credits: AP

Chellsie Memmel is congratulated by her father and coach, Andy Memmel, after the uneven bars.

Memmel posted huge scores on uneven bars and balance beam and produced a solid floor routine in the opening round of the U.S. women’s championships Thursday night at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.  Competing in the all-around in a major competition for the first time since 2006, Memmel ranked third, trailing only leader Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Scores from Thursday and the second day of competition on Saturday will be combined to determine the final all-around standings.

Andy Memmel admitted he thought about keeping his daughter on the sidelines due to a thigh injury, but he knew she needed to prove herself again after being out of the spotlight for most of the last two years. A shoulder injury suffered in the 2006 World Championships led to a long comeback road for Memmel, the 2005 world all-around gold medalist.

“I was excited,” said Andy, who threw both arms high in the air after Memmel completed a strong uneven bars routine that scored a 16.0. “It was fun to see her perform at this level and do well.

“She commanded the respect of the audience again. They easily forget. Now she’s showing them, ‘Hey, I’m still here. I can still do this.’ “

The bars score came in the second rotation and lifted her confidence, particularly since she missed her first release in warm-ups and hit the mat. Andy walked up to Chellsie and immediately joked about it.

“The first thing he said was, ‘You got it over with. You haven’t missed one this whole week,’ ” Memmel said. “I knew I could come back and do it.”

Memmel also scored a 16.05 on the balance beam, ranking second on that event to Liukin’s 16.1 score. She finished with a clean routine and a 15.1 score on the floor exercise to keep her in third place in the all-around.

“Mentally and emotionally, this was huge for Chellsie,” Andy said. “As a parent, I wanted to do what was right for her as a child. But as a coach, I wanted to do what was right for her career.

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