ALL STARS INDEPENDENCE DAY CUP JUNE 19, 2005

They even let the other teams relax a little.  Aurora started the meet on Beam, Andromeda on Bars, and Aquila on Bars.  The Independence Day Cup was on. 

Nobody thought Aurora was strong enough – they had lost two key gymnasts over the course of the session, and had only 5 scores to pull from.  Nobody, that is, except for their Coach.  Aquila started strong on Vault, but it was Andromeda jumping to an early lead on the Bars, thanks to top scores from Angela and Katherine. 

Aurora’s Beam sets were solid, but they didn’t look so outstanding.  They were waiting.  Aquila moved to Bars, where they had some struggles, but saw solid routines from Emily and Lauren.  Andromeda moved to Beam, and had to count a fall, despite Devi’s top performance.  Aurora performed well on Floor, but again, they were not outstanding. 

But it all changed when their coach told them to “turn it up.”  Aurora moved to vault, where almost their entire team had raised their difficulty values, and performed new vaults.  They were behind by about a point, and Andromeda thought it was in the driver’s seat.  Aurora’s Lisa and Amanda had great vaults, and Aurora caught nearly up to Andromeda.

Continued......  ►

And they made it crystal clear on the Bars.  Andromeda’s vaults were solid, Aquila’s floor routines were fine, but Aurora on the bars made it clear that they were the best.  They blew past Andromeda, and took home the title with a 105.3 Team Score.  They may not have had the All Around individual title, but they had 4 solid scores on every event, and enough depth to send the other two teams home empty handed.  Tune in next December for the Winter Challenge, to see if Aurora can make it 3 in a row!