Claire Pease wins Saatva U.S. Classic gymnastics title
Pease, a 16-year-old Texan, won the Saatva U.S. Classic, the primary tune-up meet for the U.S. Championships in three weeks.
Pease overtook Simone Rose on the last rotation, totaling 54.6 points to prevail by four tenths over Rose in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Gymnasts use Classic as a building block for nationals (Aug. 7-10 in New Orleans).
After nationals, the four-woman team for the World Championships in October in Indonesia will be named after a two-day selection competition in early autumn. This year's worlds include individual events only and no team competition.
Pease, the first senior rookie to win Classic since 2017 (Alyona Shchennikova), can join the list of U.S. junior all-around champions to make global championship teams on the senior level.
Over the years, that's included Olympic all-around champions Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin (whose parents coach Pease) and world all-around champions Shawn Johnson and Jordyn Wieber.
Plus Hezly Rivera, the 2023 U.S. junior all-around champ who made the 2024 Olympic team as the youngest American competing in Paris in any sport.
Rivera, the lone Olympian competing at Classic, tied for 11th on Saturday after falling on her first two routines — bars and beam. She trains at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy outside Dallas, just like Pease.
Paris Olympic alternate Leanne Wong competed on two events at Classic, tying for fifth on beam and tying for 11th on bars.
One gymnast not at Classic who is expected at nationals is Skye Blakely. She was second to Biles at the 2024 U.S. Championships, then ruptured her right Achilles in practice two days before Olympic Trials began.
Nick Zaccardi,
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6 hours ago
Napheesa Collier's record-breaking performance leads her team to victory in WNBA All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS -- Napheesa Collier scored a record 36 points to help her team beat Team Clark 151-131 in the WNBA All-Star Game that was devoid of defense and full of 4-point shots. This record offensive effort came a year after the league's annual exhibition game was a competitive contest that pitted the U.S Olympic team against WNBA All-Stars. The game capped off a weekend where negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement took centerstage. Players wore warmup shirts before the game that said 'Pay us what you owe us.' Collier was named the game's MVP. As she waited to get her trophy the crowd chanted 'Pay them more' and All-Star Brittney Sykes held up a sign saying 'Pay the Players.' Captain Caitlin Clark was unable to play for her team because of a groin injury she suffered earlier this week. She still served as ambassador for the weekend. Known for her deep logo 3-pointers, Clark would have loved a chance at the 4-point shot that was added to this game which was 28-feet from the basket. Both teams took advantage of the deep shot en route to the record-setting offensive night. The 151 points scored by Team Collier broke the mark put up by Team Stewart of 143 in 2023 for the most in an All-Star Game. Collier's point total broke Arike Ogunbowale's previous record of 34 points scored last year. The combined total of 282 also surpassed the previous high total of 270 set in 2023. While there was little defense played, both teams challenged plays in the fourth quarter with the game not in doubt. One was successful and one wasn't. The game also featured rookies Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen making up the largest rookie contingent at the game since 2011. Citron and Iriafen were on Team Clark, and Bueckers was a starter for Napheesa Collier's team. Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever and Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces were announced earlier in the day as starters for Team Clark replacing Clark and Satou Sabally of Phoenix. Mitchell received a loud ovation from the fans who were happy to have another one of their players in the starting lineup. Young didn't actually start or play in the game as Gabby Williams took her spot as a starter. Young injured her hip in Las Vegas' last game before All-Star weekend. Besides the 4-point shot, the game also included a 20-second shot clock instead of the normal 24 and the ability for teams to substitute during live play. There also were no free throws shot — not that there usually are many in an All-Star Game — until the final two minutes of the game. Instead players were automatically awarded the points. The only free throws were shot was by Skylar Diggins with 1:01 left in the game. She made both. All four rules had been used at some point during previous All-Star Games, but not all in the same one. The All-Star Game brought the stars out in Indianapolis. Rapper GloRilla performed at halftime while musicians Common and Jennifer Hudson sat courtside near WNBA legends Lisa Leslie and Tamika Catchings. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat in a suite and got the loudest ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the videoboard.
NBC Sports
9 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Napheesa Collier's record-breaking performance leads her team to victory in WNBA All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier made a statement with her record play on the court and the players made one with warmup shirts for the WNBA All-Star Game. Collier scored a record 36 points to help her team beat Team Clark 151-131 in the WNBA All-Star Game that was devoid of defense but full of 4-point shots. This record offensive effort came a year after the league's annual exhibition game was a competitive contest that pitted the U.S Olympic team against WNBA All-Stars. The game capped off a weekend where negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement took center stage. Players wore T-shirts while warming up before the game that said 'Pay us what you owe us.' 'The players are taking this seriously, I think it sends a really strong message that we're standing really firm in certain areas that we feel really strong that we need to improve on. I think we got the message across,' said Collier, who was named the game's MVP. As she waited to get her trophy the crowd chanted 'Pay them more' and All-Star Brittney Sykes held up a sign saying 'Pay the Players.' Captain Caitlin Clark was unable to play for her team because of a groin injury she suffered earlier this week. She still served as ambassador for the weekend. Known for her deep logo 3-pointers, Clark would have loved a chance at the 4-point shot that was added to this game which was 28-feet from the basket. Both teams took advantage of the deep shot en route to the record-setting offensive night. They combined to hit 20 of the shots on 65 attempts. The 151 points scored by Team Collier broke the mark put up by Team Stewart of 143 in 2023 for the most in an All-Star Game. Collier's point total broke Arike Ogunbowale's previous record of 34 points scored last year. The combined total of 282 also surpassed the previous high total of 270 set in 2023. While there was little defense played, both teams challenged plays in the fourth quarter with the game not in doubt. One was successful and one wasn't. The game also featured rookies Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen making up the largest rookie contingent at the game since 2011. Citron and Iriafen were on Team Clark, and Bueckers was a starter for Napheesa Collier's team. The replacements Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever and Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces were announced earlier in the day as starters for Team Clark replacing Clark and Satou Sabally of Phoenix. Mitchell received a loud ovation from the fans who were happy to have another one of their players in the starting lineup. Young didn't actually start as Gabby Williams took her spot as a starter. Young injured her hip in Las Vegas' last game before All-Star weekend. New rules Besides the 4-point shot, the game also included a 20-second shot clock instead of the normal 24 and the ability for teams to substitute during live play. There also were no free throws shot — not that there usually are many in an All-Star Game — until the final two minutes of the game. Instead players were automatically awarded the points. The only free throws were shot was by Skylar Diggins with 1:01 left in the game. She made both. Diggins also had the first triple-double in All-Star history. All four rules had been used at some point during previous All-Star Games, but not all in the same one. Stars put on show for celebrities The All-Star Game brought the stars out in Indianapolis. Rapper GloRilla performed at halftime while musicians Common and Jennifer Hudson sat courtside near WNBA legends Lisa Leslie and Tamika Catchings. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat in a suite and got the loudest ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the videoboard.
Chicago Tribune
10 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Napheesa Collier's record-breaking performance leads her team to victory in the WNBA All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier scored a record 36 points to help her team beat Team Clark 151-131 in the WNBA All-Star Game that was devoid of defense and full of 4-point shots. This record offensive effort came a year after the league's annual exhibition game was a competitive contest that pitted the U.S Olympic team against WNBA All-Stars. The game capped off a weekend during which negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement took center stage. Players wore warmup T-shirts before the game that said 'Pay us what you owe us.' Collier was named the game's MVP. As she waited to get her trophy, the crowd chanted 'Pay them more,' and All-Star Brittney Sykes held up a sign saying 'Pay the Players.' Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, an All-Star reserve for the second straight year, had six points and nine rebounds for Team Collier. Captain Caitlin Clark was unable to play for her team because of a groin injury she suffered earlier this week. She still served as ambassador for the weekend. Known for her logo 3-pointers, Clark would have loved a chance at the 28-foot 4-point shot that was added to this game. Both teams took advantage of the deep shot en route to the record-setting offensive night. The 151 points scored by Team Collier broke the mark of 143 in 2023. Collier's point total broke Arike Ogunbowale's previous record of 34 points last year. The combined total of 282 also surpassed the previous high of 270, set in 2023. While there was little defense, both teams challenged plays in the fourth quarter with the game not in doubt. One was successful and one wasn't. The game also featured first-year players Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen making up the largest rookie contingent at the game since 2011. Citron and Iriafen were on Team Clark, and Bueckers was a starter for Collier's team. Besides the 4-point shot, the game also included a 20-second shot clock instead of the normal 24 and the ability for teams to substitute during live play. There also were no free throws — not that there usually are many in an All-Star Game — until the final two minutes of the game. Instead players were automatically awarded the points. Skylar Diggins attempted the only free throws of the game with 1:01 left. She made both. All four rules had been used at some point during previous All-Star Games, but not all in the same one. The All-Star Game brought the stars out in Indianapolis. Rapper GloRilla performed at halftime while musicians Common and Jennifer Hudson sat courtside near WNBA greats Lisa Leslie and Tamika Catchings. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat in a suite and received the loudest ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the videoboard.
