Gymnasts qualify for nationals

TULSA, Okla. — Amy Chow, Dominique Moceanu and Jaycie Phelps, all members of the 1996 gold medal-winning team, performed well enough Saturday night to keep their hopes alive for another berth on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

While each of the three had some troubles, they all easily qualified for the national championships July 26-29 in St. Louis. The top 10 at that meet will advance to the Olympic trials.

Another member of the 1996 Magnificent Seven, Shannon Miller, was scheduled to compete but pulled out after suffering a hairline fracture in her right tibia during practice Thursday. Miller is expected to recover in time for the national championships.

A fifth member of the '96 team, Dominique Dawes, skipped the meet to concentrate on training for St. Louis. As former Olympians, Miller and Dawes can petition for spots at nationals.

Chow fell twice on the uneven bars, the event on which she won a silver medal in the '96 Olympics. But she received a score of 8.4 and was solid on the other three events, including a 9.750 on the floor.

Phelps fell out of bounds on her last tumbling pass in the floor exercise and received an 8.250. She scored at least 8.775 on her other three events. Moceanu was given an 8.30 after falling early in her balance beam routine but otherwise looked confident, including scoring 9.450 on the uneven bars.

The top 12 finishers here were to advance to nationals along with those who had already qualified at a previous meet. But only six of those who hadn't already qualified scored the mandatory 34.50 points Saturday night and will advance to St. Louis.

Vanessa Atler, U.S. co-champion in 1997, looked strong in finishing first overall with 37.937. She is coming back from two surgeries to remove bone chips from her ankles.

Fellow national team member Morgan White finished second at 37.775.

Two-time defending U.S. champion Kristen Maloney competed in all but the floor exercise and performed well. It was her first major meet since the world championships in October; she has been recovering from shoulder and shin surgery.

Atler, White and Maloney had already secured spots at nationals.