GYMNASTICS
Hawaii teen wins silver in trampoline
Given a second chance to perform the routine that gave her trouble on Friday, Nani Vercruyssen bounced back yesterday with a silver-medal performance.
Vercruyssen, 14, finished second in the junior women's trampoline finals of the Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships at the Hawaii Convention Center.
The Kaimuki Intermediate School eighth-grader bounced off the trampoline near the end of her routine in Friday's preliminaries, but still qualified for the finals. She performed the same sequence yesterday and was awarded a score of 35.2 for a clean 20-second routine that included 20 flips and nine twists in 10 bounces.
U.S. teammate Erin Blanchard of Louisiana, the last of the four finalists to perform, edged Vercruyssen for the gold with a score of 35.3. Samantha Sendel of Canada won the bronze at 33.2.
"From doing gymnastics I learned that when you finish one event, even if you don't do your best, you've got to focus on the next event," Vercruyssen said. "So that's how I took it. I learned from my mistake yesterday and I just focused and tried my best."
Vercruyssen was the U.S. junior champion last year and also won a gold at the International Age Group Competition. And winning a medal in front of a vocal group of family and friends in attendance added to her satisfaction yesterday.
"I'm not sure it means more than the world championships, but it sure means a lot to me," she said. "Because I'm very excited and happy that I got to compete in my hometown."
"I was really impressed with her routine today," said Blanchard. "She already had a name for herself, but she showed up to it. She really proved herself and showed what she's all about."