US Nationals Novice Pairs Free Skate Results

Place	Start No.	Name	Short Program		Free Skate		Total Score
			Place	Score	Place	Score
1	12	Christina Zaitsev, Indiana World Sk Acad FSC Ernie Utah Stevens, Indiana World Sk Acad FSC	2	35.21	1	88.09	123.30
2	13	Kaitlin Budd, Detroit SC Nikita Cheban, Washington FSC	1	36.42	2	78.29	114.71
3	10	Elise Middleton, Los Angeles FSC Robert Hennings, Los Angeles FSC	3	33.74	3	76.11	109.85
4	11	Aya Takai, Detroit SC Brian Johnson, Detroit SC	4	32.32	4	70.39	102.71
5	8	Sophia Dai, Arctic FSC Jeffrey Fishman, Arctic FSC	5	30.89	5	69.73	100.62
6	9	Grace Knoop, Southwest Florida FSC Noah Chinault, Southwest Florida FSC	6	26.64	6	63.79	90.43
7	4	Riley Herr, Silver Blades FSC Inc of Greater KC Michael Lueck, Yarmouth Ice Club	8	25.68	7	61.74	87.42
8	5	Madeleine Gallagher, Sk8 Bay FSC Jonathon Horton, Detroit SC	10	25.38	8	60.69	86.07
9	6	Kristen Jennings, Fort Wayne ISC Cody Dolkiewicz, SC Of Southern New Jersey	9	25.68	9	55.14	80.82
10	7	Lianna Thomas, SC of New York David Botero, All Year FSC	7	26.18	11	48.65	74.83
11	3	Juliette Erickson, Peninsula SC Connor Fleming, Peninsula SC	11	20.35	10	49.22	69.57
12	2	Nicole Lee, SC Of Boston Timothy Habeeb, Colonial FSC	13	17.73	12	47.88	65.61
13	1	Alexis Donahoe, SC Of Central Ohio James Rappold, Charleston FSC	12	17.80	13	47.38	65.18

US Nationals Novice Free Dance Results

Place	Start No.	Name	Previous		Free Dance		Total Score
			Place	Score	Place	Score
1	12	Chloe Rose Lewis, All Year FSC Logan Bye, SC of New York	2	41.25	1	61.64	102.89
2	10	Tory Patsis, Skokie Valley SC Joseph Johnson, Broadmoor SC	1	43.73	2	56.69	100.42
3	11	Sammi Wren, Philadelphia SC & HS Alexey Shchepetov, Philadelphia SC & HS	4	40.29	3	55.08	95.37
4	9	Gigi Becker, Washington FSC Luca Becker, Washington FSC	3	40.94	4	54.32	95.26
5	5	Katherine Gourianova, Washington FSC Alexander Petrov, Hershey FSC	6	38.37	6	50.18	88.55
6	7	Rebecca Lucas, Triangle FSC Yan Kazansky, Columbia FSC (MD)	7	37.56	7	49.83	87.39
7	1	Sierra Chadwick, Detroit SC Alexander Martin, Detroit SC	9	35.59	5	50.51	86.10
8	6	Sarah Feng, Peninsula SC Anthony Ponomarenko, SC of San Francisco	5	38.70	10	46.30	85.00
9	8	Lauren Leonesio, Los Angeles FSC Quinn Chambers, Colorado College SC	8	37.47	9	46.42	83.89
10	4	Kimberly Berkovich, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights Micah Jaffe, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights	10	35.01	8	48.85	83.86
11	2	Ashlyn Gaughan, Broadmoor SC Cody Lithco, Lilac City FSC	12	26.03	11	38.89	64.92
12	3	Vivian Luo, Pasadena FSC Darrell Cheung, Pasadena FSC	11	28.69	12	35.89	64.58

US Nationals Novice Pairs Short Program

Group 1
Budd/Cheban: TES + PCS = 36.42
Donahoe/Rappold:  TES + PCS = 17.80
Takai/Johnson:  TES + PCS = 32.32

Group 2
Thomas/Botero:  14.60 TES + 24.48 PCS = 26.18 and into 3rd place

• They are an older team so it's nice to see them going for a more mature bluesy program
• Her legs are really far in front of her in the straddle position in the lift but nice and secure and a good set down
• Really low and slow rotating single twist with a messy catch
• Hands down on the throw double salchow
• A little far apart on the side by side jumps and a bit messy
• Good low death spiral position but she could use more arch in her back
• Nice speed on their side by side spins but they could be closer together and have more unison through the middle
• Nice crossing pattern on their footwork but it looked like she bobbled a bit in the middle; he's really selling the program here
• I think they have a good chemistry on the ice and just need a bit more time together as a team to clean up their technical elements

Gallagher/Horton:  15.51 TES + 22.37 PCS = 25.38 and into 4th place

• Good double twist with her arms over her head, clean catch and right on the music
• Nice throw double salchow but not a lot of distance
• She could be lower on the death spiral and have more arch in her back
• Nice distance between them on their side by side spins, good speed and decent unison
• Nice backwards press lift with a twist exit but I'd like to see a bit more stretch from her position
• She stumbled a bit on the side by side flips
• I feel like this Fever program does not really suit them very well as they're not pulling off the sultry vibe this program calls for but their elements have been nice

Dai/Fishman:  20.91 TES + 25.20 PCS = 30.89 and into 3rd place

• From her costume to her hair you could tell immediately the program was Addams Family
• Big effort to get her up in the twist but not a lot of height
• Nice side by side double flips
• Good air position for her with nice stretch in the lift through the change of position
• Good distance, nice speed and unison on their side by spins and I especially liked their twisted sit position
• Tiny throw double salchow but she lands it cleanly
• Entertaining content in their step sequence but it could have a bit more power and speed
• Spiral entry into a really nice death spiral

Group 3
Zaitsev/Utah Stevens:  20.85 TES + 31.70 PCS = 35.21 and into 2nd place

• Nice high double twist with her hands over her head and a clean catch
• Side by side double flips were nice
• Good air position for her with nice rotation and a one arm hold
• Big throw double salchow with a good clean landing
• A little off in the unison on their side by spins but excellent flexibility in their upright spin
• Their JGP experience has really paid off as they look fast, clean and much more polished than the other teams
• A little off in places on the step sequence but good relationship to each other on the ice and nice twizzles in the middle
• Great spiral into a nice death spiral with a great exit out of it

Lee/Habeeb:  7.77 TES + 18.70 PCS = 17.73 and into 8th place

• She could use more arch in her back and more stretch through her legs in the press lift 
• They won't receive credit for the death spiral because her head never reached the level of her knee
• Single twist and she was completely vertical, no height
• Good side by side double flips
• Small double salchow and two footed landing

Erickson/Fleming:  12.25 TES + 18.12 PCS = 20.35 and into 7th place

• Completely vertical twist, she two foots the landing and no clean catch
• They rotate different directions and have an interesting way of lining up their spins; great unison and their spacing gives them a cute moment at the end where they stop and look at each other
• A lot of hesitation into the throw double salchow and she two-foots the landing
• Ok double flips for their solo jumps
• Nice distance between them on the step sequence but very slow and no power
• Ok death spiral but I'd like to see a nicer arabesque position from her on the exit
• Good entry to their press lift with a change in rotation but she starts to lose her air position before the lift is over.

Group 4
Jennings/Dolkiewicz:  14.64 TES + 23.69 PCS = 25.68 and into 6th place

• Nice throw double salchow right on the music
• Nice entry into the press lift with a decent position from her and a good change of position
• He really has great carriage on the ice and performance skills
• Nice solo double flips
• Vertical double twist with a crashy landing
• He lets his free leg drift in the camel spin and they are slightly off unison on their side by side spins
• Really nice arch position from her on the death spiral

Knoop/Chinault:  15.20 TES + 24.56 PCS = 26.64 and into 5th place

• Nice entry to the press lift with good stretched position for her and nice change of position to a stomach hold with her in a catch foot
• Vertical on the double twist and a bit of a two foot landing
• Good side by side double flips
• She could be lower on the death spiral and I'm not 100% sure she was low enough to get credit
• Nice choreography in the program and they are really performing it
• Throw salchow didn't have a lot of distance but she landed it
• A little far apart and slightly off on their side by side spins
• Very enjoyable program and they are a young team so they have lots of room to grow together

Herr/Leuck:  15.10 TES + 23.23 PCS = 25.68 and into 7th place

• They started with excellent timing on their side by side spins but were very off by the end
• She could stretch more through her legs in the lift but great exit into a dance lift
• Decent throw double salchow and she hangs on to it after a slightly wonky position in the air
• He singles the side by side flips
• She seems a little stiff in the footwork and I'd like to see her relax into the music
• Vertical double twist with a crash landing
• Less than one rotation on the death spiral and she doesn't get her head below her knee so it likely won't count

Middleton/Hennings:  19.41 TES + 30.95 PCS = 33.74 and into 3rd place

• At just 13 and 16 this team has lots of junior international eligibility ahead of them
• Nice double twist with a good clean catch
• Nice height on the throw double salchow and a good landing
• He singles the side by side flips
• Good speed on their side by side spins but she seems to be traveling close to him
• Nice spiral into a gorgeous death spiral with her head nearly touching the ice and a nice arched position
• Spiral into a good press lift with easy change of position but I'd like to see her really stretch through her bottom leg
• Nice step sequence that almost feels like an ice dance pattern and then good unison through the portion not skated in hold
• Very solid program

Place	Start No.	Name	Score
1	1	Kaitlin Budd, Detroit SC Nikita Cheban, Washington FSC	36.42
2	7	Christina Zaitsev, Indiana World Sk Acad FSC Ernie Utah Stevens, Indiana World Sk Acad FSC	35.21
3	13	Elise Middleton, Los Angeles FSC Robert Hennings, Los Angeles FSC	33.74
4	3	Aya Takai, Detroit SC Brian Johnson, Detroit SC	32.32
5	6	Sophia Dai, Arctic FSC Jeffrey Fishman, Arctic FSC	30.89
6	11	Grace Knoop, Southwest Florida FSC Noah Chinault, Southwest Florida FSC	26.64
7	4	Lianna Thomas, SC of New York David Botero, All Year FSC	26.18
8	12	Riley Herr, Silver Blades FSC Inc of Greater KC Michael Lueck, Yarmouth Ice Club	25.68
9	10	Kristen Jennings, Fort Wayne ISC Cody Dolkiewicz, SC Of Southern New Jersey	25.68
10	5	Madeleine Gallagher, Sk8 Bay FSC Jonathon Horton, Detroit SC	25.38
11	9	Juliette Erickson, Peninsula SC Connor Fleming, Peninsula SC	20.35
12	2	Alexis Donahoe, SC Of Central Ohio James Rappold, Charleston FSC	17.80
13	8	Nicole Lee, SC Of Boston Timothy Habeeb, Colonial FSC	17.73

US Nationals Novice Pattern Dance Results

Place Start No. Name PD1 U.S. Starlight Waltz PD2 U.S. Paso Doble Total Score Place Score Place Score 1 12 Tory Patsis, Skokie Valley SC Joseph Johnson, Broadmoor SC 1 21.45 1 22.28 43.73 2 10 Chloe Lewis, All Year FSC Logan Bye, SC of New York 4 20.24 2 21.01 41.25 3 6 Gigi Becker, Washington FSC Luca Becker, Washington FSC 2 21.07 5 19.87 40.94 4 4 Sammi Wren, Philadelphia SC & HS Alexey Shchepetov, Philadelphia SC & HS 3 20.40 4 19.89 40.29 5 9 Sarah Feng, Peninsula SC Anthony Ponomarenko, SC of San Francisco 5 20.07 8 18.63 38.70 6 11 Katherine Gourianova, Washington FSC Alexander Petrov, Hershey FSC 9 18.31 3 20.06 38.37 7 2 Rebecca Lucas, Triangle FSC Yan Kazansky, Columbia FSC (MD) 6 19.45 9 18.11 37.56 8 8 Lauren Leonesio, Los Angeles FSC Quinn Chambers, Colorado College SC 7 18.70 7 18.77 37.47 9 1 Sierra Chadwick, Detroit SC Alexander Martin, Detroit SC 10 16.39 6 19.20 35.59 10 3 Kimberly Berkovich, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights Micah Jaffe, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights 8 18.45 10 16.56 35.01 11 5 Vivian Luo, Pasadena FSC Darrell Cheung, Pasadena FSC 11 15.40 11 13.29 28.69 12 7 Ashlyn Gaughan, Broadmoor SC Cody Lithco, Lilac City FSC 12 12.76 12 13.27 26.03

US Nationals: Novice Dance Preview

This should be a very tight event with the novice pewter medalists along with the Intermediate Champions and the 3rd-5th place finishers.  The teams all scored within a few points of each other at Sectionals and with a new pattern dance being competed, it could be anyone's game.

Lewis and Bye have already had success at the novice level, winning the pewter medal at nationals last season.  They set the pace at sectionals scoring seven points higher than the rest of the competition.  They scored an impressive 25 points in the Blues Pattern Dance at sectionals, but that dance will not be competed at nationals.  They have some breathing room, but they'll want to bring up their Starlight Waltz score and score well on their Paso if they want to take home the gold medal.  They received a Level 4 on five of their six elements in the free dance at sectionals.  They'll be just old enough to compete internationally next season and a gold or silver will likely get them a spot on the JGP.

Chadwick and Martin were extremely consistent across their events placing in the top 2 or 3 for all segments of the competition.  Their Starlight Waltz was strong and on par with their Blues.  They also had three Level 4 elements as well as one Level 3 in their free skate at Sectionals.  They finished 8th at this event last season but this is their 5th consecutive nationals and that experience is likely to pay off.

Patsis and Johnson posted the highest Starlight Waltz score at Sectionals, giving them an advantage in the pattern dance.  However, they did not cross the 50 point mark in their free dance at Sectionals and only received a Level 1 on their Diagonal Step Sequence.  If they can pull up that level, they should have no problem making the podium.

The Becker siblings are a very young team but already have two nationals medals under their belt.  They also train alongside several of the top junior ice dance teams in the country.  They have a good Starlight Waltz score but struggled in the Blues at their sectional.  They'll need a good Paso Doble score to keep them in the hunt.  Their major weakness in their free dance at Sectionals was a Level 1 Circular Step Sequence which they could also improve to bring up their total score.

Feng and Ponomarenko are a very accomplished team.  She also qualified for nationals as a novice lady and the team are trained by his parents who are three time Olympic medalists in Ice Dance.  Their Cats free dance was the talk of sectionals but they received two Level 1 elements at that event.

Also in the hunt are Leonesio/Chambers, Gourianova/Petrov, Wren/Shchepetov and Berkovich/Jaffe.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Lewis/Bye
Silver: Patsis/Johnson
Bronze: Chadwick/Martin
Pewter: Becker/Becker

Bios of the competitors:
Becker/Becker: She is 10 and he is 12.  They represent the Washington Figure Skating Club.  They are the reigning Intermediate Champions and 2011 Juvenile Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 7th best pattern dance, 2nd best free dance and 4th best total scores.

Berkovich/Jaffe: They represent the Pavilion Skating Club of Cleveland Heights.  They are the reigning Intermediate Pewter Medalists and finished 5th in Juvenile in 2011.  They won bronze at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 4th best pattern dance, 10th best free dance and 9th best total scores.

Chadwick/Martin: She is 15 and he is 16.  They represent the Detroit Skating Club.  They are the 2010 Juvenile Bronze Medalists and the 2011 Intermediate Bronze Medalists.  They finished 8th in Juvenile in 2009 and 8th as novices in 2012.  They won gold at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 3rd best pattern dance, 3rd best free dance and 2nd best total scores.

Feng/Ponomarenko: She represents the Peninsula Skating Club and he represents the Skating  Club of San Francisco.  They finished 5th as intermediates in 2012 and are the 2011 Juvenile Bronze Medalists.  They won silver at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 8th best pattern dance, 5th best free dance and 5th best total scores.

Gaughan/Litcho: She is 17 and he is 20.  She represents the Broadmoor Skating Club and he represents the Lilac City Figure Skating Club.  They won pewter at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Gourianova/Petrov: She represents the Washington Figure Skating Club and he represents the Hershey Figure Skating Club.  They won silver at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 9th best pattern dance, 4th best free dance and 7th best total scores.

Leonesio/Chambers: She is 16 and he is 19.  She represents the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club and he represents the Colorado College Skating Club.  They won bronze at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals. They have the 6th best pattern dance, 7th best free dance and 6th best total scores.

Lewis/Bye: She is 12 and he is 14.  She represents the All Year Figure Skating Club and he represents the Skating Club of New York.  They are the reigning Novice Pewter Medalists and finished 6th in Intermediate in 2011.  They won gold at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the best pattern dance, free dance and total scores.

Lucas/Kazansky: She is 16 and he is 18.  She represents the Triangle Figure Skating Club and he represents the Columbia Figure Skating Club of Maryland.   They finished 10th as novices in 2012.  They won pewter at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 10th best pattern dance, 9th best free dance and 10th best total scores.

Luo/Cheung: They represent the Pasadena Figure Skating Club.  They finished 11th as Intermediates in 2012 and 7th as Juveniles in 2011.  They won pewter at Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify for nationals.

Patsis/Johnson: She represents the Skokie Valley Skating Club and he represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  They won silver at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 2nd best pattern dance, 6th best free dance and 3rd best total scores.

Wren/Shchepetov: They represent the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humanity Society.  They are the reigning Intermediate Bronze Medalists and the 2011 Juvenile Pewter Medalists.  They won bronze at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.  They have the 5th best pattern dance, 8th best free dance and 8th best total scores.

Eastern Sectionals Junior Pairs Results

Place	Start No.	Name	Short Program		Free Skate		Total Score
			Place	Score	Place	Score
1	5	Olivia Oltmanns, Yarmouth Ice Club Joshua Santillan, All Year FSC	1	42.01	1	78.41	120.42
2	6	Alexandria Shaughnessy, SC Of Boston James Morgan, SC Of Boston	2	41.45	2	75.31	116.76
3	4	Cali Fujimoto, Peninsula SC Nicholas Barsi-Rhyne, SC of Lake Placid	3	40.81	5	70.81	111.62
4	1	Caitlin Belt, University of Delaware FSC Michael Johnson, University of Delaware FSC	5	34.55	4	72.68	107.23
5	2	Brenna Doherty, University of Delaware FSC Craig Norris, St. Moritz ISC	6	32.06	3	72.98	105.04
6	3	Alyssa McDougal, Birmingham FSC Paul Schatz, Southwest Florida FSC	4	40.13	6	64.77	104.90
WD		Audrey Goldberg, SC Of Southern New Jersey Joseph Dolkiewicz, SC Of Southern New Jersey