Posted: 12 Aug 2010 12:02 PM PDT

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Posted: 12 Aug 2010 09:40 PM PDT

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

GYMNASTICS

Bross grabs lead

Rebecca Bross took the lead after the first night of the U.S. championships at Hartford, Conn., hitting all four of her routines to take a 2.2-point advantage over Mattie Larson into the final. Bross is a big favorite to win her first national title, especially with defending world champion Bridget Sloan limited to one event.

LONGHORNS

Taylor dives to 5th

Maren Taylor placed fifth in the finals of the women's one-meter diving at the national championships in College Station. UT ex Summer Allman was second.

Matt Cooper and UT ex Troy Dumais landed top-five finishes to qualify for Sunday's three-meter finals.

Golfers out of U.S. Am

Nicole Vandermade and UT ex Kristin Walla lost in the round of 32 at the U.S. Women's Amateur in Charlotte, N.C.

Volleyball picked 2nd

Texas was selected second behind Nebraska in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll. Senior outside hitter Juliann Faucette was chosen conference preseason player of the year.

TENNIS

Top seeds dumped

Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki were knocked out in third-round upsets at the Cincinnati Women's Open. Qualifier Akgul Amanmuradova used a decisive serve advantage to upset Jankovic 7-6 (2), 6-4, shortly after 16th-seeded Marion Bartoli whipped Wozniacki 6-4, 6-1. Kim Clijsters, the only top five seed alive, advanced.

WNBA

Crowds, ratings are up

Attendance is up slightly for the fourth straight year (8,039, a 1 percent increase) and ratings have improved again (up 14 percent) — positive signs as the league's 14th season heads into the final stretch.

COLLEGES

Georgia picks McGarity

Greg McGarity, the associate athletic director at Florida, will become the new A.D. at Georgia. McGarity is an Athens native and graduate of Georgia.

Bross takes big lead at women’s gymnastics

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 06:53 PM PDT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Alicia Sacramone got the high five from Bela.

Rebecca Bross got the love from everyone else.

One of America's best veterans kept her comeback on track and one of the country's top up-and-comers started on what looks like an inevitable road to a national title Thursday night.

Bross, the 17-year-old looking for her first U.S. gymnastics championship, scored 60.4 points in qualifying to open a big, 2.2-point lead over Mattie Larson.

Sacramone, the 22-year-old hoping for a return trip to the Olympics, did nice work on her beam routine and both her vaults and had none other than Bela Karolyi leaning down from press row to let her know about it.

"I'm not sure what he said, but I saw the hand and I said, 'Yeah, I've got to give him the high five,'" said Sacramone, who scored 14.85 on beam and led the field with marks of 15.35 and 15.65 on her vaults.

These days, it's Karolyi's wife, Martha, who makes all the big decisions, though both Bross and Sacramone certainly have to be considered contenders to represent the United States at the London Games, which are less than two years away.

Also in that mix is Bridget Sloan, the defending world and national champion. But she's limited to one event, the balance beam, while she nurses an old ankle injury and a newer one to her shoulder. After pacing around for more than 90 minutes, she took to the beam, but promptly fell off. She scored a 13.15 and will get another chance in finals Saturday night.

"A lot of people were saying, 'That was hard that you had a long wait,' but that's no excuse," Sloan said. "You've gotta do what you've gotta do. Those things happen. I was kind of happy I got it out of the way."

Had Sloan been healthy, she would've been the only realistic challenger for Bross, and even that might have been a push.

If there was any flaw in her evening it was some less-than-perfect landings on her floor exercise, where she scored a 14.75. But even that was forgivable considering the way she slammed her feet solidly into the beam after her tricks, making that piece of equipment look as spacious as the floor. She scored a 15.5 there to set the tone for the evening.

"I'm pretty happy with how I did today," Bross said. "I just want to be able to go out there and do the exact same thing I did today. Clean things up on the floor a little bit. Other than that, I just want to do the same and show my best."

Bross is trying to continue a mini-dynasty for her coach, Valeri Liukin, whose daughter, Nastia, is the defending Olympic champion and was on hand Thursday night doing TV commentary.

Where Nastia was all grace and fluid lines, sometimes looking effortless, Bross makes you know she's working for it. But that determination seems to prevent mistakes before they happen. On her bars dismount, she was wobbling, but somehow had the grit to keep her feet in place and avoid a big deduction. Same thing when she was offline on one of her tumbling passes on the floor, but cemented her feet just inside the boundary to avoid another mistake.

"She's very tough," Valeri Liukin said. "She's been injured many times, she's pulled it through many times. She's my 'Dude.' She's something. Tough. What can I say? Very tough. Maybe she got it from Nastia."

She's got a ways to go before that comparison can be made, but all the pieces are there. A big step for Bross would be closing out a major meet. She had leads at last year's biggest meets, but let them slip away, en route to third at nationals and second at worlds.

"I don't think about it," Bross said. "I just try my best. As long as I do my best and try my hardest, I can't control what the judges give me or where I finish."

If she repeats her opening-night performance, she'll finish in first. If she slips, the second-place gymnast, Larson, showed some championship-worthy stuff. She put on a fluid, musical show on floor for a score of 15 - the highest of the night there - and whipped through her bars routine for a 14.65.

In third place is Alexandra Raisman, who trains with Sacramone, followed by Chelsea Davis.

Vanessa Zamarripa, who is shooting for the 2012 Olympics while also competing for UCLA, put some nice dance in her floor routine and was in seventh place.

Nobody, though, was better than Bross.

"She's always been a tough competitor and that's what you need in gymnastics," said Sloan, her most formidable rival when healthy. "Anyone who does it like that always inspires you."

Gymnastics Sports

Thursday, August 12, 2010

“Universal Sports, NBC To Present Coverage Of USA Gymnastics Championships” plus 2 more

“Universal Sports, NBC To Present Coverage Of USA Gymnastics Championships” plus 2 more

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