Monday, April 23, 2012

Jonesin' for a Win

Australia is yet to have a gymnast score coveted silverware at an NCAA National Championship but we must absolutely applaud Melanie Jones for her efforts over the weekend.

Now in her third year at Oregon State University, Mel made it to the floor final (her first ever apparatus final at a collegiate nationals) in front of a parochial Georgia crowd. She displayed a stunning routine which you can watch below, scoring a 9.925 for equal 4th place. The amazing thing is, verdict among fans and spectators was that not only was it a great routine, it deserved first place! It's not every day you have an overseas audience clamouring for one of your own. Buuuuuuuut you can't fight the system, and she got a nifty trophy out of it anyway (not to mention the acclaim of the crowd).


Onya, Jonesy!

"Mel did a fabulous job, I'm really proud of her," head coach Tanya Chaplin said. "She's done a wonderful job for us this season and put in a lot of hard work and it is great to see that pay dividends today."



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous routine - well done Mel! I think it deserved a placing too!

Anonymous said...

Awesome work! I think she looks better now than she ever did as an elite. Good for her.

Anonymous said...

that routine was amazing!

Anonymous said...

first pass was amazing! comeback to elite? lol

Anonymous said...

Great routine. Few gymnasts could do justice to such overwhelming music, but Jones did an excellent job. I like her final pass too -- lovely to see someone do a combination of easy skills instead of the hackneyed double back.