U.S. Nationals Senior Pairs Preview

Evora and Ladwig are the veterans of this event, having competed at nationals since 2003 and claiming four medals.  They've never won gold and were runner up to two different teams over two seasons.  While they finished just off the podium at both of their Grand Prix events this is looking like their year to finally claim the national title, especially if they can land their side by side jumps.

Denney and Coughlin teamed up at the end of last season and their partnership came together quickly.  They finished 4th and 5th at their two Grand Prix events but seemed to slip a little in their second event.  They have big throws and lifts as Denney is nearly a foot shorter than Coughlin but are still working on smoothing out the edges on some of their other elements and making their skating as seamless as possible.

Marley and Brubaker took home the pewter medal from nationals last season only months after starting their partnership.  They made their Grand Prix debut this season and won bronze at Coupe de Nice, a senior B event.  Marley was injured at the beginning of the season, causing them to withdraw from Nebelhorn Trophy, but since then they've improved between competitions as they had more training time behind them.  One of their weakest elements is the twist but that has been showing improvement at each event.  Marley has put her singles career on hold to focus on pairs this season.

Donlan and Speroff are a beautiful team to watch with great lines which leads to wonderful positions in their lifts.  They play on this strength with a ballet themed free skate that showcases them perfectly.  Their biggest weakness is their side by side jumps.  If they can land them they could really make a run at the podium and put themselves in contention to be a top U.S. pair team.

Cain and Reagan made history when they became the first pair team to win Novice and Junior titles in consecutive seasons.  They went on to finish 4th at Junior Worlds last season behind a trio of teams that already had Junior World titles and competed on the senior level.  They debuted on the Grand Prix this season, finishing 6th.  They had a nice outing on their short program but really struggled on their free skate.  Cain is tall with long legs which lends to some nice positions in their lifts.  She is also pulling double duty, competing in the junior ladies event at nationals.

Castelli/Shnapir, Vise/Baldwin and Poapst/Knierim are also in the mix.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Evora/Ladwig
Silver: Denney/Coughlin
Bronze: Marley/Brubaker
Pewter: Cain/Reagan

Bios of the competitors:
Kloe Chanel Bautista/Tyler Harris: She is 19 and represents the All Year Figure Skating Club.  He is 23 and represents the Skating Club of Boston.  They finished 10th in Juniors in 2011.  They won bronze at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  

Gretchen Donlan/Andrew Speroff: She is 18 and represents the Skating Club of Boston.  He is 23 and represents the Skating Club of Boston.  They finished 8th in Juniors in 2010 and 8th in 2011.  They won gold at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Alexa Scimeca/Ivan Dimitrov: She represents the DuPage Figure Skating Club.  They won pewter at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Felicia Zhang/Nathan Bartholomay: She is 18 and represents the Skating Club of New York.  They won silver at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  

Cassie Andrews/Timothy LeDuc: She is 18 and represents the Indiana World Skating Academy Figure Skating Club.  He is 21 and represents the Eastern Iowa Figure Skating Club.  They placed 9th at Junior Worlds last season.  They are the reigning Junior bronze medalists.

Ashley Cain/Joshua Reagan: She is 16 and represents the Stars Figure Skating Club of Texas.  He is 22 and represents the Stars Figure Skating Club of Texas.  They finished 4th at Junior Worlds last season.  They placed 6th at Rostelecom Cup and 4th at Coupe de Nice.  They are the 2010 Novice Champions and reigning Junior Champions.

Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir: She is 21 and represents the Skating Club of Boston.  He is 24 and represents the Skating Club of Boston.  They placed 7th at NHK Trophy and 4th at Ondrej Nepela Memorial.  They are the 2009 World Junior bronze medalists.  They placed 9th in Novice in 2007, are the 2008 Novice bronze medalists, the 2009 Junior bronze medalists, placed 10th in 2010 and 5th in 2011.

Caydee Denney/John Coughlin: She is 18 and represents the Panthers Figure Skating Club.  He is 26 and represents the Kansas City Figure Skating Club.  They finished 4th at Skate America, 5th at NHK Trophy and won bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy.  They have the 10th best short program score, 8th best free skate and 9th best total score internationally.

Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig: She is 27 and represents the Southwest Florida Figure Skating Club.  He is 31 and represents the Red River Valley Figure Skating Club.  They placed 11th at Worlds and 6th at Four Continents last season.  They placed 4th at Cup of China and Trophee Eric Bompard.  They placed 12th in 2003, 10th in 2004, 5th in 2005, 7th in 2006, are the 2007 pewter medalists, finished 5th in 2008, are the 2009 pewter medalists, 2010 silver medalists and are the reigning silver medalists.

Rita Fehr/Peter Biver: She is 15 and he is 35.

Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker: She is 16 and represents the DuPage Figure Skating Club.  He is 25 and represents the All Year Figure Skating Club.  They finished 8th at Four Continents last season.  They placed 7th at Skate America and won bronze at Coupe de Nice.  They are the reigning pewter medalists.

Andrea Poapst/Christopher Knierim: She is 19 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  He is 24 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  They won gold at Ice Challenge.  They are the reigning Junior silver medalists.

Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin: She is 25 and represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  He is 34 and represents the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club.  They finished 6th at Skate America and 7th at Nebelhorn Trophy.  They placed 8th in 2011.

Rostelecom Cup Pairs Preview

Both Kavaguti and Smirnov and Savchenko and Szolkowy have qualified for the Grand Prix Final and are competing in their third event of the season and their second head to head competition.  Kavaguti/Smirnov have two gold medals and their Claire de Lune program was magical at their first event but lost some of its sparkle in the second event.  Kavaguti is also suffering from a shoulder injury and competed with muscle tape covering her back and arms at their last event.  Savchenko and Szolkowy opened their season with a gold medal finish at Skate America with a come behind victory after she fell on the triple axel attempt in the short program.  They have yet to land the jump but are getting credit for full rotation.  They dropped to 3rd at NHK Trophy after they aborted a lift at the end of their free skate.

Berton and Hotarek caught the attention of many at Europeans last season and finished 4th at NHK Trophy earlier this season.  If they can win gold or silver they'll qualify for the Final.  With both top teams already qualified, they may be taking this opportunity to try out some new elements which could lead to errors and give Berton and Hotarek the opening they need to qualify.

Three teams are making their debut on the Grand Prix circuit for the season.  Jones and Gaskell of Canada and Cain and Reagan of the United States are both coming up from the junior ranks.  The real spoiler will be Gerboldt and Enbert of Russia who have an incredibly elegant and classically Russian style on the ice and finished in the top 4 at Europeans last season but missed a chance at Worlds due to the depth of the Russian pairs discipline.

Volosozhar/Trankov, Kavaguti/Smirnov, Savchenko/Szolkowy, Zhang/Zhang and Takahashi/Tran have already qualified for the Final.  If Berton/Hotarek finish 3rd or lower than Duhamel/Radford will claim the last spot in the Final.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Savchenko/Szolkowy
Silver: Kavaguti/Smirnov
Bronze: Gerboldt/Enbert

Bios of the competitors:
Jones/Gaskell, CAN: They finished 6th at Junior Worlds.  They placed 6th at JGP Austria and 4th at JGP Germany last season to qualify for the JGP Final where they finished 6th.  Their personal best is 133.41.  She is 15 and he is 21.

Savchenko/Szolkowy, GER: They are the reigning World Champions and European Champions.  They won gold at Skate America and bronze at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.  They qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season and won gold.  They are the 2010 Olympic bronze medalists; the 2009 and 2008 World Champions; 2010 World silver medalists; 2007 World bronze medalists; 2009, 2008 and 2007 European Champions; and the 2010 and 2006 European silver medalists.  Their personal best is 217.85.  She is 27 and he is 32.

Berton/Hotarek, ITA: They finished 10th at Worlds and 5th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at NHK Trophy.  Their personal best is 164.83.  She is 21 and he is 27.

Gerboldt/Enbert, RUS:  They placed 4th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at Cup of Russia last season.  Their personal best is 169.95.  She is 22 and he is 22.

Kavaguti/Smirnov, RUS: They finished 4th at Worlds and are the reigning European silver medalists.  They won gold at Cup of China and NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.  They are the 2009 and 2010 World bronze medalists, 2010 European Champions, 2009 European silver medalists and 2008 European bronze medalists.  Their personal best is 213.15.  She is 29 and he is 27.

Stolbova/Klimov, RUS: They are the reigning World Junior Silver Medalists.  They placed 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final last season and won silver.  They are the 2010 World Junior bronze medalists.  Their personal best is 159.79.  She is 19 and he is 21.

Cain/Reagan, USA: They finished 4th at Junior Worlds.  They won silver at JGP Czech Republic and placed 6th at JGP Great Britain last season to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 5th.  Their personal best is 135.40.  She is 16 and he is 22.

Junior World Championships: Pairs Free Skate

UPDATE: My computer is really having troubles with the SBS stream and I'm not getting anything but a white screen anymore.  I'll post videos as soon as they've available
The first warm up group is on the ice.  This stream likes to buffer every few minutes, so I apologize if a few elements are missing.

Group 1
Martini/Kiefer, AUT: 32.54 TES + 28.21 PCS = 60.75 Total: 96.53

• They are 18 and 20 and in 16th place after the Short Program
• They are one of several teams skating to Addams Family for their free skate this season
• Through the legs entrance to their first lift with a two arm hold--seems like they're rotating very slow and not covering much ice
• Nice side by side doubles toes
• They are way off on their unison on the side by side spins and are spinning very slow
• In the transition elements she needs to really stretch through her lifted leg
• Press lift--She could use a little more arch in her lift position and really get her legs behind her, a change of position as he spread eagles and they have no speed
• Throw double toe--not a lot of speed or ice coverage but she lands it
• They have nice stretched out positions in their back spirals with a catchfoot position
• Way off on their double toe + double toe + double toe combo--she landed before he took off
• Decent pairs spin and their speed is better here than in their other spins
• Finished just a tad behind the music
• Overall their elements were decent, they just need more speed, power, and technical difficulty

Lavrentieva/Rudik, UKR: 34.16 TES + 30.92 PCS = 65.08 Total: 102.29 and into 1st place

• They are in 14th place after the short program
• I'm getting music but no picture at the moment
• Good unison on their side by side double toes 
• She has a nice position in their lift and has good stretch through her legs--but it seems really short
• Nice throw double
• Good positions and flexibility through the pairs spin but not a lot of speed
• Hard to really get a feel for that program as there was so much buffering but she doesn't look happy as they take their bow
• Throw double salchow in the playback was ok with a low landing and not a lot of throw height or distance
• She is flat on the ice at the end of the death spiral

Klatka/Chruscinski, POL: 36.60 TES + 30.50 PCS -1.00 = 66.10 Total: 103.13 and into 1st place

• They are 13 and 19 and currently in 15th place
• They are also skating to Addams Family
• Nice height on their double twist, she has a over the head arm position, and a clean catch
• Their unison is off on the entrance to their sbs jumps but the stream cut out during the jump
• I'd like to see her work on her arm positions in the pairs spin--she cuts off her lines and it distorts the look of her position
• Nice flexibility from both of their through their pair spiral
• A really nice landing for her on their throw double 
• Spread eagle entrance to over head lift--Her free leg seems to be dangling up there and not really held in a specific position
• Good unison on the sbs spins--In the upright catch spin she really hikes her hip up to get her leg up and it's slightly throwing her off balance
• She could use more stretch through this lift in a split position
• She has a really high free leg in her death spiral and her head looks like it's resting on the ice

Khnychenkova/Magyar, HUN: 37.46 TES + 32.18 PCS -1.00  =68.64 Total: 106.99 and into 1st place

• They are 16 and 20 and are in 13th place after the short program
• Good height on the throw double twist with a good catch
• Low landing on the throw triple toe but she hangs on to it
• They have good unison on their side by side spins but seem tired and the spins are slow
• Good throw triple salchow
• She could use more arch in her death spiral but a nice exit
• They are doing a Spanish themed program but it seems they're just going through the motions and not really attacking or performing their choreography
• Nice stretch through their spiral sequence
• Through the legs entrance to the lift--she needs to arch her back more and really get her legs behind her for a nicer air position
• Good unison on their side by side triple toes
• A really tough fall out of a lift--She goes for the catch foot and comes straight down to the ice

Group 2
Morand/Leemann, SUI: 38.03 TES + 34.53 PCS = 72.56 Total: 113.30 and into 1st place

• Having some technical difficulties...should be back up by Gillespie and Dematte if not sooner

Gillespie/Dematte, ITA: 39.67 TES + 36.84 PCS = 76.51 Total: 116.44 and into 1st place
Andrews/LeDuc, USA: 38.72 TES + 39.23 PCS -1.00 = 76.95 Total: 117.11 and into 1st place
Kadelecova/Bidar, CZE: 36.39 TES + 37.95 PCS = 74.34 Total: 117.24 and into 1st place

Group 3
Vasilieva/Shevchuk, RUS: 30.78 TES + 41.37 PCS -3.00 = 69.15 Total: 114.98
Jones/Gaskell, CAN: 42.08 TES + 42.56 PCS = 84.64 Total: 129.28 and into 1st place
Astakhova/Bochkov, RUS: 33.13 TES + 39.95 PCS -1.00 = 72.08 Total: 118.75
Cain/Reagan, USA: 47.66 TES + 44.00 PCS = 91.66 total: 135.40 and into 1st place

Group 4
Stolbova/Klimov, RUS: 53.48 TES + 51.91 PCS = 105.39 total: 159.60 and into 1st place
Takahashi/Tran, JPN: 45.11 TES + 52.56 PCS -1.00 = 96.67 Total: 154.52
Purich/Schultz, CAN: 39.59 TES + 43.05 PCS = 82.64 Total: 129.97
Sui/Han, CHN: 56.13 TES + 52.72 PCS -1.00 = 107.85 Total: 167.01 and into 1st place

Gold: Sui/Han
Silver: Stolbova/Klimov
Bronze: Takahashi/Tran

Junior World Championships: Pairs Preview

This is a unique event as all of the medalists from last year are back this season.

Leading the pack are Sui and Han who rocked the senior circuit this season, medaling at both of their Grand Prix assignments and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze.  They have a throw quad that they've been landing more consistently in their free skate throughout the season.  This team is also caught up in the falsification of age scandal which might take away their focus here.  If they skate like they have been all season, they should repeat as champions here.

Takahashi and Tran took the silver medal at this event last season and also had a good senior debut, medaling in both of their Grand Prix assignments.  They are the only pairs team in Japan and they are really taking advantage of their eligibility, competing in two JGP, two GP, JGPF, Four Continents, Junior Worlds and Worlds this season.  I thought they showed this strain at 4Cs and were sloppier than normal.  They're also training two programs at the same time and are likely not getting enough reps in on either one.

Stolbova and Klimov are the only junior team to have defeated both Sui/Han and Takahashi/Tran this season.  They were nine points from gold at the JGPF, but have had the over two months since to focus solely on their programs.  I think they have a really good shot to pull up here, and with the deep pairs field in Russia, they'll have to really pull out all the stops if they want a place on the senior teams next season.

Yu and Jin from China have not been able to excel to the same level as their teammates and are also caught up in the age scandal.  They had good scores on the JGP and took home a medal from the JGPF but they're far behind the top three teams and will need some mistakes at the top to make it onto the podium here.

Cain and Reagan are leading the U.S. teams here and a top 5 finish is well within their sights.  They showed a maturity to their programs at nationals that was not matched in the field and put out two clean programs.  If they can repeat that here, they should have a strong finish to their first international season.


Silaeva and Minchuk qualified for the JGPF and placed 11th at this event last season but are not on the Russian team here.  Steele and Schultz also qualified for the JGPF but did not make the Canadian team.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Sui/Han
Silver: Stolbova/Klimov
Bronze: Takahashi/Tran

The teams:

Martini/Kiefer, AUT: They placed 15th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board.  They placed 20th at Junior Worlds last season.

Palyakova/Fomichev, BLR:

Jones/Gaskell, CAN: They placed 6th at Cup of Austria and 4th at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 6th.  They placed 7th at the World Junior Championships last season. 

Purich/Schultz, CAN: They won bronze at J. Curry Memorial and Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 7th.

Sui/Han, CHN: Sui and Han are the reigning World Junior Champions. They won the silver medal at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board and bronze at Skate America with a personal best free skate to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze.  They won bronze at JGP Austria and gold at JGP Czech Republic to qualify for the JGPF but withdrew to focus on the senior event.

Yu/Jin, CHN: They won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and gold at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they won bronze.

Kadlecova/Bidar, CZE:  They placed 7th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board.  They finished 7th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard with a personal best short program.  They finished 14th at the World Junior Championships last season.

Clement/Hunt, GBR: They placed 13th at JGP Great Britain.  They finished 19th at Junior Worlds last season.

Khnychenkova/Magyar, HUN: They finished 15th at their Junior Grand Prix assignment.  They placed 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They finished 15th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Gillespie/Dematte, ITA: They placed 12th at Europeans.  They finished 8th and 11th at their two JGP assignments this season.

Takahashi/Tran, JPN: They are the reigning Junior World silver medalists.  They placed 7th at Four Continents. They won silver at J. Curry Memorial and Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they won gold.  They won bronze at NHK Trophy and silver at Rostelecom Cup.

Epstein/Epstein, NED: They won the Junior event at Ice Challenge and NRW Trophy.

Klatka/Chruscinski, POL: They placed 12th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Germany.

Astakhova/Bochkov, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Austria.

Stolbova/Klimov, RUS: They are the reigning Junior World bronze medalists.  They won JGP Cup of Austria and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the JGPF where they won silver. They placed 5th at Skate America. 

Vasilieva/Shevchuk, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Great Britain.

Morand/Leemann, SUI:

Labrentieva/Rudik, UKR: They placed 13th at JGP Austria.

Andrews/LeDuc, USA: They are the reigning national junior silver medalists.

Cain/Reagan, USA: They finished 6th at J. Curry Memorial and won silver at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 5th.

US Nationals: Junior Recap

Men:

Max Aaron was able to come from behind after the short program to win the junior mens title by almost 6 points.  He was able to land a triple axel in combination in his free skate but fell on his second triple axel.  He'll be competing senior next season and the more mileage he can get on the triple axel the better, as many new seniors struggle with this element or only do double axels.  He'll be heading to Junior Worlds later this month.

Alexander Zahradnicek took the silver medal after winning the short program.  He had one triple-triple combination in his free skate with two other solo triples and two triples in combination.  He only performed double axels in his programs.  Overall he looked very solid but he has aged out of the junior ranks and will need to step up some of his content to really make the jump to the senior level especially with such a deep, young field.

Alexander Aiken took the bronze with a 3rd place finish in both segments.  He had one triple-triple combination, one additional triple in combination and three solo triples along with double axels in his free skate.  This was his first national medal since 2005.  He is too old to compete as a junior internationally, and I think he'll move up to seniors nationally next season.  He had a few jump errors and I'd like to see him get more consistent and add a triple axel to his arsenal.

Emmanuel Savary could have a bright future as he is quickly rising through the ranks and has just turned 13 years old.  He finished 5th in his first season as a junior and I predict he'll stay at this level next season.  He has triple-triple combinations and Level 4 spins.  With some more experience and a triple axel he could have a good shot at the junior title next season, but he'll have to fend off 2 time novice champ Nathan Chen.

Ladies:

Courtney Hicks blew away the field to win gold by almost 20 points and post the highest score ever for a junior lady under the Code of Points (beating the record set last season by Agnes Zawadzki).  Her signature spin, the Tw-Hicks wowed the crowd and she landed triple-triple combinations in both of her programs (which none of the medal winners in senior ladies executed).  She had three solo triples in her free skate and three triples in combination.  She has been compared to Sasha Cohen but she seems to be able to stay on her feet.  She has earned a spot on the Junior Worlds team and this will be her first international competition.  It will be interesting to see if she follows Zawadzki onto the Senior Grand Prix next season or elects to complete a year on the Junior Grand Prix.

Lauren Dinh pulled up to finish 2nd in the free skate and second overall with three triples in combination and three solo triples in her free skate.  She had a solid performance and was enjoyable to watch, but lacks some maturity in her performance skills.  She has not competed internationally and I'd like to see her complete a season on the Junior Grand Prix and stay as a junior next year before moving up to the senior ranks.

Katarina Kulgeyko fell to 3rd in the free skate and 3rd overall after popping her opening jump and receiving no credit.  She showed great maturity to come back from that mistake and complete the rest of her skate with no errors.  She didn't have very high GOEs and I'd like to see her really land her jumps and gain more confidence in landing them so she can get more points.  She does have a double axel-triple toe combination which many of the senior ladies execute.  She'll be 15 in May and I'd like to see her get a little international experience after her success nationally (three medals in three years in three different levels).

Mary Beth Marley and Ashley Cain were doing double duty with pairs and singles and finished 5th and 6th respectively.

Pairs

Cain and Reagan won both segments to win the gold medal in juniors only one year after taking the novice title.  For such a young team I was impressed with their poise and maturity on the ice and they have a very nice look together.  They had two throw triples in their free skate but only have a double twist.  She is 15 years old and he turned 21 in November.  They competed in the Junior Grand Prix Final and are headed to Junior Worlds.  Unfortunately, this is their final season of junior eligibility so they'll need to work on the triple twist to be able to keep up at the senior level.

Poapst and Kneirim pulled up after a 6th place short program to win the silver medal.  They have a triple twist but only one throw triple.  They are in their first season together but their options for international development are slim as Chris is too old to compete at the junior level.

Andrews and LeDuc won the bronze medal after a 2nd place short program and 5th place free skate.  They have one throw triple and a double twist.  They'll need to really up their technical content to compete as seniors.  This is their first season together and they'll be heading to Junior Worlds later this month.  They only had one Junior Grand Prix assignment this season and I'd like to see what they could do with two assignments.

Dance:
Lichtman and Copely were the favorites going into the event after their trip to the Junior Grand Prix Final and were able to deliver and win the gold medal.  They have several of the Zoueva/Shpilband trademarks including great twizzles, interesting lifts and amazing choreography.  They'll be going to the Junior World Championships this year, but will be competing as seniors next season.  They are older than Chock/Zuerlein and the Shibutanis and with Samuelson and Bates also returning it will be interesting to see where this team factors in to the national picture.

Bonacorsi and Mager won the silver medal and a trip to Junior Worlds.  With the senior ranks becoming increasingly croweded, I'd like to see them stay on the Junior Grand Prix next season.  They won one medal this season and I think they'd have a good shot at two medals and a trip to the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They have a very nice quality about them and they train at IceWorks with some of the top dance teams in Europe. 

Cannuscio and McManus won the bronze medal with their entertaining high energy programs and are also going to Junior Worlds.  I think their programs are very fun and Anastasia has a ton of personality on the ice but as they transition to the senior ranks, I'd like to see them inject a little maturity into their programs while also keeping the qualities that make them unique and will help them stand out in a crowded field.

Yang and Baker were one of the younger  teams in this field and the surprise leader after the short program.  A costly mistake on the twizzles in the free skate dropped them to 6th overall.  I think they have a good future ahead of them as they have very nice flow and a very pleasant persona on the ice, but their music choice could be better.

McNamara and Carpenter are only going to be 12 and 16 this month.  Some of this immaturity began to show in their free skate as they lacked some of the flow and edge work of some of the older teams, but for their age they are very advanced and have made a lot of progress in only a years time.  They'll have some time before they can compete internationally to really work out these kinks but by the time they're ready for the Junior Grand Prix they should be a solid team.

U.S. Nationals: Junior Pairs Preview

Most of the competitors here have competed internationally this season.  Cain and Reagan qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final and placed a respectable 5th.  They also won a silver medal at one of their assignments.  They are also one of two novice medalists from last season competing here at the junior level.  They should be the favorites here, but they don't have a large margin of error, having been beat by Duarte/Grafton at one of the JGP assignments.  This should be a tight race for the podium as there are 5 teams with sectional scores within 10 points of each other.   Only two teams are returning to the junior level, having competed here last season, and this experience could pay off, but their scores at sectionals have them toward the bottom of the group.  Carman and Reiss are the only ones in this field to have competed at the Junior World Championships, which could be in their favor.  I think there will be 1-2 spots for junior pairs teams on the Junior Worlds team so it will be important to finish not just on the podium, but at the top of the podium.

The teams:

Cain/Reagan: They finished 6th at JGP Great Britain and 2nd at Czech Republic to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they finished 5th.  They are the reigning national champions at the novice level.

Garza/Frazier: They finished 8th at JGP Austria. They qualified with a 1st place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.  They are the reigning national bronze medalists at the novice level.

Poapst/Knierim: They qualified with a 1st place finish at Midwestern sectionals.

Calalang/Sidhu: They finished 10th at JGP Czech Republic.  They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.

Sowa/Leenen: They finished 7th at JGP Pokal der Blauen.  They qualified with a 1st place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They finished 9th last season at nationals at the novice level.

Duarte/Grafton: They finished 5th at JGP Great Britain and 7th at Czech Republic.  They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They are the reigning national pewter medalists at the novice level.

Andrews/LeDuc: They finished 8th at JGP Great Britain.  They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Midwestern sectionals.

Carman/Reiss:  They finished 12th at the Junior World Figure Skating Championships.  They finished 5th at JGP Austria and 8th at Pokal der Blauen.  They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Pacific Coast sectionals.  They finished 5th at nationals last season as juniors.

Denney/Raad: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They finished 7th last season at nationals at the junior level.

Bautista/Harris: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Oltmanns/Santillan: They finished 11th at JGP Austria.  They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Midwestern sectionals.  They finished 6th at nationals last season at the novice level.

Guterres/Schumann: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Pacific Coast Sectionals.  They finished 7th at nationals last season at the novice level.

Rybka/Blackmer qualified but the team has since split up and there is no alternate.