Tuesday, August 28, 2012

JGP Lake Placid Schedule

All times are EST.  I've bolded the events I plan to cover live.

Thursday, August 30th
Men's Short Program 3:30-6:35pm
Pairs Short Program 7:15-9:30pm (at approx. 8:30pm)

Friday, August 31st
Short Dance 11:15am-1:30pm
Ladies Short Program: 2:00-6:15pm (at approx. 3pm)
Men's Free Skate: 6:45-10:15pm

Saturday, September 1st
Free Dance: 10:00am-12:20pm
Pairs Free Skate: 1:00-3:30pm
Ladies Free Skate: 4:00-8:40pm

JGP Lake Placid Dance Preview

Aldridge and Eaton took home two medals on the Junior Grand Prix last season and qualified for their first Junior Grand Prix Final where they just missed the podium.  After winning the U.S. Junior title they landed on the podium at the Junior World Championships.  They earned acclaim for their Lord of the Dance free skate last year and will try and replicate their success with a Fiddler on the Roof program.

Kosigina and Moroshkin lost ground among the Russian junior teams last season, dropping to 5th nationally and failing to make the Junior Worlds team despite their two medals on the JGP.  With such a deep field, they'll have to step it up this season if they want to be in the top 3 in Russia.

Bruser and Lum are a young Canadian team that did well at their lone assignment last season.  They placed 3rd as juniors at Canadian nationals.  Morozova and Zhirnov also did well at their only event last season but didn't reach the medal podium.

Pogrebinsky and Gudis are making their international debut at this event.  They placed 8th as juniors last season in the U.S. but have made improvements over the summer and defeated Aldridge and Eaton at a summer competition.  They're a dark horse for a medal at this event.

Bios of the competitors:
Gold: Aldridge/Eaton
Silver: Kosigina/Moroshkin
Bronze: Pogrebinsky/Gudis

Bios of the competitors:

Bruser/Lum, CAN: They placed 6th at JGP Poland last season.  Their personal best is 115.56.  She is 14 and he is 17.

Poulin/Servant, CAN: They placed 20th at Junior Worlds.  They finished 6th at JGP Latvia last season.  Their personal best is 118.00.  She is 17 and he is 21.

Allik/Bellantuono, EST: They finished 12th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She is 18 and he is 19.

Aghai/Partanen, FIN: They placed 16th at Junior Worlds.  They finished 6th at JGP Australia and 9th at JGP Estonia last season.  Their personal best is 107.84.  She is 17 and he is 21.

Tessari/Colafato, ITA: They placed 16th at JGP Poland and 15th at JGP Italy last season.  Their personal best is 88.95.  She is 16 and he is 17.

Kosigina/Moroshkin, RUS: They won silver at JGP Latvia and bronze at JGP Estonia last season.  Their personal best is 126.92.  She is 17 and he is 18.

Morozova/Zhirnov, RUS: They placed 5th at JGP Latvia last season.  Their personal best is 114.29.  She is 15 and he is 17.

Yermak/Khimich, UKR: This is their international debut.  She is 16 and he is 18.

Aldridge/Eaton, USA: They are the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalists.  They won bronze at JGP Latvia and silver at JGP Austria last season to qualify for the JGP Final where they finished 4th.  Their personal best is 141.14.  She is 18 and he is 20.

Heritage/Fast, USA: They placed 5th at JGP Australia last season.  Their personal best is 104.72.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Pogrebinsky/Gudis, USA: This is their international debut.  She is 14 and he is 17.

JGP Lake Placid Pairs Preview

This is a very talented field led by Davankova and Deputat, the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalists.  They did not compete on the JGP last season and made their debut at Junior Worlds.  They have all the classic Russian technique and should continue to improve with additional international competitions.

Denney and Frazier improved throughout the season and won the U.S. Junior title before finishing 4th, just 3 points behind the Russians, at Junior Worlds.  They have a lot of personality and confidence on the ice and train in Colorado Springs, one of the top pair locations in the U.S.  Haven's sister is the U.S. senior pairs champion.

Purdy and Marinaro won a medal on the JGP last season and placed 5th at Junior Worlds.  They are a good bet for the podium but will have to hit their programs if they want to challenge for a higher medal.  

Pfund and Reiss earned a trip to the International Challenge Cup last year after their 5th place showing at U.S. nationals.  They won that event and will be looking to add to their medal count here.  If they can repeat their showing from last season they have a good chance at landing on the podium.

Six of these teams are making their international debut and two additional teams are making their JGP debut.

My podium predictions: 
Gold: Davankova/Deputat
Silver: Denney/Frazier
Bronze: Purdy/Marinaro

Bios of the competitors:
Smyth/Dodds, AUS: This is their international debut.  She is 14 and he is 18.

Desjardins/Bilodeau, CAN: This is their international debut.  She is 15 and he is 19.

Purdy/Marinaro, CAN: They finished 5th at Junior Worlds.  They won bronze at JGP Latvia and  placed 10th at JGP Austria last season.  Their personal best is 141.76.  She is 17 and he is 20.

Rau/Simpson, CAN: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 16.

Prolls/Blommaert, GER: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 20.

Foresti/Sforza, ITA: This is their international debut.

Davankova/Deputat, RUS: They are the reigning Junior World Bronze Medalists.  This is their JGP debut.  Their personal best is 153.66.  She is 14 and he is 19.

Gainetdinova/Bich, RUS: They finished 11th at Junior Worlds.  This is their JGP debut.  Their personal best is 127.85.  She is 14 and he is 19.

Kuklina/Petukhov, RUS: This is their international debut.

Lavrentieva/Rudik, UKR: They placed 14th at Junior Worlds.  They finished 9th at JGP Poland and 12th at JGP Austria last season.  Their personal best is 110.03.  She is 15 and he is 20.

Aaron/Settlage, USA: They placed 5th at JGP Poland last season.  Their personal best is 118.51.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Denney/Frazier, USA: They placed 4th at Junior Worlds.  They finished 8th at JGP Latvia and 7th at JGP Austria last season.  Their personal best is 150.55.  She is 16 and he is 19.

Oltmanns/Santillan, USA: They finished 7th at JGP Latvia and 11th at JGP Austria last season.  Their personal best is 118.45.  She is 15 and he is 20.

Pfund/Reiss, USA: This is their JGP debut.  She is 14 and he is 20.

JGP Lake Placid Ladies Preview

Satoko Miyahara debuted on the JGP last season at just 13 years old and made a splash by winning the silver medal at JGP Poland.  She suffered with consistency and dropped to 5th in Italy and missed making the Final.  She rebounded to place 4th at Junior Worlds and with some of those skaters moving to the senior ranks, she has a great chance at the podium this season.

So Youn Park of Korea just missed the podium at JGP Italy and even placed ahead of Miyahara there.  She is also a young competitor on the circuit at 14 years old.  She has the chance to break out and snag a medal here.

Courtney Hicks is making her return to the JGP this season after suffering a season ending injury at her 2nd JGP event last season.  She reminded many people of Sasha Cohen when she won the US junior title in 2011 with her triple-triple combinations and flexibility.  In the last year she's been off the ice recovering from her injury and changed coaches.  This will be her first chance to show that she's regained the form that won her the gold medal at JGP Australia last season.

Kiri Baga is also returning to the JGP after a season away from international competition.  She has two golds and a silver on the JGP and has qualified for the JGPF and Junior Worlds once. She placed 10th as a senior at US nationals last season and is pulling double duty this year in singles and pairs.

Angela Wang last competed on the JGP in 2011 where she placed 4th.  She was not assigned any international competitions last season.  She impressed at U.S. nationals with her 8th place finish to earn a spot here.

You can never count the Russian ladies out and Evgenia Gerasimova will make her debut here after finishing 8th at Russian nationals ahead of international competitors Polina Shelepen and Sofia Biryukova.

My podium predictions: 
Gold: Satoko Miyahara
Silver: Courtney Hicks
Bronze: Angela Wang

Bios of the competitors:
Anhelina Bosko, ARG: This is her international debut.  She is 14 years old.

Brooklee Han, AUS: She placed 30th at Junior Worlds.  She finished 8th at JGP Australia and 13th at JGP Italy last season.  Her personal best is 115.49.  She is 17 years old.

Clara Baiwir, BEL: This is her JGP debut.  She is 17 years old.

Alaine Marie Chartrand, CAN: This is her international debut.

Corinna Lijun Lin, TPE: She placed 30th at JGP Latvia last season.  Her personal best is 68.75.  She is 17 years old.

Pernille Sorensen, DEN: She placed 13th at JGP Romania last season.  Her personal best is 100.21.  She is 14 years old.

Beata Papp, FIN: She finished 10th at JGP Austria last season.  Her personal best is 120.27. She is 17 years old.

Tsz Ying Crystal Chik, HKG: She placed 25th at JGP Italy last season.  Her personal best is 82.87.  She is 16 years old.

Deidre Faegre, IRL: She placed 31st at JGP Italy last season.  Her personal best is 52.53.  She is 18 years old.

Netta Scheiber, ISR: This is her international debut.  She is 14 years old.

Satoko Miyahara, JPN: She placed 4th at Junior Worlds.  She won silver at JGP Poland and placed 5th at JGP Italy.  Her personal best is 162.60.  She is 14 years old.

Kako Tomotaki, JPN: She placed 7th at JGP Austria last season.  Her personal best is 128.95.  She is 16 years old.

Raya M. Willoughby, MAS: Her personal best is 57.27.  She is 16 years old.

Madelaine Parker, NZL: She placed 31st in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She finished 19th at JGP Australia last season.  Her personal best is 82.84.  She is 16 years old.

Alisson Krystle Perticheto, PHI: This is her international debut.  She is 14 years old.

Ji Hyun Byun, KOR: This is her international debut.  She is 13 years old.

So Youn Park, KOR: She placed 6th at JGP Austria and 4th at JGP Italy last season.  Her personal best is 144.71.  She is 14 years old.

Evgenia Gerasimova, RUS: This is her international debut.

Brittany Lau, SIN: She finished 28th at Four Continents.  She placed 21st at JGP Poland last season.  Her personal best is 87.10.  She is 18 years old.

Nicole Rajicova, SVK: This is her JGP debut.  She is 17 years old.

Maria Taljegard, SWE: She placed 9th at JGP Latvia last season.  Her personal best is 117.48.  She is 17 years old.

Tina Stuerzinger, SUI: She finished 23rd at Junior Worlds.  She placed 10th at JGP Latvia and 12th at JGP Austria last season.  Her personal best is 116.02.  She is 16 years old.

Melanie Swang, THA: She placed 21st in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds and 20th at Four Continents.  Her personal best is 97.53.  She is 17 years old.

Kiri Baga, USA: Her personal best is 146.98.  She is 17 years old.

Courtney Hicks, USA: She won gold at JGP Australia last season.  Her personal best is 151.91.  She is 16 years old.

Angela Wang, USA: Her personal best is 132.70.  She is 16 years old.

Monday, August 27, 2012

JGP Lake Placid Men's Preview

Joshua Farris is the most experienced competitor in this event and is the reigning JGPF bronze medalist and Junior Worlds silver medalist.  He can easily score over 200 points and has a consistent triple axel and quad toe.  He contemplated going senior internationally this season but decided to stay junior and will be looking to improve upon last season and challenge Han Yan.

Keiji Tanaka won the silver medal at Junior Worlds in 2011 and won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix.  He failed to medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final and dropped to 7th at Junior Worlds.  He'll have to improve on his consistency if he wants to make it back to the Junior Worlds podium.

June Hyoung Lee of Korea did well on the Junior Grand Prix last season taking home one bronze medal and just missing the podium in his second event.  He fell to 18th at Junior Worlds but at just 14 years old, he has plenty of time to make his mark on the junior scene.

Vladislav Tarasenko of Russia finished 6th at his lone JGP event last season and has the chance to make the podium at this event.  Martin Rappe of Germany is another dark horse for the podium having finished just outside the top 10 at Junior Worlds last season.

Two American men are making their international debut after winning medals at nationals as novices last season.  Four other skaters are making their international debuts and five skaters are making their JGP debuts.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Joshua Farris
Silver: Keiji Tanaka
Bronze: June Hyoung Lee

Bios of the competitors:
Jordan Dodds, AUS: This is his JGP debut.   He is 18 years old.

Roman Sadovsky, CAN: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old.

Chih-I Tsao, TPE: He finished 23rd at Junior Worlds.  He placed 11th at JGP Australia last season.  His personal best is 133.24.  He is 14 years old.

Viktor Zubik, FIN: He placed 9th at JGP Estonia last season.  His personal best is 138.97.  He is 18 years old.

Martin Rappe, GER: He placed 11th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 7th at JGP Latvia and 6th at JGP Italy last season.  His personal best is 171.38.  He is 19 years old.

Jack Newberry, GBR: He placed 12th at JGP Estonia last season.  His personal best is 117.54.  He is 17 years old.

Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: He finished 27th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 25th at Four Continents.  He placed 19th at JGP Austria last season.  His personal best is 115.00.  He is 18 years old. 

Conor Stakelum, IRL: This is his international debut. 

Artem Tsoglin, ISR: This is his international debut.  He is 14 years old. 

Taichi Honda, JPN: This is his JGP debut.  He is 14 years old.

Keiji Tanaka, JPN: He placed 7th at Junior Worlds.  He won silver at JGP Australia and bronze at JGP Austria to qualify for the JGP Final last season where he finished 6th.  His personal best is 196.98.  He is 17 years old.

Bryan Christopher Tan, MAS: This is his JGP debut.  He is 15 years old.

Michael Christian Martinez, PHI: He placed 15th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 8th at JGP Australia last season.  His personal best is 165.10.  He is 15 years old.

June Hyoung Lee, KOR: He finished 18th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 4th at JGP Latvia and won bronze at JGP Italy last season.  His personal best is 176.48.  He is 14 years old.

Adian Pitkeev, RUS: This is his international debut.

Vladislav Tarasenko, RUS: He finished 6th at JGP Poland last season.  His personal best is 161.70.  He is 15 years old.

Sinthawachiwa Phiriyiphon, THA: He placed 21st at JGP Romania last season.  His personal best is 78.75.  He is 16 years old.

Yaroslav Paniot, UKR: This is his JGP debut.  He placed 9th at the Youth Olympic Games last season.  His personal best is 132.55.  He is 14 years old.

Joshua Farris, USA: He is the reigning Junior World Silver Medalist.  He won gold at JGP Poland and JGP Estonia last season to qualify for the JGP Final where won bronze.  His personal best is 221.97.  He is 17 years old.

Spencer Howe, USA: This is his international debut.

James Schetelich, USA: This is his international debut.  He is 16 years old.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

JGP France Free Dance Results

 Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECCITDed.
-
StN.
1Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERONFRA78.8838.40 40.486.806.506.906.756.950.00#11
2Valeria ZENKOVA / Valerie SINITSINRUS72.0333.04 38.996.556.206.556.706.700.00#13
3Madeline EDWARDS / Zhao Kai PANGCAN67.2032.94 34.265.605.555.755.905.900.00#12
4Daria KOROTITSKAIA / Maksim SPODIREVUKR66.2333.20 33.035.605.305.455.655.650.00#6
5Sofia EVDOKIMOVA / Egor BAZINRUS65.6232.22 33.405.605.405.655.705.600.00#14
6Lorraine MCNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTERUSA63.7931.44 32.355.355.155.555.505.600.00#8
7Victoria HASEGAWA / Connor HASEGAWACAN62.4831.06 31.425.255.155.155.455.250.00#10
8Estelle ELIZABETH / Romain LE GACFRA61.6432.08 29.564.804.755.155.005.100.00#5
9Viktoria KAVALIOVA / Yurii BIELIAIEVBLR60.7731.50 29.274.904.655.005.054.950.00#7
10Holly MOORE / Daniel KLABERUSA60.0628.86 31.205.154.955.405.355.350.00#9
11Victoria-Laura LOHMUS / Andrei DAVODOVEST42.0521.76 20.293.453.103.553.553.450.00#3
12Charlotte DYSON / Paul DREDGEGBR35.7117.12 19.593.503.153.153.403.151.00#2
13Laura ABTS / Maarten BUCKENSBEL30.5611.50 19.063.403.153.103.252.950.00#1
WDSofia SFORZA / Francesco FIORETTIITA          #4

Pl.NameNationPointsSDFD
1Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERON
FRA
131.1321
2Valeria ZENKOVA / Valerie SINITSIN
RUS
124.9412
3Madeline EDWARDS / Zhao Kai PANG
CAN
113.7333
4Daria KOROTITSKAIA / Maksim SPODIREV
UKR
111.2364
5Sofia EVDOKIMOVA / Egor BAZIN
RUS
110.9155
6Lorraine MCNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER
USA
108.3376
7Victoria HASEGAWA / Connor HASEGAWA
CAN
108.1647
8Holly MOORE / Daniel KLABER
USA
103.04810
9Viktoria KAVALIOVA / Yurii BIELIAIEV
BLR
101.6399
10Estelle ELIZABETH / Romain LE GAC
FRA
100.83108
11Victoria-Laura LOHMUS / Andrei DAVODOV
EST
64.281411
12Charlotte DYSON / Paul DREDGE
GBR
63.141212
13Laura ABTS / Maarten BUCKENS
BEL
56.701313

JGP France Men's Free Skate Results

Pl.  NameNationTSS
=
TES
+
 PCS
+
SSTRPECHINDed.
-
StN.
1Boyang JINCHN131.1574.65 56.506.215.115.795.645.500.00#21
2Jason BROWNUSA126.4859.62 66.866.646.576.686.686.860.00#18
3Ryuju HINOJPN121.9167.49 55.426.075.145.545.645.321.00#17
4Harrison CHOATEUSA112.0355.27 57.765.715.825.685.965.711.00#16
5Mikhail KOLAYDARUS108.7155.79 54.925.685.325.465.545.462.00#11
6Alexander PETROVRUS107.9455.66 54.285.575.115.465.615.392.00#20
7Charles TETARFRA105.0652.78 52.285.184.895.505.435.140.00#13
8Nam NGUYENCAN102.3954.11 50.285.214.825.005.045.072.00#15
9Ivan PAVLOVUKR97.1448.64 48.505.184.574.824.894.790.00#19
10Simon HOCQUAUXFRA92.6946.47 50.225.005.044.755.255.074.00#14
11Peter James HALLAMGBR91.1248.20 42.924.434.184.254.394.210.00#8
12Panagiotis POLIZOAKISGER89.9043.40 46.504.754.574.684.714.540.00#7
13Victor BUSTAMANTEESP83.4135.77 48.644.864.864.715.004.891.00#12
14Alessandro PEZZOLIITA79.9238.84 43.084.464.044.434.364.252.00#9
15Marcus BJORKSWE76.2040.08 37.124.073.393.753.713.641.00#1
16Sondre ODDVOLL BOENOR73.4236.92 38.504.113.753.753.963.682.00#6
17Julian LAGUSFIN70.0929.67 42.424.254.394.114.324.142.00#4
18Vincent CUERELSUI69.3730.81 38.564.003.643.863.963.820.00#2
19Vlad IONESCUROU69.0932.31 37.783.933.643.753.863.711.00#5
20Jui-Shu CHENTPE64.4931.13 35.363.793.613.393.573.322.00#10
21Pavel STRAKACHBLR58.7626.18 33.583.613.253.293.503.141.00#3

Pl.NameNationPointsSPFS
1Boyang JIN
CHN
194.1311
2Jason BROWN
USA
185.8132
3Ryuju HINO
JPN
181.6123
4Harrison CHOATE
USA
169.7044
5Alexander PETROV
RUS
159.6866
6Mikhail KOLAYDA
RUS
159.2285
7Charles TETAR
FRA
154.29107
8Ivan PAVLOV
UKR
149.8759
9Nam NGUYEN
CAN
148.45118
10Simon HOCQUAUX
FRA
143.71710
11Panagiotis POLIZOAKIS
GER
135.581212
12Victor BUSTAMANTE
ESP
132.83913
13Peter James HALLAM
GBR
130.551511
14Alessandro PEZZOLI
ITA
122.491314
15Sondre ODDVOLL BOE
NOR
114.491416
16Marcus BJORK
SWE
112.811815
17Vlad IONESCU
ROU
105.801719
18Jui-Shu CHEN
TPE
103.881620
19Julian LAGUS
FIN
102.552017
20Vincent CUEREL
SUI
102.151918
21Pavel STRAKACH
BLR
90.332121