Bryant, Rorich win titles at 2020 Nastia Liukin Cup
MILWAUKEE, Wis., March 6, 2020 – Haleigh Bryant of Cornelius, N.C./Everest Gymnastics, and Kiley Rorich of Matthews, N.C./Southeastern Gymnastics Center, won the senior and junior all-around titles, respectively, at the 2020 Nastia Liukin Cup, held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The weekend continues with the American Cup at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 7.Fans can check out how to watch the action live here.
Bryant’s perfect 10 for vault, a first ever at the Nastia Liukin Cup, helped earn her the senior title for a second time – another first at the Nastia Liukin Cup – with a 39.175. Jacey Vore of Fishers, Ind./Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center, took second at 39.125, and Andrea Li of Aurora, Il./Legacy Elite Gymnastics, landed in third at 38.875.
In the junior division, Kiley Rorich garnered the title with her all-around score of 38.225 and the top score in uneven bars. Alexia Mouyenga of Plymouth, Minn./Twin City Twisters, and Rachel Wilkening of Edina, Minn./Twin City Twisters, had matching scores of 38.000, but Mouyenga nabbed the silver with the highest single event score of the two to win the tiebreaker.
The event scores for the senior medalists are below.
- Bryant: all-around, 39.175; vault, 10.000 (top score); uneven bars, 9.775 (top score); balance beam, 9.725; and floor exercise, 9.675.
- Vore: all-around, 39.125; vault, 9.975; uneven bars, 9.675; balance beam, 9.800; and floor exercise, 9.675.
- Li: all-around, 38.875; vault, 9.650; uneven bars, 9.625; balance beam, 9.800; and floor exercise, 9.800 (top score).
The top three juniors’ event scores are below.
- Rorich: all-around, 38.225; vault, 9.525; uneven bars, 9.500 (top score); balance beam, 9.675; and floor exercise, 9.525.
- Mouyenga: all-around, 38.000, vault, 9.800 (top score); uneven bars, 9.000; balance beam, 9.625; and floor exercise, 9.575.
- Wilkening: all-around, 38.000; vault, 9.600; uneven bars, 9.150; balance beam, 9.500; and floor exercise, 9.750.
The 36 participants in the Nastia Liukin Cup were selected through the Nastia Liukin Cup Series, which featured 18 of the country’s top gymnastics invitationals held throughout the United States.
Gymnasts who competed in the Nastia Liukin Cup received a Nastia Liukin-designed leotard and a warm-up from GK Elite; two tickets to the Nastia Liukin Cup; and the opportunity to meet Liukin and participate in a group photo.
Fans can enjoy continued coverage of the events in Milwaukee by catching the 2020 American Cup online, on television and on their favorite social media networks. Click here to find out how to follow the events this weekend.
The Nastia Liukin Cup made its debut in 2010. Past sites include 2018, Hoffman Estates, Ill.; 2016 and 2017, Newark, N.J.; 2015, Arlington, Texas; 2014 and 2019, Greensboro, N.C.; 2013 and 2010, Worcester, Mass.; 2012, New York City; and 2011, Jacksonville, Fla.
Background information
- Nastia Liukin. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Liukin’s total of five medals tied the U.S. gymnastics record for most medals in one Olympic Games. Liukin’s Olympic medals are: gold – all-around; silver – team, balance beam and uneven bars; and bronze – floor exercise. Liukin was the third of five U.S. women to win the Olympic all-around crown. She also won nine World medals in her career. Liukin has graced many magazine covers and appeared on various shows, including “Gossip Girl,” “Make It or Break It,” and the feature film, “Stick It.” Liukin was a contestant in the 2015 spring edition of “Dancing with the Stars” and was the grand marshal for the 2015 Indianapolis 500. She currently serves as a gymnastics analyst for NBC Sports and is a founder of Grander, a global community for the next generation of female athletes that provides access to the people who inspire, resources to help achieve dreams, and communities of like-minded people with similar ambitions. Liukin was coached by her father, Valeri, who has four Olympic medals from 1988 including two gold.
- International Gymnastics Federation. The International Gymnastics Federation is the governing body for gymnastics worldwide. It is the oldest established international federation of an Olympic sport and has participated in the Olympic Games since its revival in 1896. The FIG governs eight sports: gymnastics for all, men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline (including double mini-trampoline and tumbling), aerobics, acrobatics, and Parkour. It counts 148 national member federations and has its headquarters in the Olympic capital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
- VISIT Milwaukee. VISIT Milwaukee is the Greater Milwaukee area’s convention and visitors bureau, marketing the destination as a top choice for business, convention, and leisure travel to national and international visitors in order to increase the economic impact of tourism in the region. Each year, tourism supports over 52,000 full-time jobs and brings more than $5.7 billion to the community. VISIT Milwaukee has over 700 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services, and area businesses. The Wisconsin Center District, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, and City of Wauwatosa are strategic partners with VISIT Milwaukee, providing funding support for conventions and tourism programs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit www.visitmilwaukee.org.
- Fiserv Forum. Fiserv Forum is much more than just the new home for the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team. Designed to reflect the heritage, history and personality of Milwaukee while actively projecting progress, accessibility and a renewed sense of community, the state of the art, 714,000 square foot arena is the hub of entertainment in Wisconsin and the engine that drives growth in downtown Milwaukee. Over the coming years, the 30-acre district surrounding Fiserv Forum will become the largest development project ever undertaken in downtown Milwaukee. Combining entertainment, residential and commercial spaces, the new district will transform Milwaukee and serve as a catalyst for driving development throughout the region; For more information, visit www.fiservforum.com.
- USA Gymnastics. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has already taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to usagym.org.