Simone Biles leads after a nervous first day of Olympic trials

Ashton Locklear fell off the balance beam, as did Maggie Nichols. Meanwhile, Laurie Hernandez maneuvered out of a potential crisis on the uneven bars.

If that wasn’t enough evidence that the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics trials were a mental torture chamber, reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist Gabby Douglas fell off the balance beam, dropping her into seventh place after the first day of competition here.

Even the usually steely, four-time national all-around champion Simone Biles, seemingly impervious to pressure, had a rare wobbly moment on the beam Friday night. Still, she quelled her nerves enough and finished with a sharp and winning floor exercise routine to lead after the first day with 61.850 points. The 16-year-old Hernandez trailed Biles by a point, at 60.850, and Olympic veteran Aly Raisman was in third.

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Lauren Hernandez celebrates after making the U.S. Olympic team.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team members celebrate after the conclusion of the Olympic Trials.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Gymnasts (left to right) Gabby Douglas, Lauren Hernandez and Simone Biles embrace after making the U.S. Olympic team during the final day of the Olympic Trials.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Gabriellel Douglas competes on the uneven bars during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Gabrielle Douglas competes on the floor exercise during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Gabrielle Douglas falls off the balance beam during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lauren Hernandez gracefully competes on the balance beam during Day 2 of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lauren Hernandez celebrates during the final day of the Olympic Trials.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Alexandra Raisman flies through the air during her floor exercise program during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Simone Biles competes on the vault during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during Day 2.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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U.S. gymnasts stretches in preparation for Day 2 of the Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lauren Hernandez competes on the dance floor before competition during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Maggie Nichols blows excess chalk from the balance beam before competition during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Alexandra Raisman competes on the beam during competition during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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U.S. gymnast Gabriel Douglas reacts after falling off the beam uring the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Ragan Smith competes on the uneven bars during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Christina Desiderio competes on the uneven bars during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Lauren Hernandez competes on the beam during the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Jose Sunday.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Simone Biles competes on the uneven bars during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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U.S. gymnasts stretch on the beam before competition during the first day of the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic trials in San Jose.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

This was all a reminder of what was exactly on the line at SAP Center. The five-woman team will be named after Day 2, on Sunday night, and Biles and Hernandez are embracing the higher stakes and elevated expectations.

“We’re always talking about striving for that perfection,” Hernandez said. “Go big or go home.”

There was no shortage of drama Friday, some of it unfolding behind the scenes with Douglas and her team. She was accompanied by her Columbus, Ohio-based coaches Christian Gallardo and Kittia Carpenter at nationals last month in St. Louis. Douglas has gone through numerous coaching changes in her career and Carpenter told ESPNW in 2014 that Douglas felt like “one of my kids” after Douglas arrived in Ohio.

As recently as Sunday, Carpenter tweeted, “On to the Olympic trials. Let’s do this Gabby!”

But Carpenter wasn’t at podium training Thursday, only Gallardo, and with rumors swirling about a coaching change, USA Gymnastics released a statement from Natalie Hawkins, Douglas’ mother. It stated she had not made a coaching change and that Gallardo has been her coach, noting only one coach could be on hand “through the Olympic process.”

“There really was no coaching change,” Douglas said. “For the most part, Christian was still my coach and is my coach in the gym. I think everyone was like, ‘Whoa, wait. What’s going on with the coaching situation because Kittia’s not on the floor?’ We just thought it was smart — in the training plan.

“Nothing really changed.”

Said Gallardo: “Every party was in agreement.”

Douglas finished fourth in St. Louis and seemed to be on an upward trend. Her best showing in San Jose, though, was third on the uneven bars.

“I felt good before the beam. I really did and I felt really confident,” Douglas said. “It came to my turn and I just tried to get it around and then I just obviously fell. And I was so upset because I told myself, ‘I’m not coming off this beam.’ It was a little disappointing. It’s definitely motivation into Sunday night.”

She plans on calling upon her years of experience of being a big-moment performer and fighting spirit.

“I’m just going to take this and knock it down and just fight for every little thing and not just give up,” Douglas said. “I’m going to train so much harder than I ever did before. I have to tell myself it’s not over until it’s over.”

National team coordinator Martha Karolyi pointed out that Douglas’ training wasn’t “so perfect leading up to today.” She did say she thought Douglas was capable of turning in the right direction.

“She wasn’t quite hitting all the routines she attempted,” Karolyi said. “In my opinion, you compete better if you train better. It just makes sense. She was a little bit off in her training. I don’t know exactly what as the reason, maybe the coaching situation.”

Biles and Hernandez reacted well to moments of adversity on Day 1, Karolyi pointed out.

“That’s very important. Sure, not happy when mistakes happening,” Karolyi said. “You can handle them in all different ways, and I think Laurie handled that well… and Simone. Some girls would maybe freak out, but they handled it well.”

Lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa