German Nationals Results

Senior Men

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Peter LIEBERS	SCB	BER	213.12	1	1
2	Franz STREUBEL	ECO	BAY	186.75	2	3
3	Paul FENTZ	SCB	BER	181.91	4	2
4	Martin RAPPE	CEC	SAS	177.09	5	4
5	Christopher BERNECK	SCB	BER	166.98	3	5
6	Denis WIECZOREK	ESCE	THR	158.76	6	6

Senior Ladies

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Sarah HECKEN	MERC	B-W	152.55	1	3
2	Nathalie WEINZIERL	MERC	B-W	150.55	3	1
3	Sandy HOFFMANN	DREC	SAS	150.48	2	2
4	Jennifer URBAN	ECO	BAY	127.65	4	4
5	Katharina ZIENTEK	SCKR	NRW	122.42	7	5
6	Isabel DRESCHER	TSCD	NRW	112.45	5	8
7	Jennifer PARKER	ECO	BAY	110.08	10	7
8	Nicole SCHOTT	EJE	NRW	109.29	11	6
9	Anneli KAWELKE	ERCM	BAY	103.11	9	11
10	Angelika DUBINSKI	BSV92	BER	102.58	8	13
11	Anne ZETZSCHE	DREC	SAS	100.44	13	9
12	Luisa WEBER	MERC	B-W	98.58	14	10
13	Minami DOBASHI	DEG	NRW	93.99	15	12
14	Isabelle GLASER	ECO	BAY	88.90	12	14
15	Anna-Katharina KREISFELD	ECO	BAY	82.06	16	15
16	Alina MAYER	ECO	BAY	76.45	17	16
WD	Minami HANASHIRO	BSV92	BER

Pairs

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Annabelle PRÖLß / Ruben BLOMMAERT	ECO	BAY	147.62	1	2
2	Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE	DEG/SCB	N/B	146.45	2	1

Dance

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	ECO	BAY	156.96	1	1
2	Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO	BTSC	BER	145.19	2	2
3	Kavita LORENZ / Ievgen KHOLONIUK	ECO	BAY	116.14	4	3
4	Katharina MÜLLER / Justin GERKE	SCC	BER	111.83	3	4
5	Beatris Katrin TOMCHAK / Egor KOSHCHEEV	EJE	NRW	70.95	5	5

Pavel Roman Memorial Results

Senior Dance

 1 Nailya ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI GER 148,24 1 2
 2 Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmytro DUN UKR 143,81 2 1
 3 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA 136,33 3 3
 4 Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS LTU 127,97 4 4
 5 Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEY SVK 126,04 6 5
 6 Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN CZE 123,05 5 8
 7 Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS GBR 118,15 10 7
 8 Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES HUN 117,90 9 9
 9 Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO FIN 117,08 7 11
 10 Allison REED / Vasili ROGOV ISR 115,54 12 6
11 Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR ITA 113,30 11 10
 12 Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM FIN 110,00 8 14
 13 Dora TUROCZI / Balazs MAJOR HUN 107,04 13 12
 14 Katharina MULLER / Justin GERKE GER 102,59 15 13
 15 Natalia KALISZEK / Michal KALISZEK POL 91,54 14 15
 16 Emanuela PORTER / Bruce PORTER AZE 67,25 16 16
 17 Tamara TUROCZI / Daniel MAJER HUN 61,92 17 17

Junior Dance

 1 Karolina PROCHAZKOVA / Michal CESKA CZE 128,78 1 1
 2 Anastazia SHPILIAVAYA / Grigoriy SMIRNOV RUS 122,63 3 2
 3 Jana CEJKOVA / Alexandr SINICYN CZE 119,84 4 4
 4 Yulia DOLGIKH / Alexander PRACHANOV RUS 118,80 2 5
 5 Johanna ALLIK / Paul BELLANTUONO EST 117,39 6 3
 6 Valeriya GAYSTRUK / Oleksii OLIINYK UKR 109,95 7 7
 7 Alessia BUSI / Andrea FABBRI ITA 108,44 10 6
 8 Anna BOLSHEM / Ronald ZILBERBERG ISR 107,37 5 13
 9 Viola ZAKHLYUPNA / Jeremie FLEMIN FRA 105,98 11 9
 10 Katerina KONICKOVA / Matej LANG CZE 104,70 12 10
11 Loreen GEILER / Sven MIERSCH GER 104,18 9 12
 12 Beatrice BUTTANI / Daniele VERDI ITA 102,35 13 11
 13 Lisa ENDERLEIN / Hendrik HILPERT GER 100,33 8 15
 14 Sara GHISLANDI / Giona Terzo ORTENZI ITA 100,32 15 8
 15 Joanna ZAJAC / Cezary ZAWADZKI POL 93,38 14 14
 16 Mariya UKOLOVA / Jaroslav BRTEK CZE 82,71 17 16
 17 Mathilde HAROLD / Axel LAMASSE FRA 79,58 16 18
 18 Lisa LOZE / Dylan ANTUNES FRA 78,68 18 17
 19 Lili KIRALY / Szabolcs NAGY HUN 65,87 21 19

 20 Szilvia MAGYAR / Illes DANIEL HUN 64,64 20 20
 21 Olexandra BORYSOVA / Svitozar MARCHENKO UKR 64,63 19 21
 22 Salome ABDEDOU / Mateo CLAVEL FRA 58,79 22 22

Rostelecom Cup Dance Preview

Virtue and Moir showed some cracks in their programs when they lost levels and finished the short dance in second place at Skate Canada.  Their Carmen free dance seems to be hit or miss with some people loving it and others hating it.  It will be interesting to see how it is received outside of Canada and if they are able to clean up the technical mistakes in their short program.  They'll need any medal to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov started off their season last week at Crystal Skate where they put up a huge score.  Senior B's tend to be overscored plus they'll have the disadvantage of competing in back to back events but if they can repeat their results they could give Virtue and Moir a run for their money.  Their skating skills and lines are to die for but their choreography last season did not show them off to their full advantage.  At Worlds they showed they earned their spot as the top Russian dance team but with the resurgence of Bobrova and Soloviev, they'll need a good result to hold on to their spot.

The Shibutanis are coming back from an up and down season which saw them win their first Grand Prix gold medal and qualify for their first Grand Prix Final but fell to 8th at Worlds.  They are known for their personalities on the ice, speed, twizzles and skating skills.  They are showing a different side to their skating this year with a grown up Memoirs of a Geisha free skate.  They traded places all season with the Russians and it will be a close fight between the two for the silver medal.

Two siblings are competing at this event representing two different countries.  Nelli Zhiganshina competes on behalf of Germany and her younger brother Ruslan Zhiganshin competes for Russia.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Virtue/Moir
Silver: Shibutani/Shibutani
Bronze: Ilinykh/Katsalapov

Bios of the competitors:
Orford/Williams, CAN: They placed 6th at Junior Worlds.  They won gold at JGP Australia and finished 6th at JGP Austria last season.  Their personal best is 134.61.  She is 20 and he is 19.

Virtue/Moir, CAN: They are the reigning World and Four Continents Champions.  They won gold at Skate Canada.  They qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season and won silver.  They are the 2010 Olympic Gold Medalists, 2010 World Champions, 2008 and 2011 World Silver Medalists, 2009 World Bronze Medalists, 2008 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.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: They finished 11th at Worlds and 8th at Europeans.  They placed 5th at Skate America.  Their personal best is 141.36.  She is 25 and he is 28.

Coomes/Buckland, GBR: They placed 14th at Worlds and 6th at Europeans.  They placed 8th at Skate America and 4th at Cup of China last season.  Their personal best is 145.31.  She is 23 and he is 23.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: They finished 5th at Worlds and are the reigning European Bronze Medalists.  They won bronze at NHK Trophy last season and finished 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the 2010 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 161.00.  She is 18 and he is 21.

Monko/Khaliavin, RUS: They are the 2011 World Junior Champions and 2010 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 155.04.  She is 20 and he is 21.

Sinitsina/Zhiganshin, RUS: They are the reigning Junior World Champions.  They placed 6th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 153.81.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: They placed 8th at Worlds and 4th at Four Continents.  They won silver at Cup of China and gold at NHK Trophy last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they 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.

Skate America Ice Dance Preview

This is Davis and White's event to lose.  They have won 6 consecutive Grand Prix gold medals and three consecutive Grand Prix Finals.  Their only competition for the past three seasons has been their training mates Virtue and Moir and this is unlikely to change here.  Their Notre Dame free skate is supposed to be one of their best and should be a highlight of this competition.

Weaver and Poje just missed the podium at Worlds last season and showed improved consistency winning silver medals at all three of their Grand Prix events last season.  Their score of 161 at Finlandia Trophy showed they are on pace to beat their personal best and have another standout season.  Their free dance was choreographed by SYTYCD alum Allison Holker and should set them apart from the rest of the field.

Bobrova and Soloviev have had mixed results the last few seasons and tend to peter out as the season progresses.  They won the silver medal at Europeans but had to settle for 7th place and were bypassed as the top Russian team at Worlds.  They changed coaches in the off-season and will be looking to challenge Weaver and Poje for the 2nd spot on the podium.

Zhiganshina and Gazsi just missed the podium at this event last season.  They won the bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy and are dark horses for the medal stand along with Kriengkrairut and Giuletti-Schmitt who won the bronze at the U.S. Figure Skating Classic.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Davis/White
Silver: Weaver/Poje
Bronze: Bobrova/Soloviev

Bios of the competitors:

Weaver/Poje, CAN: They finished 4th at Worlds and are the reigning Four Continents Bronze Medalists.  They won silver at Skate Canada, NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 4th.  They are the 2010 Four Continents Champions and 2007 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 166.55.  She is 23 and he is 25.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: They finished 11th at Worlds and 8th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at Skate America and NHK Trophy last season.  Their personal best is 140.95.  She is 25 and he is 28.

Alessandrini/Vaturi, ITA: They finished 16th at Worlds.  They placed 5th at NHK Trophy.  Their personal best is 133.29.  She is 22 and he is 24.

Bobrova/Soloviev: RUS: They placed 7th at Worlds and are the reigning European Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Cup of China and bronze at Rostelecom Cup last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 6th.  They are the 2011 European Silver Medalists and  2007 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 163.52.  She is 22 and he is 23.

Cannuscio/McManus, USA: This is their Grand Prix debut.  Their personal best is 122.90.  She is 20 and he is 22.

Davis/White, USA: They are the reigning World Silver Medalists and Four Continents Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Skate America and Rostelecom Cup last season 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 Four Continents Silver Medalists, and 2006 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  Their personal best is 188.55.  She is 25 and he is 24.

Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt, USA: They placed 6th at NHK Trophy last season.  Their personal best is 130.72.  She is 24 and he is 27.

Nebelhorn Trophy Dance Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	59.58	31.08		28.50	7.04	6.89	7.04	7.29	7.29	0.00	#12
2	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	56.97	28.79		28.18	7.00	6.75	7.04	7.18	7.18	0.00	#2
3	Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV	AZE	56.95	29.93		27.02	6.79	6.57	6.75	6.75	6.86	0.00	#7
4	Ksenia MONKO / Kirill KHALIAVIN	RUS	54.92	27.56		28.36	7.07	6.96	7.07	7.21	7.11	1.00	#8
5	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	54.50	28.00		26.50	6.64	6.39	6.68	6.75	6.64	0.00	#9
6	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUN	UKR	54.44	29.20		25.24	6.36	6.14	6.29	6.36	6.36	0.00	#14
7	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	53.79	27.00		26.79	6.71	6.50	6.71	6.64	6.86	0.00	#15
8	Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN	CZE	47.73	25.43		22.30	5.61	5.43	5.61	5.64	5.57	0.00	#4
9	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	46.62	25.50		22.12	5.57	5.43	5.61	5.54	5.50	1.00	#6
10	Charlotte AIKEN / Josh WHIDBORNE	GBR	46.12	26.08		20.04	5.11	4.89	5.00	5.04	5.00	0.00	#11
11	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	45.68	22.36		23.32	5.82	5.61	5.86	5.93	5.89	0.00	#13
12	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	43.90	23.37		20.53	5.11	4.93	5.11	5.25	5.21	0.00	#10
13	Allison REED / Vasili ROGOV	ISR	42.54	22.28		20.26	5.07	4.96	5.00	5.11	5.14	0.00	#5
14	Emi HIRAI / Marien DE LA ASUNCION	JPN	41.82	21.35		20.47	5.11	4.89	5.07	5.29	5.18	0.00	#3
15	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	41.73	21.00		20.73	5.21	5.11	5.25	5.29	5.07	0.00	#1

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	90.82	46.28		44.54	7.36	7.21	7.50	7.61	7.61	0.00	#12
2	Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV	AZE	86.64	44.24		42.40	7.11	6.86	7.07	7.29	7.14	0.00	#14
3	Ksenia MONKO / Kirill KHALIAVIN	RUS	84.78	42.16		43.62	7.32	7.04	7.29	7.43	7.43	1.00	#15
4	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	83.42	41.62		41.80	6.96	6.71	7.11	7.18	7.07	0.00	#13
5	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	82.42	41.51		41.91	6.93	6.61	7.18	7.21	7.29	1.00	#11
6	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUN	UKR	78.17	39.13		40.04	6.64	6.54	6.71	6.79	6.79	1.00	#9
7	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	76.63	40.02		38.61	6.50	6.25	6.46	6.54	6.54	2.00	#10
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	72.43	37.92		34.51	5.79	5.54	5.82	5.89	5.86	0.00	#4
9	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	71.71	36.38		35.33	6.00	5.64	6.00	6.07	5.89	0.00	#6
10	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	70.99	39.82		31.17	5.25	5.04	5.29	5.29	5.21	0.00	#1
11	Charlotte AIKEN / Josh WHIDBORNE	GBR	70.57	39.51		33.06	5.39	5.32	5.54	5.68	5.79	2.00	#7
12	Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN	CZE	69.76	34.99		35.77	5.89	5.82	6.00	6.18	6.04	1.00	#8
13	Allison REED / Vasili ROGOV	ISR	64.78	34.24		31.54	5.25	5.11	5.25	5.50	5.29	1.00	#2
14	Emi HIRAI / Marien DE LA ASUNCION	JPN	61.68	33.35		30.33	5.07	4.93	5.11	5.18	5.07	2.00	#5

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	147.79	2	1
2	Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV	AZE	143.59	3	2
3	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	142.00	1	5
4	Ksenia MONKO / Kirill KHALIAVIN	RUS	139.70	4	3
5	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	137.92	5	4
6	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY / Dmitri DUN	UKR	132.61	6	6
7	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	130.42	7	7
8	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	118.33	9	9
9	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	118.11	11	8
10	Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN	CZE	117.49	8	12
11	Charlotte AIKEN / Josh WHIDBORNE	GBR	116.69	10	11
12	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	ITA	114.89	12	10
13	Allison REED / Vasili ROGOV	ISR	107.32	13	13
14	Emi HIRAI / Marien DE LA ASUNCION	JPN	103.50	14	14
WD	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN

Europeans Dance Preview

This is Pechalat and Bourzat's event to lose.  They have the best results of any team here, including a medal at the Grand Prix Final.  Their real goal is to win a world medal and winning their second European title would set them up nicely.  While their Mummy and Pharaoh Free Dance has never really come together for me, I see the potential if they really commit to the story telling of the dance and keep it error free.  With their training mates Weaver and Poje closing in on Virtue and Moir at Canadian Nationals and the Shibutanis looking to defend their World medal, Pechalat and Bourzat will need to put up solid marks here to show they are the favorites for the last spot on the World podium.

Trying to unseat them will be Bobrova and Soloviev.  They set a personal best total score and solidly defeated the Shibutanis at Cup of China, but fell to third place at home and last place in the Final.  Their Free Dance looked extremely messy at Cup of China but has been improving throughout the season.  The program itself masks a lot of their technical programs but the heavy music and theme in addition to the distracting costumes can make their skating seem clunkier in comparison to some of the other programs.

Cappellini and Lanotte have been competing fully healthy this season and just missed the Grand Prix Final after taking home two bronze medals.  They've shown a lot of improvement and I especially enjoy the interesting positions they create in their Free Dance to La Strada.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov expressed their disappointment at their 7th place finish at Worlds last season.  They changed coaches and vowed to make it to the podium this year.  However, they finished 3rd at their first Grand Prix event and finished off the podium at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their free skate doesn't showcase their lines and technical ability to it's greatest advantage and instead has them stand around posing on the ice for a significant portion of the program.  Unless they've made some serious choreographic changes to their programs, they could find themselves off the podium here and with a distant shot at a World medal.

Also in the medal hunt are Coomes and Buckland, who finished 4th at Cup of China and have the home crowd behind them.  Zhiganshina and Gazsi placed 4th at both their Grand Prix events but haven't been able to sell their Romeo + Juliet themed free dance.  Zahorski and Miart made a splash at Junior Worlds last season, finishing 4th, but an injury took them out of the Grand Prix season.  They made their senior debut earlier this month and set an impressive score that keeps them firmly in the mix at the senior level.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Pechalat/Bourzat
Silver: Cappellini/Lanotte
Bronze: Bobrova/Soloviev

Bios of the competitors:
Silna/Kurakin, AUT: She is 23 and he is 24.

Zlobina/Sitnikov, AZE: She is 22 and he is 25.

Valadzenkava/Vakunov, BLR: They finished 17th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 13th in the preliminary round at Europeans.  She is 19 and he is 20.

Chistiakova/Lichev, BUL: She is 20 and he is 21.

Kubova/Kiselev, CZE (Direct Entry): Their personal best is 111.39.  She is 18 and he is 22.

Mysliveckova/Brown, CZE: She is 22 and he is 21.

Shtork/Rand, EST: They finished 21st at Europeans and 10th at Junior Worlds.  They placed 7th at JGP Romania and won silver at JGP Estonia.  Their personal best is 126.51.  She is 18 and he is 19.

Lindholm/Kanervo, FIN: They finished 14th in the preliminary round at Europeans.  She is 22 and he is 24. 

Carron/Jones, FRA (Direct Entry): They placed 12th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans.  They won bronze at Cup of China and placed 6th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 140.86.  She is 25 and he is 23.

Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA (Direct Entry): They placed 4th at Worlds and are the reigning European Champions.  They won silver at Skate America and Trophee Eric Bompard to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze.  Their personal best is 169.69.  She is 28 and he is 31.

Zahorski/Miart, FRA: They placed 4th at Junior Worlds.  Their personal best is 128.16.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Kolbe/Caruso, GER: She is 21 and he is 24.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER (Direct Entry): They finished 11th at Worlds and 7th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at Skate America and NHK Trophy.  Their personal best is 140.95.  She is 24 and he is 27.

Coomes/Buckland, GBR (Direct Entry): They finished 16th at Worlds and 14th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 130.39.  She is 22 and he is 22. 

Walden/Edwards, GBR: They finished 20th at Worlds.  Their personal best is 116.52.  She is 28 and he is 24. 

Nagy/Fejes, HUN (Direct Entry): They finished 13th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 11th in the preliminary round at Europeans.  She is 25 and he is 23. 

Turoczi/Major, HUN: They finished 21st at Worlds.  Their personal best is 104.03.  She is 21 and he is 21.

Bugrov/Rogov, ISR: They finished 15th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  They placed 15th at JGP Latvia and 9th at JGP Romania.  Their personal best is 98.87.  She is 15 and he is 20.

Cappellini/Lanotte, ITA (Direct Entry): They finished 8th at Worlds.  They won bronze at Skate Canada and Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 154.87.  She is 24 and he is 26. 

Guignard/Fabbri, ITA: They placed 19th at Worlds.  Their personal best is 120.02.  She is 22 and he is 23. 

Pecherkina/Jakushin, LAT: They finished 17th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  They placed 8th at JGP Latvia and 7th at JGP Poland.  Their personal best is 113.24.  She is 18 and he is 18.

Tobias/Stagniunas, LTU (Direct Entry): They finished 14th at Worlds and 12th at Europeans.  They won bronze at Skate America and placed 5th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 132.58.  She is 20 and he is 26.

Zvorigina/Bernadowski, POL: She is 21 and he is 22.

Bobrova/Soloviev: RUS: They placed 6th at Worlds and are the reigning European Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Cup of China and bronze at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they finished 6th.  They are the 2007 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 163.52.  She is 21 and he is 22.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: They finished 7th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans.  They won bronze at NHK Trophy and finished 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the 2010 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 154.50.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Riazanova/Tkachenko, RUS (Direct Entry): They finished 6th at Europeans.  They placed 5th at Skate Canada and 4th at Rostelecom Cup.  Their personal best is 146.79.  She is 20 and he is 25.

Hurtado/Diaz, ESP: They finished 23rd at Worlds, 15th at Europeans and 9th at Junior Worlds.  They placed 8th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 120.41.  She is 19 and he is 21.

Elsener/Roost, SUI: They finished 25th at Worlds, 19th at Europeans and 14th at Junior Worlds.  Their personal best is 111.86.  She is 19 and he is 22.

Agafonova/Ucar, TUR: She is 21 and he is 27.

Frolenkova/Kasalo, UKR (Direct Entry): They finished 13th at Europeans.  Their personal best is 120.86.  She is 22 and he is 22.

Heekin-Canedy/Dun, UKR: She is 20 and he is 22.

German Nationals Results

Men

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Peter LIEBERS	SCB	BER	221.36	1	1
2	Paul FENTZ	SCB	BER	184.71	2	2
3	Martin RAPPE	CEC	SAS	176.45	3	3
4	Denis WIECZOREK	ESCE	THR	169.59	4	4
5	Franz STREUBEL	ECO	BAY	153.37	5	5
6	Norman KECK	MERC	B-W	145.09	6	6

Ladies

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Nicole SCHOTT	EJE	NRW	131.65	2	1
2	Isabel DRESCHER	TSCD	NRW	129.01	3	2
3	Katharina ZIENTEK	SCKR	NRW	126.62	5	3
4	Sandy HOFFMANN	DREC	SAS	123.13	6	4
5	Julia PFRENGLE	MERC	B-W	120.60	4	5
6	Nathalie WEINZIERL	MERC	B-W	114.88	1	9
7	Christina ERDEL	ECO	BAY	107.19	8	6
8	Luisa WEBER	MERC	B-W	105.01	7	10
9	Jennifer PARKER	ECO	BAY	104.79	11	7
10	Jennifer URBAN	ECO	BAY	100.28	10	11
11	Jacqueline DRANGE	EJE	NRW	97.64	13	8
12	Jil KÖTTING	TECW	B-W	84.06	14	12
13	Katharina HELWERT	WSVA	BAY	79.29	12	13
WD	Jessica FÜSSINGER	ECO	BAY

Pairs

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Maylin HAUSCH / Daniel WENDE	ECO/EJE	B/N	157.82	1	1
2	Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE	DEG/SCB	N/B	133.45	2	2

Dance

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	ECO	BAY	157.42	1	1
2	Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO	BTSC	BER	122.52	2	3
3	Carolina HERMANN / Daniel HERMANN	ERCW	NRW	121.35	3	2

Golden Spin of Zagreb Results

Men

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	228.63	2	1
2	Denis TEN	KAZ	220.47	1	2
3	Ivan BARIEV	RUS	210.43	3	3
4	Artem BORODULIN	RUS	179.83	6	4
5	Javier RAYA BUENACHE	ESP	178.11	4	6
6	Maciej CIEPLUCHA	POL	174.21	5	5
7	Vladislav SEZGANOV	RUS	164.74	9	7
8	Oleksii BYCHENKO	ISR	164.04	8	8
9	Denis WIECZOREK	GER	159.46	7	9
10	Dmytro IGNATENKO	UKR	151.12	10	10
11	Jordan Yu-Chia JU	TPE	134.44	13	12
12	Jono PARTRIDGE	GBR	134.03	14	11
13	David RICHARDSON	GBR	134.02	12	13
14	Iakiv GODOROZHA	UKR	127.60	11	14
15	Girts JEKABSONS	LAT	100.74	15	15
WD	Ivan TRETYAKOV	RUS

Ladies

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Adelina SOTNIKOVA	RUS	162.47	2	1
2	Haruna SUZUKI	JPN	148.30	1	2
3	Maria ARTEMYEVA	RUS	140.18	3	3
4	Jenna MCCORKELL	GBR	136.97	5	4
5	Sonia LaFUENTE	ESP	135.31	7	5
6	Patricija GLESCIC	SLO	129.91	4	6
7	Fleur MAXWELL	LUX	120.80	8	11
8	Anne Line GJERSEM	NOR	119.91	9	12
9	Carol BRESSANUTTI	ITA	119.60	11	7
10	Yukiko FUJISAWA	JPN	118.16	6	17
11	Victoria MUNIZ	PUR	118.05	15	8
12	Nicole RAJICOVA	SVK	117.93	13	10
13	Anna NOVICHKINA	RUS	116.78	10	14
14	Alexandra KUNOVA	SVK	115.33	16	9
15	Isabelle PIEMAN	BEL	112.43	12	15
16	Nika CERIC	SLO	109.29	14	16
17	Mirna LIBRIC	CRO	105.30	19	13
18	Daša GRM	SLO	97.18	17	21
19	Viktoria PAVUK	HUN	95.96	20	18
20	Marina SEEH	SRB	95.29	18	20
21	Daniela STOEVA	BUL	90.68	24	19
22	Nika ZAFRAN	CRO	87.38	23	22
23	Ema LIPOVSCAK	CRO	86.44	21	24
24	Petra JURIC	CRO	83.01	25	23
25	Christina ERDEL	GER	81.52	22	25

Dance

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	154.05	1	1
2	Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND	GBR	147.58	2	2
3	Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI	ITA	136.00	3	3
4	Nadezhda FROLENKOVA / Mykhailo KASALO	UKR	130.43	6	4
5	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	130.34	4	5
6	Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO	GER	123.86	5	6
7	Karolina PROCHAZKOVA / Michal CESKA	CZE	108.11	8	7
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	107.50	7	9
9	Alisa AGFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	105.87	9	8
10	Lucie MYSLIVECKOVA / Neil BROWN	CZE	104.38	10	10
11	Jana WERNER / Artem KUDASHEV	RUS	98.96	11	11
12	Corene BRUNHS ALONSO / Ryan VAN NATTEN	MEX	87.65	12	12

Pairs

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Anastasia MARTYUSHEVA / Alexey ROGONOV	RUS	147.69	1	1
2	Katarina GIEROK / Florian JUST	GER	127.30	2	2
3	Danielle MONTALBANO / Evgeny KRASNAPOLSKY	ISR	119.78	3	3
4	Sally HOOLIN / James HUNT	GBR	101.48	5	4
5	Stina MARTINI / Severin KIEFER	AUT	98.89	4	5
6	Anjelika ILIEVA / Pavel SAVINOV	BUL	72.73	6	6
WD	Mary VARTMAN / Aaron Van CLEAVE	GER

NHK Trophy Free Dance

Group 1

Reed/Reed, JPN: 38.36 TES + 36.50 PCS -1.00  = 73.86 Total: 123.22

• Some very intricate arm holds and change of positions around each other at the beginning of the program
• The twizzles were clean but they drifted apart and then closer together throughout the sequence
• Their step sequence seems a little choppy and her arms are on the stiff side
• A little bit of an awkward entry into their first lift and their change of positions are very slow
• I'd like to see her stretch more through her free leg in the second step sequence and a few of their holds almost missed after turns
• Overall it seems a little messy and they're not totally in synch with each other
• An interesting lift where he rolls her around his head but the position isn't very appealing
• Decent speed on their dance spin with an interesting change of direction--the spin really slows at the end
• Rotational lift in a haircutter position with a bobble getting out of it
• Her positions in the lifts aren't very good and her legs aren't stretched with pointed toes
• To be fair, they collided with another team in warmup just minutes before their program, so all things considered this was a good showing after the scare

Paul/Islam, CAN: TES + PCS =

• They withdrew after an injury in the warmup earlier in the day

Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt, USA: 39.29 TES + 36.29 PCS = 75.58 Total: 126.39 and into 1st place

• I love her gold dress and it's refreshing to see a male dancer in a color other than black
• Great extension from her into the straightline lift where he skates backwards on one leg and she is in a split completely balancing on his body
• She comes out of the first set of twizzles a full rotation before him
• Solid rotational lift and he changes levels in the middle; although it is a one arm hold it is not a difficult position variation for her
• I like how they really hit all the accents in their music in their first step sequence
• A nice cartwheel into and out of their lift
• Another nice entry with her going through the keyhole and then wrapped around the head--her positions in the lifts are great with nice stretched legs
• I love their connection in the second step sequence but sometimes their free legs get a bit wild and they lose some of the control they need to really get into the edges and match each others lines
• Good speed and positions in the dance spin
• Nice final rotational lift with him picking her up from the ice

Alessandrini/Vaturi, ITA: 39.72 TES + 39.20 PCS = 78.92 Total: 133.29 and into 1st place

• Her skirt has a big slit on both sides--they could get a costume deduction for that
• He almost looks like he's pulling her backwards in the dance spin--Nice transition from the spin into their stationary lift with him rotating on one leg and her in a haircutter position
• She has very long legs and really stretches through her free leg in the step sequence but sometimes she kicks her foot out too hard
• Very nice transition straight into the twizzles from the step sequence
• Interesting rotational lift with her curled into the fetal position on his shoulder
• I'd like to see her loosen up a bit and really let the step sequence flow--there's also a few places where there leg lines don't match
• A very cool lift where she is on his back and he slowly rotates her around to the front--tons of ab strength from her!
• Spread eagle lift with her standing on his leg and bent back toward the ice on a crescendo in the music
• The death at the end seems to come out of nowhere and I'd like to see the story developed a little more 

Group 2

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: 39.28 TES + 41.15 PCS = 80.43 Total: 136.12 and into 1st place

• I wish they would tone down the cheese at the beginning and have more of a genuine reaction to seeing each other for the first time instead of the wide eyes and mouth look
• Good unison on their twizzles with a difficult variation holding the foot
• This step sequence has much better flow than their last event but they got very close to the boards at one point
• They really lose the speed and the centering on their dance spin after the change of position
• Twist into their straight line lift where they almost kiss for 6 seconds
• Nice handstand lift
• Good edges in their second step sequence but they are a bit off in unison in a couple places
• Rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position and he is holding her foot
• Spread eagle position with her standing on his feet into their Romeo and Juliet ending

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: 45.84 TES + 46.99 PCS = 92.83 Total: 151.85 and into 1st place

• Warm welcome for the Shibs from the crowd
• Her dress looks like it got some extra rhinestones since last week
• Great opening really sets the mood for their program with a lot of speed and personality
• Great unison on their three sets of twizzles and right with the music
• Front walkover into their first lift and he lifts her up by one foot with a very nice smooth exit
• Good speed on their dance lift with a relatively smooth change of direction
• Very smooth step sequence with good matching lines and nice edgework
• Nice curve lift with him in a spread eagle, and she's standing on his hip leaning backwards right on the music
• I like the different changes of hold they have in their second step sequence and the little finishing touches they add with their hands and heads
• He really spins her fast through the In the Mood music!
• Fast flip into a speedy rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position and exits with her shooting right through his legs

Weaver/Poje, CAN: 44.30 TES + 48.39 PCS -1.00 = 91.69 Total: 151.76 and into 2nd place

• I love her dress for this program and the elegant look they both have
• Very nice edgework in this first step sequence but there was one spot where it looked like Kaitlyn's spins were slow and it wasn't as smooth getting back into their hold
• I love this type of program on them--very elegant, lyrical and emotional--it fits them so much better than Moulin Rouge
• Very nice dance spin
• Interesting lift that started on the ice and went up into a rotational lift with change of levels for him
• I love that she uses her arms to express the feeling of the dance through the step sequence so it becomes a part of the story and not just an element
• Good unison on all three sets of twizzles
• Rotational lift with her in a haircutter position
• Great straightline lift with him on one foot and her standing on his hip and leaning back with a cartwheel exit

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: 40.35 TES + 47.30 PCS = 87.65 Total: 149.48 and into 3rd place

• That is a gorgeous dress for this program and I'm glad they went for a cream color instead of white as it stands out more against the ice.
• Rotational lift with her in a catchfoot position--little bobble on the exit and not as fast as the previous two teams
• Very interesting change of holds for them in the first step sequence but she almost crashes into him on a bobble on a spin
• He came out of the twizzles about a rotation before her
• Another rotational lift in a haircutter position, still seems slow
• I feel like this team can do so much more than the choreography that was given to them--there is a lot of standing and posing and waiting for the music
• Really cool dance spin with him holding on to her blade and counterbalancing their weight but a bit sluggish on the change of foot and getting into the positions
• They have great deep edges in their step sequences
• Great photo moment in their final lift with her wrapped around his leg and reaching out over the ice

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Ded. -	StN.
1	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	92.83	45.84		46.99	7.86	7.64	8.00	7.86	7.93	0.00	#6
2	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	91.69	44.30		48.39	7.93	7.82	8.29	8.25	8.25	1.00	#7
3	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	87.65	40.35		47.30	7.89	7.68	7.89	8.07	8.04	0.00	#8
4	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	80.43	39.28		41.15	6.96	6.54	7.00	7.00	7.00	0.00	#5
5	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	78.92	39.72		39.20	6.50	6.29	6.71	6.64	6.71	0.00	#4
6	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	75.58	39.29		36.29	6.07	5.75	6.07	6.36	6.21	0.00	#3
7	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	73.86	38.36		36.50	6.18	5.86	6.04	6.29	6.18	1.00	#1
WD	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN											#2

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	151.85	3	1
2	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	151.76	2	2
3	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	149.48	1	3
4	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	136.12	4	4
5	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	133.29	5	5
6	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	126.39	6	6
7	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	123.22	8	7

NHK Trophy Short Dance

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Ded. -	StN.
1	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	61.83	29.86		31.97	7.96	7.68	8.11	8.04	8.11	0.00	#6
2	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	60.07	28.51		31.56	7.79	7.61	7.89	7.96	8.11	0.00	#8
3	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	59.02	29.50		30.52	7.71	7.43	7.71	7.68	7.61	1.00	#7
4	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	55.69	29.50		27.19	6.93	6.57	6.82	6.82	6.82	1.00	#5
5	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	54.37	29.22		25.15	6.11	5.93	6.46	6.36	6.50	0.00	#3
6	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT / Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT	USA	50.81	27.79		23.02	5.75	5.46	5.82	5.93	5.79	0.00	#1
7	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	49.36	26.29		23.07	5.93	5.68	5.75	5.71	5.75	0.00	#2
8	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	49.36	24.63		24.73	6.29	6.04	6.21	6.18	6.18	0.00	#4

NHK Trophy Dance Preview

The Shibutanis and Weaver and Poje both have silver medals this season and both are looking for their first gold medal on the Grand Prix circuit.

The Shibutanis had a somewhat disappointing outing last week in China, earning only a Level 1 on the lift in their short dance and finishing 15 points out of 1st place.  They are competing in back to back events which means they don't have a lot of time to make changes in their program and will likely only be making minor adjustments.  On the other hand, both events are in Asia and they have less travel time and jet lag to deal with than some of the other competitors.  Their programs this season suit them to a T and they have all the technical elements to land them on top of the podium if they're executed correctly.  They also started slow last season and improved at every event, so if they can improve their score here I would say they're on the right track.

Weaver and Poje won the silver behind Virtue and Moir at Skate Canada and are coming off a top 5 finish at Worlds.  They're pushing themselves this season in the short dance with out of the box costumes that are a start contrast to their elegant look last season.  They are also benefiting from training alongside Pechalat and Bourzat, giving them the advantage of another top team in the rink to push them every day while they train.  They have a slight point edge over the Shibutanis coming in to this event, but their biggest obstacle is themselves, as they showed last season when they struggled to overcome their nerves and skate a clean free dance.

Ilinykh and Katsalapov are making their season debut here.  This young Russian team was disappointed with their 7th place showing at their first World Championships.  They won the World Junior title in 2010 while the Shibutanis only placed 4th and were vocal about their expectations for remaining ahead of their competition.  They switched coaches in the off season and worked with top dancers and acrobats to add innovation to their programs.  They are also using the same songs in their short dance as Virtue and Moir and are making it clear that they expect to compete with the best this season. This will be their first chance to see how the changes they've made stack up against some of the World's best teams.

Kriengkrairut and Giuletti-Schmitt and Zhiganshina and Gazsi both have gold medals in Senior B events this season but their scores there will likely keep them off the podium unless one of the top teams makes an error.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Shibutani/Shibutani
Silver: Weaver/Poje
Bronze: Ilinykh/Katsalapov

Bios of the competitors:
Paul/Islam, CAN: They finished 8^th at Skate America.  They are the 2010 World Junior silver medalists. Their personal best is 138.16.  She is 20 and he is 20.

Weaver/Poje, CAN: They finished 5th at Worlds and 4th at Four Continents.  They won silver at Skate Canada.  They are the 2010 Four Continents Champions and 2007 Junior World bronze medalists.  Their personal best is 160.32.  She is 22 and he is 24.

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: They finished 11th at Worlds and 7th at Europeans.  They finished 4^th at Skate America.  Their personal best is 140.95.  She is 24 and he is 26.

Alessandrini/Vaturi, ITA: They finished 16th at Europeans.  This is their Grand Prix debut.  Their personal best is 115.35.  She is 21 and he is 23.

Reed/Reed, JPN: They finished 13th at Worlds.  They placed 7th at NHK Trophy and Skate America last season.  Their personal best is 133.33.  She is 24 and he is 22.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov, RUS: They finished 7th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans.  They placed 4th at NHK Trophy and won bronze at Cup of Russia last season.  They are the 2010 World Junior Champions.  Their personal best is 154.50.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt, USA: They finished 6th at Skate Canada last season.  Their personal best is 130.72.  She is 23 and he is 26.

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: They are the reigning World bronze medalists and Four Continents silver medalists.  They won silver at Cup of China.  They are the 2009 World Junior silver medalists.  Their personal best is 163.79.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Skate America Short Dance

Group 1

Hubbell/Donohue, USA: 24.65 TES + 25.06 PCS = 49.71

• She is wearing an animal print dress with a cut out back
• They are really throwing out the Latin dance moves here early in the program and their moves are really sharp
• This season the teams must complete a non-touching circular step sequence, and there's looks really nice but they could have a little more closeness and mixing up of the pattern; there arms also could be a little more alike through the sequence
• There is a few places in their Rhumba where there legs don't seem to quite match up but it's only a small difference
• Lift with him in a spread eagle and she is leaning back over his leg
• I'd like to see her have more extension through her free leg through the rhumba sequence
• Very nice twizzles with the free leg extended straight to 90 degrees and a change of arm position within the twizzles
• Very solid skate in their Grand Prix debut

Cannuscio/Lorello, USA: 21.43 TES + 21.62 PCS -1.00 = 42.05 and into 2nd place

• She is wearing a black and white halter style dress with a feathery skirt
• I would like to see her have a little more abandon at the top of the program and really relax into some of the movements
• Their step sequence is very smooth with very nice unison
• Really nice lift with him in a spread eagle holding her up by her stomach as she holds a parallel position
• She needs to watch her free arm in some of the hold positions that it doesn't just hold a blade position
• They could use a little better music editing in the middle of their program
• He takes a bad fall on their first set of twizzles but catches right back up
• A nice over the head kick to a rotational lift

Tobias/Stagniunas, LTU: 28.14 TES + 23.69 PCS = 51.83 and into 1st place

• She is wearing a gold beaded costume with black illusion fabric in the middle of the dress
• Nice hop into their twizzles--the second set slows considerably and they moved away from each other
• They take the split rotational lift upside down with her bending over her leg away from him instead of over his shoulder--very different
• They could use deeper edges and softer knees through this rhumba sequence and both could work on stretching through their free legs
• Some of the spots in their step sequence seem a little slow and like they're working too hard

Paul/Islam, CAN: 19.57 TES + 20.93 PCS -3.00 = 37.50 and into 4th place

• I like her elegant blue dress.  It makes her stand out among the Latin sexy costumes
• She takes an unfortunate spill on some of their opening steps and it takes them a bit to get back into their program
• A nice flip around his head into a lift with him balancing on one foot as she leans back and a nice twist exit
• They have nice lines through their rhumba and much cleaner edges than the first three couples
• She is such an adorable performer and has a really nice smile
• I like all the arm changes in their twizzles and they were very well timed
• Their step sequence is really well put together with good speed and ice coverage and good unison but he puts his hands down  during one part and she takes another fall
• In their bonus lift I can't tell if there was an error as her feet seem to hit the ice randomly in the middle

Group 2

Ralph/Hill, CAN: 27.79 TES + 24.89 PCS = 52.68 and into 1st place

• They are both in blue and she has some kind of bead headpiece hanging down onto her forehead
• They have good power and ice coverage through their step sequence but they are really far away from each other, but they made nice use of transitions between their positions
• Straight line lift with him in a lunge and she stands on his skate and arches backwards
• Sort of a slow awkward entrance to their twizzles but their unison was good; they were slightly slow and she might have come out of the second set one rotation early
• Their rhumba is not as deliberate and they don't show off each position the way the top teams will

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: 29.14 TES + 26.52 PCS = 55.66 and into 1st place

• She is wearing a black and red top that is cut to the midriff with a dark red wrap skirt
• I like how nicely their lines match each other in the rhumba sequence
• A little loss of unison through their circular step sequence
• Nice jump entry into their twizzles with not a lot of prep, very good unison and nice distance between them
• A little bit of an awkward moment in the middle--it seemed like their program was wrapping up and people began clapping before their second piece of music started up
• Rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position

Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA: 29.51 TES + 31.56 PCS = 61.07 and into 1st place

• She is in a green and yellow dress and he is wearing green pants
• Lots of changes in position through their lift with flips and twists
• They get very close to their boards in the rhumba; I like how they're adding their own flair to the arms
• Very playful through their step sequence but I think she's trying too hard with some of her facial expressions and he takes a fall during the sequence
• There are a few places in the rhumba that he is kicking his leg higher than hers
• Good distance between them on their twizzles, it looks like she put her foot down a little early on the second set
• She flips him backwards at the end of the program

Davis/White, USA: 34.19 TES + 36.19 PCS = 70.33 and into 1st place

• She is wearing an orange dress with lots of sparkle and he is wearing his signature all black outfit
• I appreciate that Marina and Igor have a matching tie and scarf
• I love that she is performing well before the program starts
• This is the first program that feels genuine and doesn't seem like they're trying to hard to be Latin
• Their twizzles are very fast but seemed a little far apart
• Their leg extension has really improved and they have great stretch through their free legs with nice toe point
• I would like to see her do more with her free arm in the rhumba section to really get into the character of the program
• Apparently Icenetwork decided that I needed to see an ad for the Rugby World Cup instead of the last half of their short dance..........................

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE	USA	70.33	1
2	Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT	FRA	61.07	2
3	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	55.66	3
4	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	52.68	4
5	Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS	LTU	51.83	5
6	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	49.71	6
7	Isabella CANNUSCIO / Ian LORELLO	USA	42.05	7
8	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	37.50	8