Laurie Hernandez
Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez.Reuters

Week 7 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars saw the elimination of yet another couple, and two couples are currently tied up for the first place on the leaderboard.

Maureen McCormick and pro Artem Chigvintsev bid adieu on Monday night, and at the end of the competition both James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess and Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold rose to the top of the leaderboard, bringing them one step closer to the Mirror Ball Trophy.

They are likely to have a stiff competition from Laurie Hernandez and her dancing partner Val Chmerkovskiy, as the duo has been consistent in scoring high scores since the premiere. Several online prediction forums, too, claim Hernandez is likely to win Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars.

Monday's episode saw them doing a quickstep that had a prom theme. The 16-year-old also revealed that it was her first prom, as she has been home-schooled.

"I think it's cool that my first prom is going to be with Val," Hernandez said during the pre-taped segment. "Even though I've never been to a prom, this is kind of what I imagined it to be."

"Being asked to the prom, it's a very awesome time," Chmerkovskiy said. "These are magic moments every teenager should experience. I'm glad that Laurie gets to experience it, at least on Dancing With the Stars."

Scores after Monday's performances

  • James Hinchcliffe – 36 + 38 = 74
  • Calvin Johnson – 36 + 38 = 74
  • Laurie Hernandez – 34 + 35 = 69
  • Terra Jole – 34 + 35 = 69
  • Jana Kramer – 34 + 35 = 69
  • Ryan Lochte – 28 + 38 = 66
  • Marilu Henner – 29 + 35 = 64

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays on ABC.