U.S. Nationals Novice Dance Preview

This event should be extremely close as there are several teams that will be jostling for places on the podium.  They will also be competing one of the same pattern dances that was performed at sectionals, but also a new pattern dance, which could dramatically change the scoring.


While Miller and MacMillan enter with the highest total score from sectionals, their entire advantage came from the Killian portion, which will not be competed at nationals.  While this is a new team, they both have experience competing and winning at the national level.


Moore and Klaber set the highest free dance score from sectionals en route to their gold medal finish.  This is their 5th consecutive nationals together and their second season as novices and that experience could really pay off as so many of these teams are new partnerships and new to the novice level.


Rosinksi and Jaffe finished just a point behind Moore and Klaber at Sectionals and set the highest Argentine Tango score, a dance which will be competed at nationals.  They also train alongside Moore and Klaber everyday, so I expect that the competitive environment at home could push these two teams to the top.  


Lewis and Bye are a very young team that are competing in their first novice season.  They have a great shot at winning their first national medal here and could be an up and coming team to watch as they won't be eligible to compete internationally for three more years, giving them plenty of time to grow and develop.


My podium predictions:
Gold: Moore/Klaber
Silver: Miller/MacMillan
Bronze: Rosinski/Jaffe
Pewter: Lewis/Bye


Bios of the competitors:
Meara Lorello/William Dean: They represent the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club.  They finished 14th in Juvenile in 2010 and are the 2011 Intermediate Champions.  They won bronze at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Rebecca Lucas/Yan Kazansky: She represents the Triangle Figure Skating Club and he represents the Columbia Figure Skating Club of Maryland.  They won silver at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Whitney Miller/Kyle MacMillan: They represent the Washington Figure Skating Club.  They won gold at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  


Karen Tong/David Cruikshank: She represents the Skating Club of New York and he represents the Windy Hill Skating Club.  They won pewter at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Sierra Chadwick/Alexander Martin: They represent the Detroit Skating Club.  They finished 8th in Juvenile in 2009, are the 2010 Juvenile Bronze Medalists and the 2011 Intermediate Bronze Medalists.  They won pewter at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Madison George/Brad Kleffman: They represent the Detroit Skating Club.  They won bronze at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  


Holly Moore/Daniel Klaber: They represent the Pavilion Skating Club.  They finished 8th in Juvenile in 2008, 5th in Juvenile in 2009, are the 2010 Intermediate Silver Medalists and finished 8th in Novice in 2011.  They won gold at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Hannah Rosinski/Jacob Jaffe : They represent the Pavilion Skating Club.  They won silver at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals. 

Lauren Leonesio/Dustin Perini: She represents the Coyotes Skating Club of Arizona.  They won pewter at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  


Chloe Lewis/Logan Bye: She is 10 years old and represents the All Year Figure Skating Club.  He represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  They finished 6th in Intermediate in 2011.  They won gold at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Hannah Pfeifer/Grant Lorello: She represents the All Year Figure Skating Club and he represents the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club.  They won bronze at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Stacey Siddon/Jared Weiss: She is 17 and he is 18.  She represents the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club and he represents the All Year Figure Skating Club.  They won silver at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Eastern Sectional Championships

Wednesday, November 16th
2:23-3:05 Novice Pattern Dance
3:20-4:30 Novice Men's Short Program
5:05-5:50 Novice Pairs Short Program
6:05-7:15 Junior Pairs Short Program

Thursday, November 17th
9:10-10:15 Novice Ladies Short Program
12:00-1:30 Novice Men's Free Skate
2:35-3:35 Novice Pairs Free Skate
3:50-5:00 Junior Pairs Free Skate
5:15-5:45 Novice Free Dance

Friday, November 18th
9:25-10:45 Novice Ladies Free Skate
11:00-12:20 Junior Ladies Short Program
12:35-1:20 Junior Short Dance
1:35-2:10 Senior Short Dance
2:25-3:50 Junior Men's Short Program
4:05-4:35 Senior Pairs Short Program
4:50-6:00 Senior Men's Short Program
6:15-7:50 Senior Ladies Short Program

Saturday, November 19th
9:25-11:10 Junior Men's Free Skate
11:25-12:15 Junior Free Dance
12:30-1:05 Senior Free Dance
1:20-2:55 Junior Ladies Free Skate
3:10-5:05 Senior Ladies Free Skate
5:20-5:55 Senior Pairs Free Skate
6:10-7:40 Senior Men's Free Skate

Skaters to Watch:

Novice Ladies: Brianna Laxon won a medal at the intermediate level this year and had the highest score at regionals from this section and the 4th highest total regional score.

Junior Ladies: Katia Shpilband is the daughter of famed ice dancing coach Igor Shpilband.  She won a medal at the intermediate level but failed to qualify for nationals last year as a novice.  Jessica Hu set the 3rd highest total regional score.

Senior Ladies: Yasmin Siraj put up a huge score at her regional event and has a 60 point lead over the next best finisher in this section.  She declined an invitation to a second JGP event to focus on training for nationals.  Samantha Cesario and Joelle Forte had byes through their regional events due to international competitions.  Cesario won two medals on the JGP and Forte competed at Nebelhorn Trophy and Skate America.

Novice Men: Tony Lu had the 3rd highest total regional score.

Junior Men: Emmanuel Savary had his Grand Prix debut earlier this season and competed as a junior last season at nationals.  He had the 5th highest total regional score.  Harrison Choate and Timothy Dolensky had byes through regionals due to their JGP assignments where they had good results.

Senior Men: Stephen Carriere received a bye through regionals due to international competition.  He has received two international assignments this season and won gold at Ice Challenge where he landed a quad.

Junior Pairs: Duarte and Grafton compete here after receiving JGP assignments earlier this season.  Belt and Johnson have skipped the novice level after winning a medal at intermediates and are aiming for a Youth Olympic Games slot.

Senior Pairs: Donlan and Speroff bring their ballet style to this event and will face off against the new team of Zhang and Bartholomay.  All 4 teams competing will qualify for nationals.

Senior Dance: The Cannuscio siblings face off with their partners after receiving international assignments already this season.  All 4 teams competing will qualify for nationals.

Ice Challenge Dance Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Isabella CANNUSCIO / Ian LORELLO	USA	52.75	28.00		24.75	6.29	6.00	6.17	6.29	6.17	0.00	#5
2	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	51.88	26.67		25.21	6.38	6.13	6.29	6.25	6.42	0.00	#9
3	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	46.49	26.33		20.16	5.17	4.96	5.17	5.17	4.79	0.00	#2
4	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitriy DUN	UKR	44.67	21.26		23.41	5.92	5.67	5.83	5.88	5.92	0.00	#8
5	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	44.14	25.51		18.63	4.67	4.46	4.75	4.83	4.58	0.00	#4
6	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	44.00	24.83		19.17	4.83	4.58	4.83	4.96	4.75	0.00	#3
7	Barbora SILNA / Juri KURAKIN	AUT	43.42	23.42		20.00	5.04	4.71	4.96	5.04	5.17	0.00	#6
8	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	43.27	23.33		19.94	5.08	4.79	4.96	5.08	5.00	0.00	#1
9	Dora TUROCZY / Balazs MAJOR	HUN	38.85	20.17		19.68	5.08	4.83	4.92	4.96	4.83	1.00	#7

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	86.19	45.92		40.27	6.67	6.63	6.67	6.83	6.83	0.00	#9
2	Isabella CANNUSCIO / Ian LORELLO	USA	82.13	41.91		40.22	6.79	6.46	6.79	6.71	6.92	0.00	#7
3	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitriy DUN	UKR	76.77	41.26		35.51	5.96	5.75	6.04	5.92	6.04	0.00	#5
4	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	70.46	39.10		32.36	5.42	5.21	5.46	5.58	5.42	1.00	#8
5	Barbora SILNA / Juri KURAKIN	AUT	70.33	39.32		31.01	5.21	5.00	5.21	5.29	5.25	0.00	#2
6	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	66.61	36.41		30.20	5.13	4.83	5.13	5.00	5.21	0.00	#4
7	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	63.54	36.52		30.02	5.00	4.75	5.21	5.17	5.08	3.00	#6
8	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	62.12	34.66		28.46	4.83	4.50	4.88	4.83	4.83	1.00	#1
9	Dora TUROCZY / Balazs MAJOR	HUN	59.14	30.90		28.24	4.83	4.54	4.75	4.75	4.75	0.00	#3

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	138.07	2	1
2	Isabella CANNUSCIO / Ian LORELLO	USA	134.88	1	2
3	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitriy DUN	UKR	121.44	4	3
4	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	116.95	3	4
5	Barbora SILNA / Juri KURAKIN	AUT	113.75	7	5
6	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	109.88	8	6
7	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	107.68	5	7
8	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	106.12	6	8
9	Dora TUROCZY / Balazs MAJOR	HUN	97.99	9	9
WD	Harmonie LAFONT / Stanislas ETZOL	FRA

U.S. Nationals: Senior Ice Dance Preview

This looks to be a sweep for Zoueva and Shpilband's three teams competing at this event.

Davis and White should have no trouble winning their third consecutive title.  Their worst score of the season was at Skate America where they had several uncharacteristic falls and is still better by 12 points than any other team in the field's best.  Their free skate is incredibly difficult and they skate in a class unmatched by any other world teams except Virtue and Moir (also a Zoueva/Shpilband team).

The Shibutanis are skating their first year on the senior circuit and are the first ice dance team to ever win two Grand Prix medals in their first year.  I adore their short dance but they have had bobbles at all their events which have cost them points.  They have some of the best twizzles in the world and really showcase their talent and speed in their free dance which is the 5th best internationally so far this season.  Their total score is ranked 7th.  Their scores are slightly higher than Chock/Zuerleins and there should be a close fight between these two for the silver medal.

Chock and Zuerlein won two medals in their second season on the Grand Prix.  Their short dance is ranked 8th and their free dance is 10th internationally.  They have had some problems with their programs and these errors have cost them points.  If they've corrected these problems they can contend with their younger training mates, but they should have no problem placing at least third and securing a spot on the World team.  The placement between these two teams is especially important going into next season with an injured Samuelson and Bates back at nationals and 4 world class teams fighting for 3 World Team spots).

The other two teams that should round out the top 5 are the Hubbells and Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt.  While neither one is likely to really challenge for the podium, they should secure themselves Grand Prix assignments for next season.

For an analysis of all the best and worst scores of the season go to: http://backstagebarbie.blogspot.com/2011/01/us-nationals-preview-senior-ice-dance_17.html

My podium predictions:
Gold: Davis/White
Silver: Shibutani/Shibutani
Bronze: Chock/Zuerlein
Pewter: Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt

My USFSA Fantasy Picks:
A) Davis/White
B) Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt
C) Hoptman/Filchenkov

Davis/White: They won silver at Olympics and Worlds.  They are the 2009 Four Continents champions and 2008 silver medalists.  They are the 2006 World Junior bronze medalists.  They won gold at NHK Trophy and Skate America to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won gold.  They are the 2004 National Junior silver medalists, 2006 National Junior Champions, 2007 National bronze medalists and 2008 National silver medalists.  They are competing for their third consecutive national title.

Chock/Zuerlein: Chock and Zuerlein finished 5th at Four Continents.  They are the 2009 World Junior Champions.  They won bronze at Skate Canada and Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the 2008 National Junior Bronze medalists and 2009 National Junior Champions.  They finished 5th at nationals last season.

Hubbell/Hubbell: They won bronze at Four Continents.  They They finished 6th at Cup of China and withdrew from Cup of Russia after the short dance.  They are the 2007 National Junior silver medalists, 2008 National Junior Champions and 2009 National pewter medalists.  They finished 6th at nationals last season.

Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt: They finished 6th at Skate America.  They are the 2007 National Junior bronze medalists.  They finished 8th at nationals last year.

Shibutani/Shibutani: They finished 4th at World Juniors last season.  They are the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalists.  They won bronze at the NHK Trophy and Skate America.  They are the 2008 National Junior pewter medalists, 2009 National Junior silver medalists and the reigning National Junior Champions.

Tibbetts/Brubaker:  They finished 7th at the World Junior Championships.  They finished 9th at Skate Canada.  They are the reigning National Junior silver medalists.

Cannuscio/Lorello: They finished 10th at Cup of Russia and 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the reigning National Junior pewter medalists.

Carey/Van Natten:

Nardozzi/Cuthbertson: They finished 12th at nationals at the junior level last season.

Wingle/McKernan: They qualified with a 1st place finish at Midwestern sectionals.  They finished 10th at nationals last season.

Hoptman/Filchenkov: They qualified with a 1st place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Aronow/Donohue: They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Midwestern sectionals.

Zuber/Herring: They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Zeigler/Burbank: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Eastern sectionals.  They finished 10th at nationals at the junior level last year.

Pilgrim/Lorello: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Eastern sectionals.

Ponomaryova/Kelling had qualified for nationals but have withdrawn.
Samuelson/Bates had qualifed for nationals but are out for the season due to injury.

Trophee Eric Bompard Dance Preview

This should be an easy win for Pechalat and Bourzat and with a second gold medal they'll secure a spot in the Final.  If they can bring their scores up here, they could put themselves in a position to be competitive with Davis and White at the Final.  They also have a lot of room for mistakes as a medal of any color will get them into the Final.  Chock/Zuerlein, Riazanova/Tkachenko and Carron/Jones will battle it out for the final two podium spots.  I give the edge to the Americans and Russians as both countries have had successful outings on the Grand Prix this season.  Chock and Zuerlein have an exciting free skate and that should make them competitive for the silver medal here but if they win bronze, they'll be in a tiebreaker with the Shibutanis for the final Grand Prix Final slot.  Carron and Jones do have home ice advantage here which could boost them onto the podium.  The rest of the field is made up mostly of young teams looking to improve their scores and set themselves up for nationals.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Pechelat/Bourzat
Silver: Chock/Zuerlien
Bronze: Riazanova/Tkachenko

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Pechelat/Bourzat
B) Riazanova/Tkachenko
C) Cannuscio/Lorello

Information on all the competitors is below.

Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, CAN: Ralph and Hill placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships.  They won silver medals at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season and placed 4th at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They finished 7th in their Grand Prix debut at Cup of China.

Xintong Huang/Xun Zheng, CHN: They placed 19th at the Olympics and 4th at Four Continents.  They placed 7th and 5th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 5th earlier this season at Cup of China.

Pernelle Carron/Lloyd Jones, FRA: They finished 12 at both Worlds and Europeans.  They finished 9th at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  They finished 5th earlier this season at Skate Canada.

Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, FRA: They placed 7th at the Olympics and 4th at both Worlds and Europeans.  They won silver last season at both their Grand Prix assigments in Paris and Canada and won bronze at the Grand Prix Final.  They won gold earlier this season at Cup of China. 

Dora Turoczi/Balazs Major, HUN: They finished 12th at World Juniors last season.  They finished 10th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 10th at their Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.
Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko, RUS: They finished 6th at their Grand Prix debut in Moscow last season.  They finished 5th at Skate America earlier this season.
Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello, USA: They won bronze at both of their Junior Grand Prix assignments last season and placed 6th in the Junior Grand Prix Final.  They finished 10th at their Grand Prix debut at Cup of Russia.

Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, USA: Chock and Zuerlein finished 5th at Four Continents.  They are the 2009 World Junior Champions.  They finished 8th and 6th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They won bronze at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Cup of China Short Dance

1. Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello, USA

•  This is a great piece of music (Piano Man) and they really grab your attention from the beginning
• I think Isabella throws her head a little too much in some of the transitions
• Simple but elegant rotational lift at the top of the routine
• Nice jump into the twizzles for extra points and a difficult twizzle sequence without a step in between the twizzles
• Sometimes it looks like his arm positions are too high for her to grab
• Nice step sequence on the music change but their edges could be a little deeper
• Golden Waltz looked a little clunky and they didn't cleanly hit all the positions
• Her leg could be more parallel to the ice in the shoot the duck position
• The over the head lift into the rotational lift looked labored here but should be nice with a bit more practice
• The back walkover into the ending pose needed straight knees from her and made getting into the ending pose difficult
• Overall a good program from a young team.  They have some nice elements but have room to improve.

Xueting Guan/Meng Wang, CHN

• She drops her foot in the first set of twizzles so they may lose a level there
• She could use crisper positions and more extension through her legs in the Golden Waltz
• Pretty but simple rotational lift with a change of position
• I like where the footwork is placed musically but she leans forward too much during it and needs to work on her arm positions
• Nice lift where he swings her at different heights--something I haven't seen before
• Ending pose hit right on music

Xiayang Yu/Chen Wang, CHN:

•  She doesn't quite get her foot in between his on some of the turns in the Golden Waltz which is required
• Her arms look very placed and there isn't a lot of flow between movements
• She needs to keep her knee high through the whole attitude section
• Good speed through the Golden Waltz--there are places where they seem to float through it and it would be great if all the sections had that same quality
• Twizzles were solid and they did the third set for extra points on levels and grade of execution
• She needs more arch in her back on the rotational lift and I'd like to see her grab her foot
• The transition into the tango is still awkward and doesn't seem to go with the music
• Step sequence is together but feels a little slow and I really want them to attack it
• Last lift doesn't do much for me and she kind of flops back down on the ice
• I think they performed here much better than at NHK Trophy

Nora Hoffman/Maxim Zavozin, HUN

• I love the color of her dress, how it looks and the way it moves when she skates
• Great speed and coverage of the ice in the midline step sequence
• I love the way she uses her arms but some of the holds in the Golden Waltz could be more effortless
• Nice shoot the duck and attitude positions from Nora
• Awkward transition into the glide with her in a split position but once that gets worked out this could be a lovely move
• Fast twizzles but he doesn't grab his blade in the second set
• Her legs are in a really awkward position in the rotational lift but the entrance into the lift was nice
• This program had a lot of nice elements and I can't wait to see it progress

Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, CAN

• These costumes are heinous
• She needs to really extend her free leg throughout her footwork 
• They really glide across the ice in the Golden Waltz, have great speed and nice coverage.  The use of her arms is the finishing touch on a lovely section.
• Great shoot the duck and attitude positions for Kharis
• Nice rotational lift but she needs to arch her back more; beautiful change of position
• Hop into the twizzles with some interesting arm positions, but they lost speed in the second set
• Midline step sequence is lovely but seems to lose a little steam midway through
• Death spiral into a dance spin into the world's most awkward ending pose

 Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, RUS

•  They start off with a bang and really grab your attention
• He almost falls out of his second set of twizzles but saves it
• The step sequence seems to slow considerably but shows off some great edges
• Great Golden Waltz sequence.  The steps go well with the music but I don't really like their song choice.  It's almost distracting
• LOVED the death drop.  It was really breathtaking.
• The rotational lift is fine but it's distracting to have her dress up over her head like that
• Loved this program.  Very impressed by a team I didn't know much about going into this competition.
• They received one deduction.  Will have to wait for the protocol sheets to see what for--likely an extended lift

Xintong Huang/Xun Zheng, CHN: 

• I really didn't get the beginning.
• Performed three sets of twizzles but their unison was off.
• They are making some awkward arm movements in their step sequence that must go with the story of the program (which I still don't understand) but are distracting from the actual steps.
• She doesn't get her foot between his on the turns
• Lift is fine but very simple
• Backwalkover to overhead lift and then he drops her between his legs and puts her down which is exactly as awkward as it sounds.  Also doesn't really look like a dance lift to me.

Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell, USA

• I love that they enter the ice in character
• Maybe we shouldn't kiss her shoulder if we're brother and sister
• Nice rotational lift with her leg in scorpion position and free leg fully stretched
• Good edges and positions throughout the Golden Waltz--she could be clearer about attitude vs arabesque positions
• He goes down on the footwork and she trips over him.  It takes them 5-10 seconds to get back into the choreography.
• Jump into the twizzles but he is significantly slower on the second set
• The fall plus the deduction (likely for an extended lift) really took the wind out of this team.  Their routine is good but I'm not sure it's good enough to compete with the other top American teams

Frederica Faiella/Massimo Scali, ITA:

• What a horrid costume for her.  Generally all white costumes past the knee do not work well with the white ice.
• Jump into the twizzles with great positioning and look effortless but he finishes before her on both sets
• Gorgeous Golden Waltz sequence
• He steps on her dress and can't get his skate unstuck
• Interesting lift but the entrance looked labored
• She's turning on the performance in the second half
• Awkward back walkover at the end of their program

Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, FRA:

• They are in performance mode the second their names are called
• Love the look up through her eyelashes she does on the first beat of the music
• Twizzles seemed clean and they did three sets
• It looked like she had a bobble on the midline step sequence
• Their Golden Waltz looks a little choppy and it seems as if they don't quite finish all their steps
• Nice lunge straight into the lift
• I'm not sure I understand why they have such a big lead over the Italians