IN THE NEWS >> All-Around; It is a Strong Effort by Dallas' Vise

© June 2003 by Cathy Harasta, Dallas Morning Star

MILWAUKEE – Neither an elbow injury nor a foot fracture could derail her. Back pain and food poisoning failed to jostle her equilibrium. And when the time came Thursday night, Dallasite Hollie Vise never missed a beat.

She captured the junior national championship on the balance beam last year. And in her first U.S. Gymnastics Championships in the senior division Thursday, she went right ahead and won the beam title at the highest level.

And that wasn't all. Vise, 15, finished third in the all-around standings, positioning herself well for the Saturday final. The top three women will secure the first three spots on the six-member team that will represent the United States at the World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., in August.

Annia Hatch, 25, a Cuban-born U.S. citizen, captured the all-around with a score of 37.475. Reigning world balance beam champion Ashley Postell was second with a 37.375, followed by Vise's 37.275.

Vise's parents, Eddie and Lee Ann, and three teenaged brothers helped her teammates from the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy cheer her on at the U.S. Cellular Arena. She also tied for the silver medal on the uneven bars, matching the 9.500 of reigning bars world champion Courtney Kupets, a Bedford native.

But it was Vise's 9.725 on the beam that elated Evgeny Marchenko, co-owner of the Plano-based WOGA and Vise's coach. Vise had opened with an 8.975 on the vault.

"It was a good comeback for Hollie," said Marchenko, whose gym had five athletes in the Thursday session and three more senior women sidelined by injuries. "She has had an elbow injury, a fractured foot and then food poisoning. She came back strong."

Vise, beaming after the competition, said she occasionally feels a twinge of back pain, but nothing that would unhinge her concentration.

"I just try to stay focused and to be serious," she said.

Her injuries kept her from nailing down a berth in the U.S. Championships until the last-chance qualifier in late May. Vise landed in the international spotlight when she won two bronze medals at the 2001 Goodwill Games.

WOGA's Carly Patterson, 15, of Allen, was to make her senior nationals debut with Vise. Patterson is recovering from a stress fracture in her left elbow. The other three world team berths and two alternates will be named after an early July selection camp at Bela and Martha Karolyi's training center in New Waverly, Texas.

Marchenko said Patterson is scheduled for an X-ray on Tuesday that could decide whether she attends the selection camp. He said she works on conditioning for six hours each day in Plano and will join her teammates in Milwaukee this weekend for a banquet.

"She called me up today and said, 'My elbow's fine! My elbow's fine!' " Marchenko said. "We don't put pressure on her arm."

Some gymnastics observers said Vise came in under the radar, having been overshadowed by Patterson this year.

But with the Thursday scores carrying over to Saturday and counting 50 percent, Vise will not be sneaking up on anyone.

"It's very exciting," Marchenko said. "Until you stick the final landing, you never know."

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