U.S. Gymnastics Championships : Sey Gets 9.6 on Balance Beam to Nail Down All-Around Title

Jennifer Sey, who suffered a broken leg at the world championships seven months ago, won the senior girls’ all-around title Saturday in the U.S. gymnastics championships.

Sey, 17, of Haddonfield, N.J., pulled into first with her best score of the competition, a 9.6 on the balance beam. She kept the lead through the vault and floor exercise routines and clinched the title with a 9.4 performance on the uneven bars, giving her a total of 74.50 points.

Hope Spivey, Sey’s 14-year-old teammate on the Parkettes club from Allentown, Pa., was second, and Joyce Wilborn, 15, of Passaic, N.J., was third.

Alyssa Solomon, 14, of the Parkettes, placed fourth. Doe Yamashiro, 16, of Torrance, Calif., was fifth. Both Yamashiro and Spivey fell off the balance beam on their final routines to eliminate Sey’s last remaining threats.

Sey, Spivey, Wilborn, Solomon, Yamashiro and Angie Denkins, 17, of Willingboro, N.J., qualified for the U.S. team that will compete in next month’s Goodwill Games at Moscow.

The top 20 finishers made the U.S. team and earned the right to compete in the U.S. Olympic Festival in July at Houston. That squad included 1985 all-around champion Sabrina Mar, 16, of Monterey Park, Calif., who finished a disappointing 11th.