THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270553
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: 58 lines
Considering the stranglehold two-time national champion Jessica Davis has on American rhythmic gymnastics, it was a stretch for even Virginia Beach's Lauri Illy to imagine herself in the Atlanta Olympics.
Wednesday, however, Illy gave no hint that Sydney in 2000 was fantasy.
The finals of the U.S. Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Trials saw Davis, as expected, claim the country's lone Olympic berth with a second night of superb performances.
It also saw Illy, at 14 the youngest of the seven gymnasts who competed, rebound from Tuesday's spotty preliminaries and move from fifth place to a fourth-place finish.
``I didn't think I would make this,'' said Illy, who trains in Evanston, Ill. ``Of course I was trying hard, but Jessie's just . . . you know how Scottie Pippen's on the team and he's really great, but when Michael Jordan's there, he's not. It's one of those things. He'll take over no matter what, and Jessie's just one of those Michael Jordans.''
In the finals, Illy and the other gymnasts repeated the rope, ball, clubs and ribbon routines they used Tuesday; the combined score determined the winner. The U.S. qualified for only one Olympic spot at last year's world championships, in which Davis was 24th.
Realistically, Wednesday was a contest for runnerup and Olympic alternate should Davis, 18, be unable to compete. Only a few significant gaffes could have prevented her from blowing the large lead - 36.850 to 35.981 - she held over Natalie Lacuesta entering the evening.
Davis was exceptional - her scores ranged from 9.55 (ball) to 9.45 (rope) - and her two-day total was 74.90. Scores for each event start at 9.60; judges add or deduct points for content and execution.
Meanwhile, Lacuesta, three months younger than Illy, has a stress fracture in her leg and did not compete. By rule, Lacuesta's second-day score from last month's national championships was carried over and doubled. That gave her 71.962 points, good for second place.
Sixteen-year-old Tina Tharp, 55th in the world, was third at 71.875. Illy, who called her effort ``not my worst, but not my best,'' scored 35.85 for the night, 71.225 overall. She opened the night with her highest score of the trials - a 9.175 rope routine. The ribbon routine that drew her Tuesday high of 9.1 was her Wednesday low, 8.825.
``Lauri's definitely someone with a lot of potential,'' said Davis, a Northern Californian. ``She and a lot of the girls are so young. I've been to three world championships, and there's only one other girl who's been to one (Tharp). In a few years, Lauri's going to be a lot better than she is.''
Illy, who turns 15 in August, said she plans to compete at least four more years, but that the Olympics aren't her reason to live.
``That's really a big dream, but it's just not the one thing I'm after,'' she said. ``If I don't go, I'm not going to totally die and be whacked up the rest of my life or anything. I just want to get to a point that I know that I'm done.''
Actually, Illy said, she might yet see Atlanta.
``At a Reebok store we went to (in Boston), I filled out thousands of applications for free tickets,'' Illy said. ``They had one of those drawing things, it said only one per person, but I put in, like, a thousand. I filled out all my family's names. They just don't know it yet.'' by CNB