Sunday, January 16, 2011

U.S. Nationals: Novice Pairs Preview

This should be a good competition as all the medalists from last year's intermediate level have qualified at the novice level.  Less than 10 points separated the top 5 teams at sectionals and three other teams were close to these scores.  Novice teams do short programs and free skates for the first time, so there are more elements to execute and more ice time.  This really leaves the door open for any of these pairs to shine and take the top spot on the podium.  The majority of the field did not attend nationals last season (either didn't qualify or are new partnerships) so this is another group of skaters eager to leave their mark on the national stage and many participating at this level for the first time.

The teams:

Aaron/Settlage: They qualified with a 1st place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.

Goldberg/Dolkiewicz: They qualified with at 1st place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They are the reigning national silver medalists at the intermediate level.

Shaughnessy/Morgan: They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Bergdolt/Addison: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They are the reigning bronze medalists at the intermediate level.

Liu/Perini: They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.

de la Mora/Wilson: They qualified with a 1st place finish at Midwestern sectionals.  They are the reigning national champions at the intermediate level.

Fields/Pacini: They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Midwestern sectionals.

Smith/Segall: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Pearce/Norris: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.

Unger/Przepioski: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.

Griffin/Griffin: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Midwestern sectionals.

No comments:

Post a Comment