Showing posts with label ilinykh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ilinykh. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

World Championships Dance Preview

Since the 2010 Olympics, the story has been the same: Virtue and Moir vs Davis and White.  Virtue and Moir won back their World title last season but have not beat Davis and White at their next three meetings.  To make matters worse, Virtue and Moir had to stop their free dance at Four Continents as Tessa was experiencing leg pain.  She has struggled with compression syndrome and has undergone surgery to alleviate the pain.  They attributed this setback to overtraining.  They have the top short dance score of the season and the 2nd top short dance score of all time.  Their Carmen free dance is hit or miss depending on the audience.  Some love it's fiery intensity and modern take on a classic tale.  Others find the choreography awkward and disjointed.

Davis and White have made attempts to silence their critics this season from their spot on portrayal of the Giselle ballet in the short dance and their emotional Notre Dame free dance.  I admit that I was not a fan of their free dance, but the changes they made before US Nationals have added a new layer to their program.  One of my favorite moments is the sustained arabesque spirals in the middle of the program.  They narrowly lost to Virtue and Moir in the short dance at Four Continents but ended up winning by three points.  While their point advantage has been slowly shrinking over the season, I'm not sure Virtue and Moir will be able to catch up in time to overtake their training mates.

Pechalat and Bourzat were hoping to use this season to set themselves up to challenge for Olympic gold.  After winning gold at both of their Grand Prix assignments, they won bronze at the Final.  They missed the chance to defend their European title due to his groin injury.  Fabian has admitted that he is still experiencing pain from the injury, however, they have not had to make any changes to their programs to compensate.  They won their bronze medal at Worlds last season while she had a broken nose and have proven they can still compete with an injury.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov and Bobrova/Soloviev have been trading places as the number one Russian team over the past few seasons.  Bobrova and Soloviev finished ahead at both the Grand Prix Final and at Europeans.  However, they only bested their teammates by .11 at Europeans.  Both have faced criticisms over the years: Bobrova/Soloviev for their poor posture and lines and Ilinykh/Katsalapov for their work ethic and choreography.  Bobrova and Soloviev have made great strides in improving their style this season and are showing off their improvements in their lyrical programs.

Cappellini and Lanotte took home the bronze medal at Europeans and nearly defeated Virtue and Moir on home ice at Skate Canada earlier this season.  While they haven't quite been able to keep up with the top teams in the World, they should easily be able to replicate or improve on their 6th place finish at Worlds last year.  Their Carmen free dance has a classic interpretation but doesn't have quite the technical levels to put them on the same level as Virtue and Moir.

Weaver and Poje had a slow start to their season, failing to qualify for the Grand Prix Final and then suffering a training injury which required surgery for Kaitlyn and kept her off the ice for 8 weeks.  They missed Canadian nationals but are competing at Worlds on their home turf.  While their modern free dance choreographed by So You Think You Can Dance alum Allison Holker was interesting to watch and nicely put together, they weren't getting the levels or the scores they were expecting.  They've taken their time away from competitive ice and completely revamped their program in hopes of maintaining their place as one of the top five teams in the world.

Fighting for the number two US spot are Chock/Bates and the Shibutanis.  Chock and Bates have beat the Shibutanis at their last two events, US Nationals and Four Continents.  While both were by a small margin and the Shibutanis had mistakes, the mistakes seem to be a consistent problem for them this season.  These two teams used to be training partners, but in the split, Chock and Bates moved to Novi with Shpilband and seem to be flourishing as one of the top teams in the rink.  On the other hand, the Shibutanis programs do nothing for them this season.  The short dance pattern should be perfect for them but they chose to go with an out of the box program that doesn't suit them.  However, the Shibutanis are some of the best technical skaters in the ice dance event and do have a World Bronze Medal to their credit.  Both teams are likely to finish in the top 10 and should be able to easily secure three spots for the US in Sochi combined with Davis and White's result.

Riazanova and Tkachenko have taken a back seat to their Russian teammates, and while they fly under the radar they have had consistent good results this season.  After winning bronze at both of their Grand Prix events, they placed 4th at Europeans.  They finished 9th at Worlds last season and should be able to improve.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Davis/White
Silver: Virtue/Moir
Bronze: Pechalat/Bourzat

Bios of the competitors:
Zlobina/Sitnikov, AZE: They placed 17th at Worlds last season.  They finished 7th at Europeans.  They finished 6th at Skate Canada and 5th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 144.83.  She is 23 and he is 26.

Kavaliova/Bieliaiev, BLR: They placed 21st at Junior Worlds.  They finished 9th at JGP France and 11th at JGP Austria.  Their personal best is 111.34.  She is 18 and he is 20.

Gilles/Poirier, CAN: They placed 5th at Four Continents.  They finished 4th at Skate Canada and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 157.83.  She is 21 and he is 21.  They have the 7th best free dance and 10th best total scores.

Virtue/Moir, CAN: They are the reigning World Champions and Four Continents Silver Medalists.   They won gold at Skate Canada and gold at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won silver.  They are the 2010 Olympic Gold Medalists, 2010 World Champions, 2008 and 2011 World Silver Medalists, 2009 World Bronze Medalists, 2008 and 2012 Four Continents Champions, 2009 Four Continents Silver Medalists, 2006 and 2007 Four Continents Bronze Medalists, 2006 World Junior Champions and 2005 World Junior Silver Medalists.  Their personal best is 183.84.  She is 23 and he is 25.  They have the best short dance, 2nd best free dance and 2nd best total scores.

Weaver/Poje, CAN: They finished 4th at Worlds.  They won bronze at Skate America and Cup of China.  They are the 2010 Four Continents Champions, 2012 Four Continents Bronze Medalists, and 2007 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 166.55.  She is 23 and he is 26.  They have the 7th best short dance, 10th best free dance and 9th best total scores.

Mysliveckova/Brown, CZE: They placed 14th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 124.62.  She is 23 and he is 23.

Shtork/Rand, EST: They placed 22nd at Worlds last season.  They finished 11th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 132.90.  She is 19 and he is 20.

Karmi/Lindholm, FIN: They placed 19th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 110.92.  She is 20 and he is 22.

Carron/Jones, FRA: They placed 21st at Worlds last year.  They finished 10th at Europeans.  They finished 7th at Skate Canada and 8th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 142.27.  She is 26 and he is 24.

Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA: They are the reigning World Bronze Medalists.  They won gold at Cup of China and Trophee Eric Bompard to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze.  They are the 2011 and 2012 European Champions.  Their personal best is 173.18.  She is 29 and he is 32.  They have the 4th best short dance, 3rd best free dance and 3rd best total scores.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: They finished 11th at Worlds last season.  They placed 6th at Europeans.  They placed 5th at Skate America and 5th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 147.28.  She is 25 and he is 28.

Coomes/Buckland, GBR: They placed 14th at Worlds last season.  They finished 5th at Europeans.  They placed 7th at Rostelecom Cup and 6th at NHK Trophy.  Their personal best is 152.95.  She is 23 and he is 23.

Nagy/Fejes, HUN: They placed 23rd at Worlds last season.  They finished 16th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 117.60.  She is 26 and he is 25.

Reed/Rogov, ISR: She is 18 and he is 22.

Cappellini/Lanotte, ITA: They placed 6th at Worlds last year and are the reigning European Bronze Medalists.  They won silver at Skate Canada and at Trophee Eric Bompard to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 4th.  Their personal best is 165.80.  She is 26 and he is 27.  They have the 6th best short dance, 6th best free dance and 6th best total scores.

Guignard/Fabbri, ITA: They placed 9th at Europeans.  They finished 5th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 142.48.  She is 23 and he is 25.

Reed/Reed, JPN: They placed 24th at Worlds last season.  They finished 7th at Four Continents.  They finished 5th at NHK Trophy.  Their personal best is 133.33.  She is 25 and he is 23.

Tobias/Stagniunas, LTU: They placed 18th at Worlds last season.  Their personal best is 139.53.  She is 21 and he is 27.

Plutowska/Gerber, POL: She is 21 and he is 20.

Bobrova/Soloviev: RUS: They placed 7th at Worlds and are the reigning European Champions.  They won silver at Skate America and silver at Cup of China to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 5th.  They are the 2011 and 2012 European Silver Medalists and  2007 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 169.25.  She is 22 and he is 23.  They have the 3rd best short dance, 5th best free dance and 4th best total scores.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: They finished 5th at Worlds last season and are the reigning European Silver Medalists.  They won silver at Rostelecom Cup and silver at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 6th.  They are the 2012 European Bronze Medalists and 2010 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 169.14.  She is 18 and he is 21.  They have the 5th best short dance, 4th best free dance and 5th best total scores.

Riazanova/Tkachenko, RUS: They finished 9th at Worlds last season.  They placed 4th at Europeans.  They won bronze at Skate Canada and bronze at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 157.77.  She is 21 and he is 26.  They have the 9th best short dance.

Testa/Csolley, SVK: They placed 12th at the preliminary round at Worlds last season.  They finished 17th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 114.62.  She is 19 and he is 22.

Hurtado/Diaz, ESP: They placed 19th at Worlds last season.  They finished 15th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 124.26.  She is 20 and he is 22.

Agafonova/Ucar, TUR: They finished 16th at Worlds last season.  They placed 13th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 127.59.  She is 22 and he is 28.

Heekin-Canedy/Dun, UKR: They placed 15th at Worlds last season.  They finished 12th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 129.36.  She is 21 and he is 23.

Chock/Bates, USA: They are the reigning Four Continents Bronze Medalists.  They finished 4th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 160.42.  She is 20 and he is 24.  They have the 8th best short dance, 9th best free dance and 7th best total scores.

Davis/White, USA: They are the reigning World Silver Medalists and Four Continents Champions.   They won gold at Skate America and gold at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won gold.  They are the 2010 Olympic Silver Medalists, 2011 World Champions, 2010 World Silver Medalists, 2009 and 2011 Four Continents Champions, 2008 and 2012 Four Continents Silver Medalists, and 2006 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 188.55.  She is 26 and he is 25.  They have the 2nd best short dance, best free dance and best total scores.

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: They placed 8th at Worlds last season.  They finished 4th at Four Continents.  They finished 4th at Rostelecom Cup and won bronze at NHK Trophy.  They are the 2011 World Bronze Medalists, 2011 Four Continents Silver Medalists and 2009 World Junior Silver Medalists.  Their personal best is 163.79.  She is 18 and he is 21.  They have the 10th best short dance, 8th best free dance and 8th best total scores.

Friday, January 25, 2013

European Championships Free Dance Results

 Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOVRUS100.1647.08 53.088.898.649.008.898.960.00#18
2Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEVRUS99.8347.00 52.838.868.618.868.938.890.00#16
3Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTEITA99.2747.99 51.288.368.298.718.758.860.00#19
4Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKORUS93.2544.86 48.398.187.828.258.118.110.00#20
5Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLANDGBR92.3647.15 45.217.547.327.687.617.680.00#12
6Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSIGER87.2041.08 46.127.367.367.868.048.140.00#14
7Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSOGER86.0044.91 41.096.866.647.006.936.960.00#11
8Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRIITA84.8542.67 42.186.966.827.117.297.140.00#13
9Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONESFRA84.1541.21 43.947.327.047.437.617.431.00#15
10Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOVAZE83.9039.98 44.927.617.217.617.577.611.00#17
11Irina SHTORK / Taavi RANDEST82.3942.40 39.996.756.506.716.756.710.00#9
12Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCARTUR76.8039.88 36.926.255.966.256.296.140.00#8
13Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUNUKR75.7836.56 40.226.866.466.686.866.791.00#10
14Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZESP74.9437.87 37.076.115.966.216.366.430.00#6
15Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWNCZE74.1037.30 37.806.436.116.366.326.391.00#7
16Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEYSVK69.7938.54 31.255.214.935.435.365.320.00#1
17Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJESHUN69.1234.64 34.485.965.465.895.795.790.00#5
18Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOSTSUI68.2035.49 32.715.545.185.575.575.570.00#2
19Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLMFIN66.6335.85 30.785.214.895.215.325.180.00#4
20Angelina TELEGINA / Otar JAPARIDZEGEO62.3231.93 31.395.465.005.395.215.211.00#3

FPl.NameNationPointsSDFD
1Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV
RUS
169.2512
2Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV
RUS
169.1421
3Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE
ITA
165.8033
4Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO
RUS
157.7744
5Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND
GBR
152.9565
6Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI
GER
147.2876
7Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV
AZE
144.83510
8Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO
GER
142.5497
9Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI
ITA
142.4888
10Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES
FRA
140.00109
11Irina SHTORK / Taavi RAND
EST
132.901411
12Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUN
UKR
129.361113
13Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR
TUR
127.591212
14Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN
CZE
124.621315
15Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ
ESP
124.261514
16Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES
HUN
117.601617
17Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEY
SVK
114.621916
18Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST
SUI
113.291718
19Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM
FIN
110.922019
20Angelina TELEGINA / Otar JAPARIDZE
GEO
107.261820
21Alexandra ZVORIGINA / Maciej BERNADOWSKI
POL
FNR21
22Charlotte AIKEN / Josh WHIDBORNE
GBR
FNR22
23Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUER
AUT
FNR23
24Lesia VOLODENKOVA / Vitali VAKUNOV
BLR
FNR24
25Sarah COWARD / Georgi KENCHADZE
BUL
FNR25
WDAllison REED / Vasili ROGOV
ISR

Thursday, January 24, 2013

European Championships Short Dance Results

Pl.  Qual.NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Q Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEVRUS69.4234.44 34.988.718.548.688.868.860.00#21
2Q Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOVRUS68.9834.29 34.698.758.438.798.758.640.00#20
3Q Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTEITA66.5332.86 33.678.328.188.508.548.500.00#25
4Q Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKORUS64.5233.43 31.097.797.617.897.827.750.00#19
5Q Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOVAZE60.9331.64 29.297.367.047.437.397.360.00#23
6Q Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLANDGBR60.5932.01 28.587.116.867.327.297.140.00#17
7Q Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSIGER60.0830.36 29.727.327.147.687.617.390.00#24
8Q Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRIITA57.6329.50 28.137.006.827.077.187.070.00#26
9Q Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSOGER56.5430.22 26.326.506.256.826.576.710.00#15
10Q Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONESFRA55.8527.21 28.647.046.897.217.367.250.00#18
11Q Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUNUKR53.5827.15 26.436.756.396.646.716.540.00#14
12Q Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCARTUR50.7928.15 22.645.615.325.895.795.680.00#13
13Q Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWNCZE50.5226.20 24.326.145.826.186.216.040.00#10
14Q Irina SHTORK / Taavi RANDEST50.5124.29 26.226.616.326.716.646.500.00#22
15Q Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZESP49.3225.65 24.676.075.866.186.366.291.00#16
16Q Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJESHUN48.4825.50 22.985.755.505.795.865.790.00#2
17Q Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOSTSUI45.0925.08 20.015.114.795.215.044.890.00#1
18Q Angelina TELEGINA / Otar JAPARIDZEGEO44.9423.72 21.225.254.965.435.575.290.00#9
19Q Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEYSVK44.8323.64 21.195.295.005.395.505.290.00#5
20Q Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLMFIN44.2924.50 19.795.074.714.935.114.890.00#8
21 Alexandra ZVORIGINA / Maciej BERNADOWSKIPOL44.2524.07 20.185.184.795.185.075.000.00#11
22 Charlotte AIKEN / Josh WHIDBORNEGBR41.8322.50 20.335.254.825.075.215.041.00#12
23 Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUERAUT40.8821.54 19.344.934.614.934.964.750.00#7
24 Lesia VOLODENKOVA / Vitali VAKUNOVBLR36.6016.99 19.614.964.685.044.964.860.00#4
25 Sarah COWARD / Georgi KENCHADZEBUL34.1618.21 15.954.073.824.044.213.820.00#3
WD  Allison REED / Vasili ROGOVISR          #6

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Russian Nationals Senior Dance Results

Pl.NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDeduction
-
StN.
1Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev MSK68.0531.7136.344.98.869.009.259.210.00# 8
2Elena Ilina / Nikita Katsalapov MSK66.1431.5035.649.148.714.98.574.91.00# 5
3Xenia MoÅ„ki / Cyril Khalyavin MSK61.9031.9429.967.617.297.547.547.460.00# 7
4Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshina MSK60.0329.6430.397.687.437.617.647.610.00# 9
5Catherine RYAZANOV / Ilia Tkachenko MOB59.8826.6433.248.328.148.368.438.290.00# 1
6Catherine Puskas / Jonathan Ghurair MSK57.1928.6329.567.327.217.467.467.461.00# 6
7Valeria Starygin / Ivan Volobuev MSK48.3221.4226.906.576.616.646.966.790.00# 4
8Tatiana BATURINTSEVA / Andrey Nevsky MOB36.248.1719.164.964.754.864.644.750.00# 2
9Daria Semenikhina / Jan GLAZKOV SMR31.1516.5016.654.44.74.144.324.212.00# 3


Free Dance
Pl.NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDeduction
-
StN.
1Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev MSK106.6751.3655.319.114.99.329.469.320.00# 5
2Elena Ilina / Nikita Katsalapov MSK105.5350.0755.469.399.009.439.119.430.00# 7
3Catherine RYAZANOV / Ilia Tkachenko MOB103.9953.0850.918.468.298.758.508.570.00# 8
4Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshina MSK93.9447.0046.947.897.687.897.867.890.00# 6
5Xenia MoÅ„ki / Cyril Khalyavin MSK93.7347.2146.527.867.577.797.797.860.00# 9
6Catherine Puskas / Jonathan Ghurair MSK85.9241.2844.647.327.327.577.547.570.00# 2
7Valeria Starygin / Ivan Volobuev MSK78.6737.4141.266.796.716.897.147.000.00# 3
8Tatiana BATURINTSEVA / Andrey Nevsky MOB59.1129.7529.364.934.755.004.934.960.00# 4
9Daria Semenikhina / Jan GLAZKOV SMR56.9132.2025.714.394.254.364.214.211.00# 1

Total
FPl.NameNationPointsSDFD
1Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri SolovievMSK174.7211
2Elena Ilina / Nikita KatsalapovMSK171.6722
3Catherine RYAZANOV / Ilia TkachenkoMOB163.8753
4Xenia Mońki / Cyril KhalyavinMSK155.6335
5Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan ZhiganshinaMSK153.9744
6Catherine Puskas / Jonathan GhurairMSK143.1166
7Valeria Starygin / Ivan VolobuevMSK126.9977
8Tatiana BATURINTSEVA / Andrey NevskyMOB95.3588
9Daria Semenikhina / Jan GLAZKOVSMR88.0699

Saturday, November 24, 2012

NHK Trophy Free Dance Results

Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITEUSA108.6251.07 57.559.509.469.649.619.860.00#8
2Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOVRUS96.6646.73 50.938.578.258.648.578.571.00#6
3Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANIUSA93.7245.44 48.288.077.828.188.148.180.00#7
4Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMSCAN80.3440.88 39.466.616.506.576.646.610.00#5
5Cathy REED / Chris REEDJPN76.1337.48 39.656.616.366.796.686.791.00#4
6Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLANDGBR76.0836.73 39.356.616.366.686.576.710.00#3
7Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENGCHN73.5738.24 35.335.965.795.965.935.860.00#2
8Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANGCHN67.3636.12 32.245.435.215.545.505.291.00#1

FPl.NameNationPointsSDFD
1Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE
USA
178.4811
2Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV
RUS
156.6232
3Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI
USA
154.5623
4Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMS
CAN
130.1044
5Cathy REED / Chris REED
JPN
124.4655
6Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND
GBR
122.8066
7Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG
CHN
119.5677
8Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG
CHN
108.2888

Friday, November 23, 2012

NHK Trophy Short Dance Results

Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITEUSA69.8633.5037.369.259.119.399.399.501.00#8
2Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANIUSA60.8429.3631.487.897.647.968.047.820.00#7
3Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOVRUS59.9628.4333.538.438.148.438.508.392.00#6
4Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMSCAN49.7625.7224.046.045.866.076.076.000.00#2
5Cathy REED / Chris REEDJPN48.3323.6524.686.076.046.366.296.110.00#1
6Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLANDGBR46.7221.0726.656.616.436.716.686.821.00#5
7Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENGCHN45.9921.5824.416.215.896.256.186.000.00#4
8Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANGCHN40.9219.4221.505.325.295.505.465.320.00#3

Thursday, November 22, 2012

NHK Trophy Dance Preview

Virtue/Moir, Pechalat/Bourzat, Bobrova/Soloviev and Cappellini/Lanotte have all earned their spots in the Final in Sochi.  Weaver/Poje and Riazanova/Tkachenko sit on the bubble awaiting the outcome of this event.

Davis and White haven't competed since the first event of the season but they've worked with SYTYCD alum Alex Wong to fine tune their programs.  They currently hold all the top scores for the season and will want to improve to stay ahead of Virtue and Moir.  They can guarantee a spot in the Final with a bronze medal or better while a 4th or 5th place finish can also qualify them depending on how others do at this event.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov put up a good score at Rostelecom Cup to claim the silver medal.  They can claim their spot in the Final with a silver medal or better while a bronze medal could put them in as well.

The Shibutanis struggled at Cup of Russia with negative reviews regarding their short dance and an injury forcing them to stop their free dance part way through and restart.  They haven't had much time between events but if they're fully recovered they could challenge Ilinykh and Katsalapov.  They need a gold or silver medal and some help to qualify for the Final.  It is likely to be very difficult, however as even if they won gold they would need Ilinykh and Katsalapov to finish bronze or worse.  If the Shibutanis win silver, they would need Ilinykh and Katsalapov to finish 4th or worse and with a lower total score.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Davis/White
Silver: Ilinykh/Katsalapov
Bronze: Shibutani/Shibutani

Bios of the competitors:
Orford/Williams, CAN: They placed 6th at Junior Worlds.  They finished 8th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 134.61.  She is 20 and he is 19.

Huang/Zheng, CHN: They placed 12th at Worlds.  They placed 7th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 130.27.  She is 25 and he is 25.

Yu/Wang, CHN: They placed 7th at Four Continents.  They finished 8th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 115.59.  She is 26 and he is 26.

Coomes/Buckland, GBR: They placed 14th at Worlds and 6th at Europeans.  They placed 7th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 145.31.  She is 23 and he is 23.

Reed/Reed, JPN: They placed 24th at Worlds.  They finished 7th at NHK Trophy last season.  Their personal best is 133.33.  She is 25 and he is 23.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: They finished 5th at Worlds and are the reigning European Bronze Medalists.  They won silver at Rostelecom Cup.  They are the 2010 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 161.00.  She is 18 and he is 21.

Davis/White, USA: They are the reigning World Silver Medalists and Four Continents Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Skate America.  They qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season and won gold.  They are the 2010 Olympic Silver Medalists, 2011 World Champions, 2010 World Silver Medalists, 2009 and 2011 Four Continents Champions, 2008 Four Continents Silver Medalists, and 2006 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 188.55.  She is 25 and he is 24.

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: They placed 8th at Worlds and 4th at Four Continents.  They finished 4th at Rostelecom Cup.  They qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season and finished 5th.  They are the 2011 World Bronze Medalists, 2011 Four Continents Bronze Medalists and 2009 World Junior Silver Medalists.  Their personal best is 163.79.  She is 18 and he is 21.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Rostelecom Cup Free Dance Results

Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIRCAN103.3447.77 56.579.329.329.439.619.571.00#8
2Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOVRUS92.7644.45 49.318.398.048.218.298.251.00#7
3Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSIGER85.0142.00 44.016.936.797.687.867.931.00#3
4Victoria SINITSINA / Ruslan ZHIGANSHINRUS84.2341.10 44.137.467.077.437.647.361.00#6
5Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANIUSA82.6537.79 44.867.867.397.147.577.390.00#5
6Ksenia MONKO / Kirill KHALIAVINRUS80.0339.76 41.277.076.616.867.076.931.00#4
7Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLANDGBR75.2736.08 39.196.616.396.576.796.390.00#1
8Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMSCAN73.5236.55 36.976.296.046.186.326.040.00#2

Pl.NameNationPointsSDFD
1Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR
CAN
173.9911
2Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV
RUS
158.4622
3Victoria SINITSINA / Ruslan ZHIGANSHIN
RUS
145.0834
4Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI
USA
140.9145
5Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI
GER
140.5463
6Ksenia MONKO / Kirill KHALIAVIN
RUS
135.8456
7Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND
GBR
126.6687
8Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMS
CAN
124.9678