By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer 
7/9/00

Dominique Moceanu lives in a world that, for a moment atleast, gets topsy-turvy even in Tulsa. 
JOHN CLANTON / Tulsa World

She's near-flawless champion

Olympians Dominique Moceanu, Amy Chow and Jaycie Phelps were the crowd pleasers Saturday night, but Vanessa Atler stole the show.

 The 18-year-old Atler turned in a nearly flawless routine in the uneven bars and floor exercise -- to the delight of 5,509 Mabee Center fans -- to win her first all-around title since the Australia Cup in 1998.

 "I felt good," Atler said of her performance. "I'm usually nervous before competition, but tonight I was calm."

 Atler was solid on all four routines, but it was her uneven bar score that nearly brought the World Olympic gymnast and coach Valeri Liuken to tears.

 She had struggled with the routine the past two years, but scored a 9.600 on Saturday.

 The crowd clapped along to Atler's Russian gypsy music during her floor routine. She responded by garnering the night's highest score, 9.750.

 "I was hoping they would clap and when they started to clap I got pumped," she said. "It was an awesome night."

 The impressive score moved her into a tie for first place with defending national champion Kristen Maloney.

 Atler took over sole possession of the top spot when Maloney's Parkette coaches decided to scratch her from the floor exercise.

 Maloney seemed upset, but regained her composure to score a 9.35 on the vault, her final routine of the night.

 "I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to do the floor exercise, but I know it was for the best," said Maloney.

 Cincinnati Gym claimed three of the top six spots, led by Morgan White and Alyssa Beckerman, who finished second and third, respectively. Moceanu, also from Cincinnati, finished sixth to qualify for the John Hancock U.S. Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.

 "That was what we came here for," Moceanu said. "Morgan and Alyssa had already qualified for nationals."

 The layoff for the Olympians showed at times. Chow fell on her uneven bar routine and Moceanu wavered on the balance beam, slipping off the four-inch plank on her second gymnastics routine.

 "I was on a new pass on the beam and fell," Moceanu said. "But it is better to fall now than at Nationals or (Olympic) Trials."

 On other routines, though, the Olympians sparkled with loud applause from the crowd.

 Kendall Beck turned in an outstanding performance to earn a shot at Nationals. The 18-year-old Parkette gymnast who has been through three ACL operations will attend Stanford University this fall.

 "I felt great tonight," said Beck. "I felt like I showed what I could do if I hadn't had the knee injuries."

 SCATS' Sheila Buack and Brown Gymnastics' Kristin Thome suffered injuries in the floor exercise. Buack landed on her neck during her routine and was taken to a local hospital. She was released after x-rays proved negative. Thome twisted her knee during warm-ups.

 Union High School junior Ashley Kelly finished 16th overall and qualified for St. Louis.

 "I was pleased with my routine," said the Krafft Academy standout. "I knew I felt good. I now know what it's like to compete against the big names."

 U.S. CLASSIC GYMFEST 
Senior International Scoring 

1, Vanessa Atler (World Olympics) 37.937. 2, Morgan White (Cincinnati) 37.775. 3, Alyssa Beckerman (Cincinnati) 37.137. 4, Kendall Beck (Parkettes) 36.925. 5, Amy Chow (West Valley) 36.737. 6, Dominique Moceanu (Cincinnati) 36.462. 7, Cory Fritzinger (Excalibur) 36.125. 8, Rachel Tidd (SCEGA) 36.025. 9, Erinn Dooley (Hill's) 35.725. 10, Marie Fjordholm (World Olympics) 35.675.

 11, Amanda Stroud (Great American) 35.512. 12, Annabeth Eberle (Starz) 35.487. 13, Jamie Dantzscher (Gliders) 35.187. 14, Jaycee Phelps (Desert Devils) 34.975. 15, Lindsey Wing (Hills) 34.837. 16, Ashley Kelly (Krafft Academy) 34.637. 17, Alecia Ingram (Dynamo) 34.450. 18, Monique Chang (Capital) 34.400. 19, Larissa Stewart (Bart Conner) 34.175. 20, Becky Bank (North Stars) 33.262.

 21, Courtney Bumpers (Northwin) 32.762. 22, Michelle Ilg (North Stars) 32.362. 23, Kelly McDonald (Cascade) 32.262. 24, April Burkholder (Brown's) 32.225. 25, Tarah Chellevold (Bart Conner) 32.012. 26, Kallie Steffes (Midwest Gymnastics) 31.912. 27, Whitney Ferguson (Parkettes) 31.762. 28, Alison Lim (Midwest Gymnastics) 31,050. 29, Liz Kotler (Flushing YMCA) 30.812. 30, Jennifer Orlando (Cardinal Gymnastics) 29.675.