Cup of China Pairs Short Program

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