U.S. Nationals: Novice Pairs Short Program

Liu/Perini: 38.83 and into 1st place

Middleton/Hennings: 27.07 and into 2nd place

LoRusso/Habeeb: 18.07 and into 3rd place

Viola/Johnson: 21.89 TES + 28.59 PCS = 33.82 and into 2nd place

• Opened with a nice double twist with her arms over the head but a little crashy on the landing
• Nice lift with a good stretched out air positions but she could have more arch in her back
• Nicely timed side by side triples with nice flair on the landing
• Throw double loop--she was really forward on her toe in the landing but holds on
• Really nice death spiral position with good speed
• I like their relationship to each other on the ice in the step sequence and how they move around each other
• Good positions in the pairs spin with a nice exit but a loss of speed at the end
• Decent attack for a tango from a novice team

Klopstock/Phillips: 16.32 TES + 24.88 PCS = 27.60 and into 3rd place

• She is 15 and he is 20 and they are skating to Pink Panther
• They really held on to the landings of their side by side triples
• Double twist was completely vertical as opposed to the horizontal twist you'll see from top teams
• She two footed the landing of their throw double
• They both could use some more stretch through their positions in the pair spin and better flow out of the element
• Nice secure entry in to the lift but it looked like a bit of a struggle getting it down
• They started their step sequence in the middle of the rink so they really limited themselves to the number of steps they could do for a level
• Good death spiral but a bit of an awkward exit

Zaitsev/Utah Stevens: 33.90 and into 2nd place

• She is 13 and he is 18 and they are skating to Chardash
• Nice entry to the lift and I really like her carriage, including her head position
• Nice throw double loop, very speedy with a solid landing
• Really nice double twist with the arms over the head, fast rotation and a clean catch
• A little bit of trouble on the side by side jumps but they land them
• Really nice death spiral position for her with a change of hold for him
• Good speed and timing with the music in this step sequence and I like how close they are to each other throughout the first half
• I'd like to see more expression from them since all their elements are so nice
• Good speed through the pair spin with nice stretched out positions
• Really solid skate

Shaughnessy/Morgan: 24.97 TES + 30.28 PCS = 37.02 and into 2nd place

• An internet glitch made me miss the beginning
• She needs to have more arch in her back in the lift, but they have nice entry and exit and good speed
• Good solo triple from her, a little bobble from him
• She has really nice expression on the ice throughout this step sequence and they have some nice arm nuances
• Very nice position in this pairs spin with a great relationship between the two of them
• Not a lot of height in the double twist but a mostly clean catch
• I really like all the transitions and choreographic details in their program
• She could use more arch through this death spiral and they lose a lot of speed after the change of hold

Smith/Evans: 18.06 TES + 24.60 PCS = 27.91 and into 5th place

• She is 18 and he is 20 and they are skating to Music of the Night
• Nice speed through their pairs spin but they really need to work on extending through their positions
• Throw double loop had hesitation before the takeoff and she puts a hand down
• Their double twist was completely vertical
• She falls on their side by side toes
• I'd like to see them really power through this step sequence
• Nice entry to the left but she really needs to stretch through the split position
• Good death spiral position with nice speed and a change of hold with a nice exit

Donahoe/Rappold: 12.12 TES + 18.90 PCS = 20.78 and into 8th place

• She is 18 and he is 24 and they are skating to Legends of the Fall
• Really nice entry to the hip lift with a good split position but it seems a little bobbly in places
• Nice speed through the pairs spin but a really awkward change of direction with complete loss of speed
• Really awkward entry into their throw double with a low takeoff
• She two foots the landing of their side by side jumps
• Single twist--she doesn't even leave his hands and is completely vertical
• They don't really seem to be skating to their music at all through the step sequence
• Good death spiral position but sort on an awkward exit 
• They finished about 4 beats before their music ended

Fields/Pacini: 26.70 TES + 30.21 PCS = 38.13 and into 2nd place

• She is 16 and he is 22 and they are skating to The Filk Machine
• Great expression and personality right from the beginning of their program
• Nice double twist with a clean catch and the arms over the head
• Really nice throw double axel with a clean landing
• Great speed going into their side by side jumps and although they were close to the boards, they nailed it
• Really nice position in the overhead lift with a one arm exit
• Good speed and positions through the pairs spin, but a bit of an awkward transition on the change of direction and out of the element
• They keep a really close distance between each other in the step sequence with great unison
• Nice death spiral position but they could use a little bit more speed
• Really nice skate

Thomas/Fu: 6.22 TES + 15.34 PCS -2.00 = 13.11 and into 11th place

• Interesting backwards lift but he drops her on her head.  It looks like she's ok though and they're still going
• Single twist and she doesn't get any height
• Good side by side jumps
• She is laying completely flat on the ice in the death spiral
• She looks terrified going into the throw double salchow and never closes in her air position and really struggles to land it
• Not a lot of speed in the step sequence and a lot of bobbles
• Some bad posture in their pairs spin
• They finished well before their music

Xu/Przepioski: 14.08 TES + 17.92 PCS -2.00 = 20.10 and into 10th place

• She is 13 and he is 21 and they are skating to Zorba's Dance
• She falls on their side by side jumps
• Good death spiral position but they only do one rotation
• She looks a little terrified out there
• Double twist but he almost doesn't catch her and her feet hit the ice
• Through the legs and into the overhead lift and now a big smile from her!
• She falls on the throw double loop but he doesn't give her much to work with as the throw doesn't go anywhere
• She seems like she's trying to keep up with him the whole time in the step sequence and he bobbled on a twizzle

Place	Start No.	Name	Score
1	1	Chelsea Liu, Broadmoor SC Devin Perini, Los Angeles FSC	38.83
2	10	Caitlin Fields, Coyotes SC of AZ Jason Pacini, Fort Collins FSC	38.13
3	7	Alexandria Shaughnessy, SC Of Boston James Morgan, SC Of Boston	37.02
4	6	Christina Zaitsev, IN World Sk Acad FSC Ernie Utah Stevens, IN World Sk Acad FSC	33.90
5	4	Danielle Viola, WA FSC Alexander Johnson, Broadmoor SC	33.82
6	8	Allison Smith, Dallas FSC Anthony Evans, Stars FSC of TX	27.91
7	5	Hannah Klopstock, Orange County FSC Chadwick Phillips, Los Angeles FSC	27.60
8	2	Elise Middleton, Los Angeles FSC Robert Hennings, Los Angeles FSC	27.07
9	9	Alexis Donahoe, Charleston FSC James Rappold, Charleston FSC	20.78
10	12	Nancy Xu, Peninsula SC Robert Przepioski, Peninsula SC	20.10
11	3	Victoria LoRusso, SC Of Boston Timothy Habeeb, Colonial FSC	18.07
12	11	Lianna Thomas, SC of NY Gene Fu, SC of NY	13.11

U.S. Nationals Novice Pairs Preview

The novice pairs event often shows deep inequalities in the field.  The technical requirements range from singles to doubles or triples and that can greatly affect the scores.  Some teams will be doing single twists while others will be attempting doubles.  Some teams can only manage single throws while others are working on their doubles.  A lot of these teams are also very young and in new partnerships and learning pairs for the first time. 


Top teams will be smarter about their programs.  Novice competitors are only allowed a throw double in their short program, so they may attempt a throw double axel to maximize their points.  They'll also be more secure in their lifts and be able to attempt one handed holds and changes of position.  This will really set them apart from the teams that are just moving up to the novice level.


Three teams are returning to the novice level this season and that experience and time together should help them stay on top of the pack.


Fields and Pacini are the reigning Novice Pewter medalists.  They won their sectional by 12 points and set themselves up as favorites in this event.  Shaughnessy and Morgan finished right behind Fields and Pacini at last years nationals and won their sectional event by nearly 40 points.  Liu and Perini won the silver medal at last years nationals and caught the attention of many with her tiny size and big attitude.  She was so small that they had difficulty keeping her on the ice in the pair spin as the momentum lifted her up in the air.  As she gets older and grows, they'll have to readjust their technique as elements that were simple before will become more challenging.


A new team on the scene that impressed at sectionals is Viola and Johnson.  Alexander Johnson is a seasoned singles competitor, competing nationally at the senior level and internationally as a junior.  


My podium predictions:
Gold: Fields/Pacini
Silver: Shaughnessy/Morgan
Bronze: Viola/Johnson
Pewter: Liu/Perini


Bios of the competitors:
Alexis Donahoe/James Rappold: They won the pewter medal at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Victoria LoRusso/Timothy Habeeb: They won silver at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Alexandria Shaughnessy/James Morgan: They represent the Skating Club of Boston.  They finished 5th in Novice in 2011.  They won gold at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Lianna Thomas/Gene Fu: She is 16 and he is 18.  They won bronze at Eastern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Caitlin Fields/Jason Pacini: She is 16 and he is 21.  She represents the Coyote Skating Club of Arizona and he represents the Fort Collins Figure Skating Club.  They are the reigning Novice Pewter Medalists.  They won gold at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Allison Smith/Anthony Evans: She represents the Dallas Figure Skating Club and he represents the Stars Figure Skating Club of Texas.  They won the pewter medal at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Danielle Viola/Alexander Johnson: She represents the Washington Figure Skating Club and he represents the Broadmoor Skating Club.  They won silver at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Christina Zaitsev/Ernie Utah Stevens: She is 13 years old.  They represent the Indiana/World Figure Skating Club.  They are the 2010 Juvenile Champions and the 2011 Intermediate Pewter Medalists.  They won bronze at Midwestern Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Hannah Klopstock/Chadwick Phillips: They won the bronze medal at Pacific Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Chelsea Liu/Devin Perini: She is 12 and he is 18.  She represents the Broadmoor Skating Club and he represents the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club.  They are the reigning Novice Silver Medalists.  They won gold at Pacific Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Elise Middleton/Robert Hennings:   She is 11 and he is 14.  They are the 2010 Juvenile Pairs Bronze Medalists and 2011 Intermediate Champions.  They won silver at Pacific Sectionals to qualify for nationals.


Nancy Xu/Robert Przepioski: They represent the Peninsula Skating Club.  They won the pewter medal at Pacific Sectionals to qualify for nationals.