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

US Figure Skating Classic Free Dance Results

Place	Start No.	Name			Free Dance		Total Score
			Place	Score	Place	Score
1	6	Piper GILLES Paul POIRIER, CAN	3	55.98	1	90.92	146.90
2	8	Alexandra PAUL Mitchell ISLAM, CAN	4	55.86	2	87.90	143.76
3	9	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT Logan GIULIETTI-SCHMITT, USA	2	56.49	3	84.37	140.86
4	5	Madison CHOCK Evan BATES, USA	1	62.89	5	76.95	139.84
5	7	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY Dmitriy DUN, UKR	5	49.14	4	79.26	128.40
6	3	Anastasia CANNUSCIO Colin MCMANUS, USA	8	42.10	6	69.98	112.08
7	2	Danielle O'BRIEN Gregory MERRIMAN, AUS	7	42.97	7	67.65	110.62
8	4	Justyna PLUTOWSKA Peter GERBER, POL	9	41.99	8	64.50	106.49
9	1	Carter JONES Richard SHARPE, GBR	6	43.17	9	62.23	105.40

U.S. International Figure Skating Classic Short Dance Results

Place	Start No.	Name	Score
1	2	Madison CHOCK Evan BATES, USA	62.89
2	6	Lynn KRIENGKRAIRUT Logan GIULIETTE-SCHMITT, USA	56.49
3	5	Piper GILLES Paul POIRIER, CAN	55.98
4	1	Alexandra PAUL Mitchell ISLAM, CAN	55.86
5	9	Siobhan HEEKIN-CANEDY Dmitriy DUN, UKR	49.14
6	8	Carter JONES Richard SHARPE, GBR	43.17
7	7	Danielle O'BRIEN Gregory MERRIMAN, AUS	42.97
8	3	Anastasia CANNUSCIO Colin MCMANUS, USA	42.10
9	4	Justyna PLUTOWSKA Peter GERBER, POL	41.99

Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships

Thursday, July 26
  8:00am-  9:32am Junior Short Dance, Group A 
11:42am-  1:09pm Junior Short Dance, Group B
Ice Resurface
  1:24pm-  2:51pm Junior Short Dance, Group C
  6:06pm-  7:27pm Senior Short Dance, Group A
Ice Resurface
  7:42pm-  9:03pm Senior Short Dance, Group B

Friday, July 27
  9:31am-10:58am Junior Free Dance, Group A
11:47am-  1:19pm Junior Free Dance, Group B
  3:04pm-  4:36pm Junior Free Dance, Group
  7:36pm-  9:10pm Senior Free Dance, Group B

Competitors of note:

Senior

Aronow/Brubaker

A. Cannuscio/McManus

I. Cannuscio/Bramante
Chock/Bates
Gamelin/Gamelin
Hoptman/Filchenkov
Kriengkrairut/Giuletti-Schmitt
Olson/Hubbell

Bernardi/Mior, ITA
Heekin-Canedy/Dun, UKR
Oi/Mizutani, JPN
Orford/Williams, CAN
Paul/Islam, CAN

Junior

Aldridge/Eaton
Biechler/Dodge
Hawayek/Baker
Heritage/Fast
Lewis/Bye
McNamara/Carpenter
Miller/MacMillan
Moore/Klaber
Parsons/Parsons
Pogrebinsky/Gudis
Rosinski/Jaffe
Rutledge/Brooks
Siddon/Weiss

Aghai/Partanen, FIN
Bent/Mackeen, CAN
Bruser/Lum, CAN
Dalmer/Firus, CAN
Edwards/Pang, CAN
Hasegawa/Hasegawa, CAN

Four Continents Dance Preview

Davis and White have not lost a competition since Worlds in 2010.  They have defeated Virtue and Moir twice in the past year but not when both teams were healthy and skated clean.  Despite the winning streak, there are still many that doubt their place as the top team in ice dance.  They have not made many changes to their programs and have been able to refine their elements and continually improve their performances and their scores.  Their free dance is one of their best and perfectly suits both of their styles.  They perform it with ease despite the tremendous difficulty in the program.  They have the best short program, free skate and total score of the season.

Virtue and Moir also have a very suitable free skate that fits their style.  After a fall in their short dance at the Grand Prix Final cost them a shot at the title, they went back to the drawing board and revamped both of their programs.  Their nationals score was lower than their Grand Prix Final score, showing that their programs were still green.  They'll have to step it up if they want to beat Davis and White here and set themselves up to reclaim their World title.  They have the 2nd best short program, free skate and total score of the season.

Weaver and Poje have really come into their own this season, winning three silver medals on the Grand Prix and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.  Their free skate is especially moving filled with nice choreography, great lines and wonderfully performed.  They leave everything out on the ice in their performances and are aiming for a Worlds medal this season.  They have the 4th best short program, free skate and total score of the season.

The Shibutanis are the defending silver medalists at this event and the reigning World Bronze Medalists.  They won their first Grand Prix gold medal and qualified for their first Grand Prix Final.  However, they weren't satisfied with their Short Dance this season and went back to the drawing board, changing their music and choreography and working with ballroom dancer Corky Ballas to improve their technique.  They debuted the program at U.S. Nationals and this will be their first chance to get an impression from the international judges. They have the 6th best short program, free skate and total score of the season.

Hubbell/Donohue and Paul/Islam round out the North American contingent.  Hubbell and Donohue have been together for less than a year but are already showing impressive chemistry and unison.  Paul and Islam had a great Grand Prix debut in 2010 and were hailed as the next Virtue and Moir but have struggled with injuries since.

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

Bios of the competitors:
O'Brien/Merriman, AUS: They finished 9th at Four Continents last season.  They placed 12th in the preliminary round at Worlds.  Their personal best is 104.69.  She is 22 and he is 23.

Paul/Islam, CAN: They placed 8th at Skate America.  They are the 2010 World Junior Silver Medalists.  Their personal best is 138.16.  She is 20 and he is 22.

Virtue/Moir, CAN: They are the reigning World Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Skate Canada and Trophee Eric Bompard to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won silver.  They are the 2010 Olympic Champions, 2010 World Champions, 2008 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 183.34.  She is 22 and he is 24.

Weaver/Poje, CAN: They placed 4th at Four Continents last season.  They finished 5th at Worlds.  They won silver at Skate Canada, NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup 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 166.07.  She is 22 and he is 24.

Huang/Zheng, CHN: They finished 6th at Four Continents last season.  They placed 17th at Worlds.  They placed 5th at Cup of China and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  Their personal best is 130.29.  She is 25 and he is 24.

Yu/Wang, CHN: They placed 7th at Four Continents last season.  They finished 6th at Cup of China.  Their personal best is 125.75.  She is 25 and he is 25.

Mansour/Zhunussov, KAZ: They placed 14th at JGP Italy and 15th at JGP Estonia.  Their personal best is 81.69.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Bruhns/Van Natten, MEX:

Davis/White, USA: They are the reigning Four Continents Champions.  They are the reigning World Champions.  They won gold at Skate America and Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won gold.  They are the 2010 Olympic Silver Medalists, 2010 World Silver Medalists, 2009 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 26.

Hubbell/Donohue, USA: They placed 6th at Skate America.  Their personal best is 131.04.  She is 19 and he is 20.

Shibutani/Shibutani, USA: They are the reigning Four Continents Silver Medalists.  They are the reigning World Bronze Medalists.  They won silver at Cup of China and gold at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they placed 5th.  They are the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalists.  Their personal best is 163.79.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Nagornyuk/Kovalenko, UZB: They placed 8th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Estonia.  Their personal best is 114.98.  She is 16 and he is 20.

Skate America Dance Preview

Davis and White are the reigning World Champions and won every event they entered last season.  They have amazing lifts, clean technique and invest completely in their performances.  In their exhibition performances this off season they have shown increased speed and improved lines.  They recently scrapped their free dance and will be competing their new program for the first time here.  I don't expect them to be at their Worlds caliber here but I don't think it will take long to get the new program up to speed.

Pechalat and Bourzat had a great season last year winning silver at the Grand Prix Final and taking their first European title.  They barely missed the Worlds podium after a disappointing fall in their free dance.  They also changed coaches in the off-season and this will be first look at how their coaches are packaging them..  They start their road to redemption  here and will be looking to close in on Davis and White.

Paul and Islam impressed in their first Grand Prix event last season, showcasing an elegant style and their resemblance to Virtue and Moir.  They withdrew from their second event due to injury and didn't compete internationally for the rest of the season.  They have set a goal of being in the top 3 at Canadian nationals this season and making the World team.  They've had a lot of time to improve but also a lot of time for the reputation to grow.

Also in the hunt are Hubbell/Donohue and Zhiganshina/Gazsi.  Hubbell and Donohue are in their first season together and won gold at their first international event, the Nebelhorn Trophy.  Zhiganshina and Gazsi finished just behind them but went on to win Finlandia Trophy.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Davis/White
Silver: Pechalat/Bourzat
Bronze: Paul/Islam

Bios of the competitors:
Paul/Islam, CAN: They finished 4th at Skate Canada last season.  They are the 2010 World Junior silver medalists. Their personal best is 138.16.  She is 20 and he is 20.

Ralph/Hill, CAN: They finished 7th at Cup of China and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  Their personal best is 121.39.  She is 19 and he is 20.

Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA: They finished 4th at Worlds and are the reigning European Champions.  They won gold at Cup of China and Trophee Eric Bompard last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won silver.  Their personal best is 167.40.  She is 27 and he is 31.

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

Tobias/Stagniunas, LTU: They finished 14th at Worlds and 12th at Europeans. Their personal best is 131.01. She is 20 and he is 26.

Cannuscio/Lorello, USA: They finished 10th at Cup of China and 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  Their personal best is 116.60.  She is 20 and he is 21.

Davis/White, USA: They are the reigning World and Four Continents Champions.  They won gold at NHK Trophy and Skate America last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won gold.  They are the 2010 Olympic silver medalists; 2010 World silver medalists; 2009 Four Continents Champions; 2008 Four Continents silver medalists; and 2006 World Junior bronze medalists.  Their personal best is 185.27.  She is 24 and he is 23.

Hubbell/Donohue, USA: This is their first season together.  She is the 2010 Four Continents bronze medalist with her brother.  She is 20 and he is 20.

Canadian Off-Season News

Junior National Champion Nam Nguyen will turn 13 in May and will skate on the JGP this fall.

Jessica Dube has teamed up with Sebastian Wolfe and will compete in pairs this season.

According to this article, Bryce Davison is still waiting to be cleared by doctors to skate and it is unclear whether he will be able to fully rehabilitate to compete at his previous level.

Duhamel and Radford have already completed their routines for next season and will take June off for vacation.

Ice dancers Paul and Islam have set a goal to be in the top 2 at Canadian Nationals this season.

Joey Russell who competed at Worlds has announced his retirement.

Jeremy Ten has broke his left foot and will likely be out for part of the season.

Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier, National Ice Dance Champions, have split.

Lawrence and Swiegers will debut their programs at the Indy Pairs Challenge.

Canadian Nationals: Free Dance

1. Crone/Poirier: 50.08 TES + 48.33 PCS = 98.41
1. They executed a Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Serpentine Lift, Level 3 Serpentine Step Sequence and Level 4 Rotational Lift with all positive GOEs.
2. Weaver/Poje: 50.83 TES + 46.71 PCS = 97.54
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Diagonal Step Sequence, and Level 4 Rotational Lift with all positive GOEs.
3. Paul/Islam: 48.67 TES + 43.66 PCS = 92.33
1. They executed a Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Spins, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 4 Curve Lift with all positive GOEs.
4. Ralph/Hill: 45.49 TES + 40.81 PCS = 86.30
1. They executed a Level 4 Spin, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Reverse Rotational Lift, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Stationary Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence and Level 4 Straight Line Lift with all positive GOEs.
5. Harvey/Gagnon: 41.58 TES + 39.03 PCS = 80.61
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 1 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Dance Spins, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 4 Curve Lift with no negative GOEs.
6. Arnold/Trojek: 43.16 TES + 35.43 PCS = 78.59
1. They executed a Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 3 Rotational Lift with no negative GOEs.
7. Dupont/Connolly: 39.17 TES + 28.17 PCS = 67.34
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Dance Spins, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 2 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Curve Lift and Level 4 Rotational Lift with only one negative GOE.
8. Arrotta/Nickel: 34.34 TES + 29.61 PCS -2.00  = 61.95
1. They executed a Level 4 Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Curve Lift, and Level 2 Curve Lift with only one negative GOE.  They received no credit for their twizzles
9. Letourneau/Boczar: 34.07 TES + 27.28 PCS = 61.35
1. They executed a Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 1 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Combination Lift, Level 3 Dance Spins and Level 2 Diagonal Step Sequence with three positive GOEs.
10. Bissonnette/Chatham: 26.74 TES + 22.84 PCS = 49.58
1. They executed a Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 1 Circular Step Sequence, Level 2 Dance Spin, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 1 Diagonal Step Sequence, and a Combination Lift with Level 4 and Level 1 sections with no positive GOEs.

Total Scores:

1. Crone/Poirier: 164.21
2. Weaver/Poje: 163.18
3. Paul/Islam: 153.90
4. Ralph/Hill: 143.57
5. Harvey/Gagnon: 135.95
6. Arnold/Trojek: 125.72
7. Arrotta/Nickel: 108.93
8. Dupont/Connolly: 108.66
9. Letourneau/Boczar: 100.91
10. Bissonnette/Chatham: 83.80

Canadian Nationals: Dance Preview

Canada has 3 spots at 4 Continents and 3 spots at the World Championships.

NOTE: Virtue and Moir announced on January 17th that they will not compete at nationals.  They still plan to compete at Four Continents and Worlds. 
If Virtue and Moir do decide to compete, I don't think they'll have any problem taking gold here.  Crone and Poirier haven't been able to come close to Davis and White's scores and Virtue/Moir had a 40 point lead over Crone/Poirier at nationals last season.  I don't expect the gap to be that big this year, but even out of shape I think they'll win.  They are very genuine in their performances and their program components alone should keep them ahead.

I'm not crazy about Crone/Poiriers short dance but they've been receiving acclaim for their free dance this season.  They won two Grand Prix medals and won a medal at the Grand Prix Final for the first time.  There will be a battle for the silver medal, but I think they have the edge based on their results this season.

Weaver and Poje are one of my favorite teams and I adore their short dance.  There seems to be something off about their free dance and while it's entertaining, it doesn't seem to suit them as well as their elegant short dance.  I think they can pull off the upset and beat Crone and Poirier if they've worked on their free dance.  I think they're also hungry to pull off the upset, having lost out on going to the Olympics by only .30 last season.

Ralph/Hill and Paul/Islam will likely battle it out for 4th place.  Ralph and Hill have some decent programs but still come off a bit junior.  I think the edge goes to Paul and Islam.  They've been called Virtue and Moir 2.0 and their free dance is enchanting.  While I like their short dance, the judges don't seem to and they had a disastrous outing at their second Grand Prix and had to withdraw due to injury.  If they're back to top form, they should finish 4th here.

The teams:

Dupont/Connolly: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Challenge.

Letourneau/Boczar: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Challenge.  They finished 13th at nationals last season.

Bissonnette/Chatham: They qualified with a 5th place finish at Challenge.

Harvey/Gagnon: They finished 5th in their last international assignment at JGP Golden Lynx 2008.  They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Challenge.  They finished 6th at nationals last season. 

Arrotta/Nickel: They finished 4th as juniors at nationals last season.

Paul/Islam: They are the reigning World Junior silver medalists.  They finished 4th at Skate Canada and withdrew from Cup of Russia.  They are the reigning junior national champions.

Arnold/Trojek: They finished 7th at Skate Canada.  They finished 10th at nationals last season.

Ralph/Hill: Ralph and Hill placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships.  They finished 7th at Cup of China and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the 2008 junior national champions.  They qualified with a 1st place finish at Challenge.  Their best finish at nationals was last season when they placed 4th.

Weaver/Poje: Weaver and Poje are the reigning Four Continents champions.  They are the 2007 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  They finished 5th at the Grand Prix Final after winning silver at NHK Trophy and finishing 4th at Skate America.  They are the 2007, 2009 and 2010 national bronze medalists and 2008 national silver medalists.

Crone/Poirier: They finished 14th at the Olympics and 7th at the World Championships.  They won bronze at the Grand Prix Final after winning gold at Skate Canada and silver at Skate America.  They are the 2007 junior national champions.  They are the 2009 and 2010 national silver medalists.

Virtue/Moir: Virtue and Moir are the reigning Olympic and World Champions.  They sat out the Grand Prix season due to injury.  They are the 2006 World Junior Champions.  They are the 2006 and 2007 Four Continents Bronze medalists, 2009 silver medalists, and 2008 champions.  They are the 2009 World Bronze medalists and 2008 silver medalists.  They are the 2004 national junior champions, 2006 national bronze medalists and 2007 national silver medalists.  They are competing for their 4th consecutive national title.

Rostelecom Dance Preview

Faiella and Scali started their season with a disappointing 3rd place finish at Cup of China after troubles with her skirt in both of their programs.  If they can get these issues sorted out, they should be able to pull off the gold medal here.  Bobrova and Soloviev won their first career Grand Prix medal at Cup of China and if they can repeat their scores here they should easily be able to land on the podium again.  Paul and Islam stole the show at Skate Canda with their captivating free dance and are already being called Virtue/Moir 2.0.  If this young Canadian team can bring up their short dance scores, they should be able to land on the podium as well.  Ilinykh/Katsalapov and Hoffman/Zavozin are also in the mix and could medal if they capitalize on errors made by other teams.  The Hubbells had a disastrous showing at their first Grand Prix and have one of the lowest scores at this competition.  They need a strong showing here to have a shot at the podium at U.S. Nationals.

My podium predictions are:
Gold: Faiella/Scali
Silver: Bobrova/Soloviev
Bronze: Paul/Islam

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Faiella/Scali
B) Paul/Islam
C) Hubbell/Hubbell

Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam, CAN: They are the reigning World Junior silver medalists.  They finished 4th and 5th at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments last year.  They finished 4th in their Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Lucie Mysliveckova/Matej Novak, CZE: They finished 16th at Worlds.  They finished 7th and 9th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at NHK Trophy earlier this season. 

Nora Hoffman, Maxim Zavozin, HUN: Hoffman and Zavozin placed 13th at the Olympics and 10th at the World and European Championships.  Zavozin used to compete for USA and won the World Junior title in 2005.  They finished 4th in their Grand Prix debut at Cup of China. 

Frederica Faiella/Massimo Scali, ITA: Faiella and Scali placed 5th at the Olympics and won bronze at the World Championships and silver at Europeans.  They won silver at their lone Grand Prix, Cup of China, last season.  They won bronze at Cup of China earlier this season.

Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, RUS: They placed 15th at the Olympics, 8th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans.  They are the 2007 World Junior Champions.  They placed 4th at both of their Grand Prix assignments last season.  They won silver at Cup of China earlier this season. 

Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov, RUS: They are the 2008 World Junior bronze medalists.  They finished 7th at both their Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at Skate Canada earlier this season.

Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov, RUS: They are the reigning World Junior champions.  They won both of the Junior Grand Prix assignments last season to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they won the silver medal.  They placed 4th at their Grand Prix debut at NHK Trophy.

Madison Hubbell/Keifer Hubbell, USA: They won bronze at Four Continents.  They finished 8th and 6th at their two Grand Prix assignments last season.  They finished 6th at Cup of China earlier this season.