifth). Nichols (57.500), Megan Skaggs of Marietta, Ga./Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta, (57.150), Madison Desch of Lenexa, Kansas/Great American Gymnastics Express, (56.900), and Ross (56.750) took seventh to 10th place in the all-around, respectively. Emily Schild of Huntersville, N.C./Everest Gymnastics, scored a 54.950 in her first international assignment.



Biles qualified to all four event finals. Additional U.S. senior apparatus final qualifiers were: Ross, bars; Baumann, beam; and Raisman, floor.



Raisman and Douglas were competing in their first competition since the 2012 Olympics. With Biles and Douglas in the field, it was the first time since the 1980 Olympics that the reigning women’s World and Olympic all-around champions have faced each other in competition.



Earlier in the day, the U.S. claimed the junior team title with a 229.100 total, ahead of Canada (222.450) and Italy (208.150). Hernandez posted a 57.650 to win the all-around crown. Her individual scores were: 14.450, vault; 14.400, uneven bars; 14.300, balance beam; and 14.500, floor. Norah Flatley of Cumming, Iowa/Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, took second, earning a 57.450. Her highest score of the day came on the balance beam (14.700). Jazmyn Foberg of Bayville, N.J./MG Elite, rounded out the top three with a 56.550.



Ragan Smith of Lewisville, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics, finished fifth with a 56.100, and Olivia Trautman of Champlin, Minn./Twin City Twisters, was sixth in the all-around, scoring 55.200. Victoria Nguyen of West Des Moines, Iowa/Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, finished ninth in the all-around with a 54.500.



The U.S. qualified two athletes into each junior individual apparatus final. The qualifiers were: Smith and Foberg, vault; Hernandez and Flatley, uneven bars; Flatley and Nguyen, balance beam; and Hernandez and Flatley, floor.