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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Junior Grand Prix Final Ladies Preview

These girls range in age from 13-16 years old.  Three of the ladies qualified for the Final last season.  They won 5 gold medals, 5 silvers and 1 bronze on the circuit.

Polina Shelepen kicked off the season with a gold medal win in Latvia and in Romania.  She has triple+triples in her arsenal and should be very competitive for the podium.  She has the 3rd best free skate and 5th best total score of the season.  

Zijin Li took home her first silver medal on the JGP in Latvia and backed it up with another silver in Austria.  She won a medal at the Final last season in a tiebreaker and it will be a fight again for the podium here.  She has the 5th best short program, 10th best free skate and 7th best total score of the season.

Risa Shoji won the silver in Australia despite several under-rotation calls.  She increased her score by 10 points in Estonia to claim her second silver medal of the season.  She missed the podium in a heartbreaker last season and will be hungry for a medal this season.  She has the 6th best short program, 6th best free skate and 4th best total score of the season.

Vanessa Lam kicked off her season with a bronze medal finish in Australia and improved to gold in Austria with an 11 point increase in her score.  She is strongest in the free skate portion and if she can put herself into position with the short program she has a shot at the podium.  She has the 4th best free skate and 6th best total score of the season.  

Polina Korobeynikova placed 4th in Australia and improved to silver in Romania for her first career JGP medal and a 10 point improvement in her personal best.  She may be a little out of her depth in this field, but could capitalize on others errors.

Julia Lipnitskaia won gold in her JGP debut in Poland with impressive flexibility and jump content and set the standard again with her gold medal finish in Italy with an 11 point increase in her score.  She should easily win this event, barring any major complications.  She has the best short program, free skate and total score of the season.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Julia Lipnitskaia
Silver: Polina Shelepen
Bronze: Risa Shoji

Bios of the competitors in qualification order:
Julia Lipnitskaia, RUS: She won gold at her international debut in Poland and at JGP Italy.  Her personal best is 172.51.  She is 13 years old. 

Polina Shelepen, RUS: She placed 7th at Junior Worlds.  She won gold at JGP Latvia and JGP Romania.  She qualified for the JGPF last season and placed 5th.  Her personal best is 159.29.  She is 16 years old.

Vanessa Lam, USA: She won bronze at JGP Australia and gold at JGP Austria.  Her personal best is 156.58.  She is 16 years old.

Risa Shoji, JPN: She placed 5th at Junior Worlds.  She won silver at JGP Australia and JGP Estonia.  She qualified for the JGPF last season and placed 4th.  Her personal best is 157.83.  She is 15 years old.

Zijun Li, CHN: She placed 9th at the World Junior Championships.  She won the silver medal at JGP Latvia and JGP Austria.  She qualified for the JGPF last season and won bronze.  Her personal best is 156.40.  She is 14 years old.  

Polina Korobeynikova, RUS: She placed 4th at her international debut in Australia and won silver at JGP Romania.  Her personal best is 149.87.  She is 15 years old.

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