Ice Musings: Cup of China Pairs Short Program

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Kaleigh Hole/Adam Johnson, CAN

They seem very slow even in the way they skate across the ice
She needs to stretch through her free leg throughout the entire program
Triple twist--very clunky catch; she crashed into him and he had to grab her with two hands
Triple salchow--she has a sideways air position and takes a hard fall
Lift--good, basic entrance, bobbled the exit a little bit
Thriple salchow throw--she doesn't quite two foot it but she lands almost in a lunge
Level 4 combination spin--she needs a lot more stretch through her legs, unison is good, the last spin needs more speed
Level 2 step sequence--they get very far apart halfway through and it could use a lot more speed and attack
Level 1 death spiral--really ugly entrance into the spiral but she had a nice position

Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig, USA

A much flashier costume and a lot more makeup for Amanda this year
Great speed at the top of the program
Level 1 Triple twist--twist looked good but the catch wasn't clean
Triple toe loop--he turns out of it but doesn't put his free leg down
I like the transitions between all of their elements
Spread eagle into Throw triple loop--she gets a ton of air but is a little forward on her landing
Level 3 combination spin--their spins are slow, off-unison, and she needs a lot more stretch through her leg on the 3rd set
Level 2 step sequence--she had a bobble and it seemed slow and simple. They could add more here to bring up the level and get more points
Level 1 death spiral--I didn't like her entrance into the death spiral and she seemed a little crooked during the element
Level 4 Lift--He lifts her from the knee and the flip exit will get them some extra points
They need to work on their speed and attack during this program and bring the levels up to be on par with the top teams but it has potential

Lubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze, RUS

I can't believe she's 19--she looks 12
Lots of speed into the Triple toe--it looked clean to me but the judges downgraded it because it was underroated
She almost two foots the Throw triple loop but is able to keep her free leg up
Some of their movements look flaily because they're quick but not quite controlled
Level 2 triple twist--clean catch
In a transition move it looks like he misses her hand and smacks her in the face
Level 4 death spiral--solid
Level 3 spin--nice spins, nice speed, good unison, great flexibility
Level 3 step sequence--nice use of the ice, she makes a bobble halfway through
Level 2 lift--entrance from a spiral, switched position halfway through, exit a little messy and they finished after the music which earned them a 1 point deduction
They truly seem to love being on the ice and their smiles are contagious! A hard team not to like.

Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin, USA

From the moment they skate on the ice they look ready to attack this program
I love everything about Caitlin from her lines to her facial expressions and the way she moves through the elements
Level 1 Triple Twist--clean catch
Throw Triple Salchow--A low landing but otherwise good
Triple Toe Loops--nice, clean and great unison
Level 4 Lift--nice lift with change of position but they could spice up their entrance and exit
Level 3 Spin--They lost their unison in a few spots but found it again quickly. They could use some more speed during the last few sets of spins
Level 2 Step Sequence--very understated but nice
Level 2 Death Spiral--I loved her entrance into the spiral and she had a nice position
I think this is a solid program for them and they really put a lot of nuance into it. They have a few places where they could up their levels and bring the score up

Huibo Dong/Yiming Wang, CHN

Triple toe loops--clean
Level 1 Double Twist--clean, but there's no excuse not to be doing a triple at the senior level
Throw Triple Loop--clean
Level 1 Death Spiral--Interesting position with her legs in a full split but it slows almost to a stop
Level 2 Step Sequence--good unison, but they were slow and didn't have great ice coverage
Lift--the lift looked fine to me but they received no credit for it. They may have not held it long enough to count.
Level 2 Spins--unison was good but the spins were slow and once they had different arm positions
Overall everything was fine but nothing was memorable and there is NO performance quality with this team.

Wenjing Sui/Cong Han, CHN

Well isn't she a little spitfire!
Double Axel--clean
Level 3 Triple Twist--he throws her so high! Her arms seemed a little awkward on the landing and the camera angle didn't let me see if the catch was clean
Throw Triple Flip--He really throws her and her landing is gorgeous with a high arabesque and she just glides across the ice
Level 3 Step Sequence--nice step sequence that really shows off the character of the program. I like that here and there they do different elements that complement each other but give a little variety to the sequence
Level 4 Spin--lost the unison for a second on the spins but otherwise good, maybe a bit more speed at the end
Level 4 Lift--nice lift with a position change into a catch front leg and a flip exit
He falls on a transition step and she trips over him and falls too--I'm surprised she wasn't hurt since it almost appears that she tripped over his blade
Level 2 Death Spiral--nice low position and he lassos with his free arm to stay in character
Adorable program and an adorable team. I'm impressed they kept their composure so well being so young and skating in front of a home crowd that expects a lot out of it's pair teams
Without the freak falls they would have been in first place ahead of Pang/Tong

Nicole della Monica/Yannick Kocon, ITA:

Triple salchow--clean, she lands a little low
Level 3 Lift--clean, simple entrance and exit
Level 3 Spin--nice flexibility and speed but the unison could be better
Level 1 Double Twist--this was super low, she got no air at all and its impressive she got around twice
Level 1 Death Spiral--Nice death spiral
Throw Triple Loop--She two foots it, turns out of it and puts a hand down
Level 2 Step Sequence--their step sequence is fine but kind of blah and an unexciting way to end a program. They end up way over by the boards for their ending pose which I don't like.

Quing Pang/Jian Tong, CHN

I love her dress, don't love his costume
Double Toes--it looks like she opens up early and doesn't do the intended triple and he pitches forward and puts a hand down
Level 2 Triple twist--gorgeous twist and he catches her well away from his body
Level 2 Death Spiral--clean but the entrance was a little awkward
Throw Triple Loop--She gets a ton of height but is just slightly forward on the landing
Level 4 Lift--the second position in their lift looks very awkward and is not visually appealing
Level 2 Step Sequence--very elegant step sequence
Level 4 Spins--Nice unison but not a clear ending pose following the spins
This program doesn't have some of the sparkle that they normally have and they need to do more to engage the audience