Russian Cup: All Around Recap

                                        
                                         Rise of the New Guard
I expected Aliya to win this competition because that's what she does when she's in the AA, but today Melka and Tut showed up eager to undo the poor impression left after qualifications. Seda had impressive control on 3/4 of the apparatus while Melka suddenly discovered the power to execute a great DTY. The most satisfying part of their success was seeing them hit their upgrades, especially Seda, who now has half a point more on bars than the event we might need her for, floor. She did a good floor exercise but the wolf turn- it's always the dance elements- led to .2 in downgrades. Angelina claimed the title because of her improved vaulting (the only 15 she received today), but I think it's a positive takeaway that she's close to breaking 15 on bars and beam. 

Both girls scored significantly higher on FX than at Euros so we could blame that on home scoring but Angelina was credited a 6.3, so that might justify her boost. Seda was exceptionally more accurate than normal, but ultimately she and Melka both received e-scores higher than their international average. The same might be said of beam where Seda consistently scores a 14.6-ish internationally for a hit 6.3 set, not a 15+. Of course, we must make allowances that sometimes people do improve significantly enough to merit such growth. It's such a back and forth game with Team Russia, where one minute they look like a shadow of their 2012 selves, the next time they show the kind of gritty spirit pointing to a podium finish. I'm honest to goodness so tired of evaluating each girl and going over these numbers, trying to make sense of it all, so I've finally accepted that whatever Russia gets out of Rio is what they deserve. Seda might make the team and beat Aliya or Melka in AA, or she might not. Perhaps Russia puts two in a beam final; perhaps not. This team is so talented when they believe they can do it, but the factors that get them into that state of mind are unknown. 

                                       An Inconvenient Truth
You've probably heard by now that Spiridonova was given two chances to compete on beam today and she blew both of them. The good news is Valentina has finally ended Operation All-Arounder with reference to Daria. But making her into a true UB/BB specialist is just as impossible. Her falling off beam is not surprising but I write about it because it's the only proof we have Afan is not going to train beam in her recovery. If the team is Afan, Paseka, Aliya, Melka, and Daria, they wouldn't be pressing Daria so much unless they need her to compete the apparatus. This disastrous team plan might still come to fruition because Valentina is stubbornly insisting Afan will be on this team (can't say I blame her for clinging to the dream), and if so, they obviously can't take Seda unless they give her Daria's spot, seeing as the other three girls are secure. If they take Daria and Afan, Russia might get a high bars and floor score. Might. We don't know where Afan will physically be in her recovery by Rio but if she's even moderately prepared we can depend on her experience to at least give us a mid 14. But if we drop one of them, we gain an all arounder who's suddenly not so bad on bars, and can match Afan's floor score with a hit beam. If she hits beam. Hmmm, complications....complications...

                                                            In Aliya We Trust 
What are we to make of Aliya's flubs on bars? She spoke to media after the ceremony and revealed that the bars were a different brand (the one being used for the Olympics) and barely broken in, with less than two weeks of usage. This affects the springiness and feel of the bars so it threw her off. She had a great day otherwise, with a 14.3 on floor(!!!), a 14.875 on vault, and a 14.750 on beam. She can squeeze a few more tenths out of vault and beam and obviously bars can be much better so at the end of the day- or rather, by the Olympics- she will be better prepared to challenge Seda and Melka with a 59+ program. And let's remember, Aliya competes the best internationally where she's much more focused, and is scored the highest in execution as well, so while the other girls will come down in score, she will rise. I don't mean to set them against each other or make light of Melka and Seda's success- God knows I'm happy to see AA depth- but I'm sick and tired of reading doom and gloom reports about Aliya because she showed something less than perfect. She'll be perfect when it matters, ye of little faith!

Full results with cumulative scores can be found here.