This should be a pretty easy event for Pang and Tong to win. I don't think they have any real competition as their season's best is almost 15 points above the rest of the field. They seem to be lacking some of that spark that made them the darlings of the Olympics and led them to a World title. Their main objective here will be to squeeze out all the points they can as other teams have been outperforming them, and as it stands now they'll be in a fight for the podium at Worlds. If they want to walk in the favorites, they'll need to show the world what they can do. They have the 3rd best short program, 4th best free skate and 3rd best total scores for the season.
Moore-Towers and Moscovitch have burst onto the scene this year, but seemed to struggle through the Grand Prix Final. There were no major errors with their programs, but their scores didn't match up with what they had done earlier in the season. They won Canadian nationals in a decisive fashion, suggesting they are back on their game. They shouldn't have a problem making the podium at this event. They have the 5th best short program, 7th best free skate and 7th best total score for the season.
Yankowskas and Coughlin pulled out a sassy, solid short program and an emotionally powerful free skate to claim their first national title. Their scores improved throughout the season and they performed their programs at nationals better than I've seen them, and the judges rewarded them with high scores. If they can carry this momentum into this event, they should land on the podium. They have the 10th best short program and 9th best total score for the season.
Evora and Ladwig's weak spot this season was their short program and the debuted a new one at nationals that was well received and seemed to suit them better. This will be a good chance to get international opinion on the program before worlds. They have the 9th best free skate score this season.
Denney and Barrett had a training accident and will be unable to attend. They are being replaced by Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker who finished 4th at US Nationals after only being together for 5 months. They won the Nesquik Cup earlier this year and this will be their first major international competition and a good test of their abilities and mental toughness.
The young Japanese team of Takahashi and Tran had a solid debut season with two medals on the Grand Prix Circuit. They also won two medals on the JGP and won the JGP Final. They'll be competing at Junior Worlds in just a few short weeks, so they're likely training a Junior program and a Senior program right now. It will be interesting to see if they have enough energy and training to wind up on the podium here. They have the 10th best free skate score of the season.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Pang/Tong
Silver: Moore-Towers/Moscovitch
Bronze: Yankowskas/Coughlin
My USFSA Fantasy Team:
A) Pang/Tong
B) Yankowskas/Coughlin
C) Zhang/Wang
Duhamel/Radford, CAN: They finished 5th at Skate Canada.
Lawrence/Swiegers, CAN: They finished 4th at World Juniors in 2009. They won bronze at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board and finished 5th at Cup of Russia.
Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, CAN: They placed 9th at Four Continents last season. They finished 6th at the Grand Prix Final after winning silver at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board and silver at Skate America with personal best short program and total scores.
Dong/Wu, CHN: Dong and Wu placed 17th at the World Championships. They won bronze at the 2008 World Junior Championships. They placed 7th at Skate Canada and Cup of China.
Pang/Tong, CHN: Pang and Tong won silver at the Olympics (with personal bests in the free skate and total score) and are the reigning World Champions (with a personal best short program). They also won the World Championships in 2006. They are three time Four Continents gold medalists and two time silver medalists. They won gold at the NHK Trophy and Cup of China to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they took the silver.
Zhang/Wang, CHN: They finished 6th at Four Continents and World Juniors last season. They finished 8th at NHK Trophy.
Takahashi/Tran, JPN: They are the reigning Junior World silver medalists and placed 5th at Four Continents last season. They won silver at J. Curry Memorial and Pokal der Blauen. They won bronze at NHK Trophy and silver at Rostelecom Cup in their debut season on the Grand Prix.
Evora/Ladwig, USA: They placed 10th at the Olympics with personal best scores in the short and free programs and 9th at the World Championships. They finished 5th at Cup of China and won bronze at Cup of Russia.
Marley/Brubaker, USA: They are currently ranked 4th nationally. This is their first major international competition.
Yankowskas/Coughlin, USA: They placed 4th at the Four Continents Championships last season with personal best scores in the short and free skate. They finished 4th at NHK Trophy and won bronze at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board.
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