Friday, September 16, 2011

In a pond full of 'Black Swan' wannabes, Cesario's portrayal stands out

She's baaaack.

Samantha Cesario has returned from a year full of injuries looking stronger and more determined than ever. The 18-year old from New Jersey took the bronze medal today at the third Junior Grand Prix event in Gdansk, Poland.



Her portrayal of Odile, the black swan from Tchaikovsky's famous ballet, is stunning as she uses every part of her body -- right down to her fingertips -- to tell the story. What's more, her jumps have never looked better. Yes, she still has an egregious "flutz," but her jumps are higher and stronger, and the triple loop is back in her arsenal.

Cesario looks poised for a breakthrough at Nationals in 2012. She missed the event last January due to her back injury, but that appears to be in the past. She is the highest scoring U.S. lady of the season to date, and after strong summer competition showings, one can see the momentum begin to build. The next step: a (preferably) top 2 finish at her next JGP event, and then (hopefully) a spot at the JGP Final in Quebec City in December.

If she can keep her focus and drive for the next few months, there's no reason to believe she can't be top 6 at Nationals in January, perhaps even flirting with a top 4 podium finish. In this ever-unpredictable world of U.S. ladies, anything is possible.



The new & improved Tom Z.-free Joshua Farris

After a disastrous Nationals last January, Joshua Farris hightailed it away from creepy Tom Zakrajsek and found a safe haven in Christy Krall. And for that, we thank God.

Farris showed his new and improved skating skills and jump technique yesterday during the men's short program at the Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, Poland. He scored a whopping 75.69 points for this program -- a score that would have put him in the top 10 at last season's World Championships.



It's been a tough year for Zakrajsek (*tear*). From January-June, he lost five of his most prominent national and international competitors, including a trio of senior ladies in Rachael Flatt, Agnes Zawadzki and Alexe Gilles, as well as senior men Farris and Alexander Johnson. While we don't know how Flatt, Gilles or Johnson have looked lately, both Farris and Zawadzki seem to have improved leaps and bounds both technically and artistically since dumping Zakrajsek. Both now work with Krall, coach of the reigning men's world champion Patrick Chan of Canada (Zawadzki also works with David Santee on a part-time basis).

Farris is looking more confident, relaxed and mature. With Krall on his side, this is shaping up to be his breakout year.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Hicks, Shoji shine in season debuts

If there was ever any doubt about American Courtney Hicks' jumping ability or the competitive spirit of Japan's Risa Shoji, they've just been erased. Hicks laid down two stunning, jam-packed performances to take the ladies title at the second Junior Grand Prix event of the season in Brisbane, Australia. While not perfect, her high-flying jumps, innovative spins and performance flair gave her the gold medal by more than 4 points ahead of Shoji.

After a disappointing short program in which all three of her attempted triples received "<" under rotation calls, Shoji was brilliant in the free skate, nailing a triple Salchow-triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, a double Axel-triple toe loop and five other strong jumping passes. Her program, set to the score from "Legends of the Fall," is not a stylistic departure for her, but it does suit her perfectly. She moved up from a 4th place short program showing to score a 100+ point free skate and win the silver medal.

The night belonged to Hicks, though. She did suffer two falls -- one on the second half of a triple flip-triple loop combination and then again seconds later on a solo triple loop attempt -- but five other triple jumps, a plethora of transitions and her very cool "Hicks" spin allowed her to amass a free skate score of 101.72 and an overall score of 151.91, the second best ladies international score recorded so far this season.

The other American in the ladies field, Vanessa Lam, nabbed the bronze medal after a solid free skate. She appeared to be sailing along until her final jump, a planned triple Lutz that went scarily wrong. After rushing the take-off, she came down a half turn short, her body slamming into the ice sideways and drawing a gasp from the audience. While she did still win a medal with a very respectable 145.48, her jump technique and lack of height is something that needs to be addressed soon if she hopes to contend for senior National medals and a junior World medal sometime in the next few years.

The Junior Grand Prix series continues next week in Gdansk, Poland, with American Samantha Cesario one of the gold medal favorites in the ladies event.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Help support a local talent

Please consider checking out the Rocket Hub site for 13-year old Michelle Hedges, a young skater based out of Bloomington, Minnesota.

Michelle skates at the intermediate level and hopes to compete at the Upper Great Lakes Regional championships this October and, ultimately, qualify for the U.S. Junior Championships in December. In addition to being an excellent skater, Michelle is also a straight-A student.

Skating is an extremely expensive sport, and Michelle's family, like many others, have faced financial struggles related to the economic downturn. Michelle's mom, Kate, says her family can easily spend up to $20,000 every year on her daughter's skating costs.

Please visit their site (http://www.rockethub.com/projects/1183-help-michelle-skate-to-regionals-beyond) and consider making a donation to assist with Michelle's training costs. If a monetary gift is not possible for you to make right now, please spread the word to others who may be able to afford donating to her training fund.

Friday, December 31, 2010

The best of the best from 2010

2010 was an amazing year in figure skating. From the excitement of the Vancouver Olympics to Sasha Cohen's competitive return, to Alissa Czisny's stunning resurgence, here are my top three moments of the year.

1. Meryl Davis & Charlie White, 2010 U.S. Championships, free dance



I have never experienced first-hand an arena so full of excitement and joy as the Spokane Arena was that afternoon in January. The speed, attack and gravity-defying lifts Meryl and Charlie showed were incredible, and this performance would set them up to claim both Olympic and World silver medals in the weeks that followed.

2. Yu-Na Kim, 2010 Olympic Winter Games, free skate



With the weight of South Korea on her slight, 19-year old shoulders, 2009 World Champion Yu-Na Kim headed into the Vancouver Games with the expectation to win gold -- and she did not disappoint. Kim laid down two of the most perfect programs in skating history, smashing world records along the way and defeating silver medalist Mao Asada by more than 23 points.

3. Alissa Czisny, 2010-11 Grand Prix Final, free skate



After a 10th place finish at Nationals last January, many in the sport called for 23-year old Alissa Czisny to hang up her skates. Labeled a "headcase" and viewed as a skater who would never win a major international title, Czisny has persevered this season, switching coaches, retooling her technique and posting the highest ladies score of the season. This has set Czisny up as the favorite for the U.S. title next month in Greensboro, as well as a World medal in Tokyo come March.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Blast from the Past: Kristi Yamaguchi's "Blue Danube Waltz"

Has Kristi Yamaguchi ever put a foot wrong when it comes to program selection?



Her short program from the 1991-92 season, the "Blue Danube Waltz," is her best effort ever. The choreography and interpretation are perfect, not to mention her soaring jumps and, for that time period, quite innovative spin positions (haircutter position in her layback, outside edge on her camel spin, etc).

This program catapulted the 20-year old American to her first National title in 1992, as well as gold at both the Olympics and Worlds that year.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

2011 U.S. Nationals Fun with Numbers: Ladies

And last but certainly not least, here are the ladies.

For the sole purpose of enjoyment, speculation and "what ifs," I've compiled a list of the average scores of all the senior-level skaters who will be at Nationals next month. Listed below are the pairs overall, short program and free skate scores averaged from all competitions this fall (JGP events, GP events, JGP/GP Finals, Senior B's, Regionals, Sectionals).

Please comment with your thoughts, opinions, Nationals predictions, etc!

Senior Ladies

Average Overall Scores:
1. Alissa Czisny (168.60)
2. Mirai Nagasu (157.01)
3. Christina Gao (155.94)
4. Ashley Wagner (155.38)
5. Agnes Zawadzki (155.20)
6. Vanessa Lam (152.45)

7. Rachael Flatt (150.49)
8. Yasmin Siraj (144.45)
9. Kiri Baga (138.00)
10. Samantha Cesario (134.13)
11. Caroline Zhang (133.18)
12. Amanda Dobbs (131.91)

13. Kristiene Gong (131.44)
14. Melissa Bulanhagui (130.63)
15. Alexe Gilles (127.77)
16. Joelle Forte (126.75)
17. Danielle Kahle (126.63)

18. Felicia Zhang (123.16)
19. Morgan Bell (119.51)
20. Kelsey Traunero (118.92)
21. Keli Zhou (117.14)

22. Kristine Musademba (116.77)
23. Katy Jo West (114.99)
24. Tatyana Khazova (114.81)
25. Ellie Kawamura (109.82)


Average SP Scores:
1. Mirai Nagasu (58.74)
2. Alissa Czisny (58.05)
3. Agnes Zawadzki (57.87)
4. Ashley Wagner (54.55)
5. Vanessa Lam (53.35)
6. Caroline Zhang (50.69)
7. Rachael Flatt (49.97)
8. Kiri Baga (49.92)
9. Christina Gao (49.90)
10. Joelle Forte (47.65)
11. Samantha Cesario (47.27)
12. Kristiene Gong (46.80)
13. Amanda Dobbs (46.28)
14. Melissa Bulanhagui (46.09)
15. Felicia Zhang (45.95)
16. Yasmin Siraj (45.49)
17. Danielle Kahle (44.92)
18. Tatyana Khazova (44.30)
19. Morgan Bell (42.77)
20. Kristine Musademba (42.66)
21. Alexe Gilles (42.43)
22. Keli Zhou (39.30)
23. Kelsey Traunero (39.03)
24. Ellie Kawamura (38.44)
25. Katy Jo West (38.42)


Average FS Scores:
1. Alissa Czisny (110.55)
2. Christina Gao (106.04)
3. Ashley Wagner (100.83)
4. Rachael Flatt (100.52)
5. Vanessa Lam (99.10)
6. Yasmin Siraj (98.96)
7. Mirai Nagasu (98.27)
8. Agnes Zawadzki (97.33)
9. Kiri Baga (88.08)
10. Samantha Cesario (86.86)
11. Amanda Dobbs (85.63)
12. Alexe Gilles (85.34)
13. Kristiene Gong (84.64)
14. Melissa Bulanhagui (84.54)
15. Caroline Zhang (82.49)
16. Danielle Kahle (81.71)
17. Kelsey Traunero (79.89)
18. Joelle Forte (79.10)
19. Keli Zhou (77.84)
20. Felicia Zhang (77.21)
21. Morgan Bell (76.74)
22. Katy Jo West (76.57)
23. Kristine Musademba (74.11)
24. Ellie Kawamura (71.38)
25. Tatyana Khazova (70.51)

2011 U.S. Nationals Fun with Numbers: Men

For the sole purpose of enjoyment, speculation and "what ifs," I've compiled a list of the average scores of all the senior-level skaters who will be at Nationals next month. Listed below are the pairs overall, short program and free skate scores averaged from all competitions this fall (JGP events, GP events, JGP/GP Finals, Senior B's, Regionals, Sectionals).

Please comment with your thoughts, opinions, Nationals predictions, etc!

Ladies to follow shortly...

Senior Men

Average Overall Scores:
1. Adam Rippon (218.09)
2. Jeremy Abbott (217.71)
3. Brandon Mroz (209.89)
4. Armin Mahbanoozadeh (194.11)
5. Richard Dornbush (192.23)
6. Ross Miner (191.88)

7. Douglas Razzano (185.70) [one event only, Ice Challenge]
8. Grant Hochstein (185.46)
9. Stephen Carriere (184.20)
10. Jason Brown (181.95)
11. Joshua Farris (180.31)
12. Keegan Messing (180.24)

13. Andrew Gonzales (180.09)
14. Alex Johnson (179.05)
15. Jonathan Cassar (178.31)
16. Parker Pennington (176.26)
17. Scott Dyer (175.26)

18. Jason Wong (174.03)
19. Sean Rabbitt (173.50)
20. Christopher Caluza (162.89)
21. Wesley Campbell (160.41)
22. Lloyd Ting (147.74)


Average SP Scores:
1. Jeremy Abbott (76.12)
2. Adam Rippon (75.74)
3. Brandon Mroz (71.41)
4. Douglas Razzano (68.93) [one event only, Ice Challenge]
5. Ross Miner (65.98)
6. Keegan Messing (65.13)
7. Richard Dornbush (64.18)
8. Joshua Farris (64.02)
9. Alex Johnson (62.82)
10. Armin Mahbanoozadeh (60.94)
11. Andrew Gonzales (60.74)
12. Parker Pennington (59.70)
13. Jason Brown (59.50)
14. Stephen Carriere (59.14)
15. Scott Dyer (58.99)
16. Grant Hochstein (58.19)
17. Jonathan Cassar (58.14)
18. Sean Rabbitt (57.18)
19. Jason Wong (55.15)
20. Christopher Caluza (54.44)
21. Wesley Campbell (49.35)
22. Lloyd Ting (48.66)


Average FS Scores:
1. Adam Rippon (142.35)
2. Jeremy Abbott (141.59)
3. Brandon Mroz (138.48)
4. Armin Mahbanoozadeh (133.17)
5. Richard Dornbush (128.05)
6. Grant Hochstein (127.27)
7. Ross Miner (125.90)
8. Stephen Carriere (125.06)
9. Jason Brown (122.45)
10. Jonathan Cassar (120.17)
11. Andrew Gonzales (119.35)
12. Jason Wong (118.88)
13. Douglas Razzano (116.77) [one event only, Ice Challenge]
14. Parker Pennington (116.56)
15. Sean Rabbitt (116.32)
16. Joshua Farris (116.29)
17. Scott Dyer (116.27)
18. Alex Johnson (116.23)
19. Keegan Messing (115.11)
20. Wesley Campbell (111.06)
21. Christopher Caluza (108.45)
22. Lloyd Ting (99.08)

2011 U.S. Nationals Fun with Numbers: Ice Dance


 For the sole purpose of enjoyment, speculation and "what ifs," I've compiled a list of the average scores of all the senior-level skaters who will be at Nationals next month. Listed below are the pairs overall, short program and free skate scores averaged from all competitions this fall (JGP events, GP events, JGP/GP Finals, Senior B's, Regionals, Sectionals).

For dance, I've also included the results of the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships held in August, simply because some teams have only competed once otherwise this fall.

Please comment with your thoughts, opinions, Nationals predictions, etc!

Men's and ladies to follow shortly...

Senior Ice Dance

Average Overall Scores:
1. Davis/White (164.49)
2. Shibutani/Shibutani (138.25)
3. Chock/Zuerlein (133.99)
4. Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt (125.68)
5. Hubbell/Hubbell (124.63)

6. Wingle/McKernan (119.07)
7. Hoptman/Filchenkov (111.73) [one event only, Sectionals]
8. Aronow/Donohue (109.80) [one event only, Sectionals]
9. Cannuscio/Lorello (108.64)
10. Zuber/Herring (98.88)

11. Tibbetts/Brubaker (95.86) [one event only, Skate Canada]
12. Zeigler/Burbank (90.72)
13. Pilgrim/Lorello (82.42) [one event only, Sectionals]
14. Ponomaryova/Kelling (70.07) [one event only, Sectionals]


Average SD Scores:
1. Davis/White (66.41)
2. Chock/Zuerlein (54.86)
3. Shibutani/Shibutani (52.35)
4. Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt (51.27)
5. Wingle/McKernan (48.94)
6. Hubbell/Hubbell (48.65)
7. Cannuscio/Lorello (45.24)
8. Hoptman/Filchenkov (45.10)
9. Aronow/Donohue (40.99)
10. Zuber/Herring (39.37)
11. Tibbetts/Brubaker (36.88)
12. Zeigler/Burbank (34.11)
13. Ponomaryova/Kelling (34.02)
14. Pilgrim/Lorello (31.91)


Average FD Scores:
1. Davis/White (98.08)
2. Shibutani/Shibutani (85.90)
3. Chock/Zuerlein (79.13)
4. Hubbell/Hubbell (75.98)
5. Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt (74.41)
6. Wingle/McKernan (70.13)
7. Aronow/Donohue (68.81)
8. Hoptman/Filchenkov (66.63)
9. Cannuscio/Lorello (63.40)
10. Zuber/Herring (59.51)
11. Tibbetts/Brubaker (58.98)
12. Zeigler/Burbank (56.61)
13. Pilgrim/Lorello (50.51)
14. Ponomaryova/Kelling (36.05)

2011 U.S. Nationals Fun with Numbers: Pairs

For the sole purpose of enjoyment, speculation and "what ifs," I've compiled a list of the average scores of all the senior-level skaters who will be at Nationals next month. Listed below are the pairs overall, short program and free skate scores averaged from all competitions this fall (JGP events, GP events, JGP/GP Finals, Senior B's, Regionals, Sectionals).

For pairs, I've also included the results of the Indy Challenge held in August, simply because some teams have only competed once otherwise this fall.

Please comment with your thoughts, opinions, Nationals predictions, etc!

Ice dance, men's and ladies to follow shortly...

Senior Pairs

Average Overall Scores:
1. Yankowskas/Coughlin (160.73)
2. Denney/Barrett (159.40)
3. Evora/Ladwig (157.26)
4. Castelli/Shnapir (152.47)

5. Simpson/Miller (143.06)
6. Vise/Baldwin (141.37) [one event only, Ice Challenge]
7. Donlan/Speroff (137.67)
8. Smith/Bartholomay (137.14)

9. Katz/Lynch (136.72)
10. Bereswill/Young (136.40) [one event only, Sectionals]
11. Davis/Leftheris (134.40)
12. Aaron/Cohen (134.13)

13. Zhang/Toth (124.51)
14. Moore/Gaumond (118.13)
15. Scimeca/Dimitrov (88.93) [one event only, Sectionals]
16. Marley/Brubaker (52.30 SP only) [one event only, Sectionals SP]


Average SP Scores:
1. Denney/Barrett (56.76)
2. Yankowskas/Coughlin (56.63)
3. Marley/Brubaker (52.30)
4. Evora/Ladwig (52.02)
5. Castelli/Shnapir (50.90)
6. Smith/Bartholomay (50.45)
7. Bereswill/Young (49.24)
8. Simpson/Miller (49.06)
9. Vise/Baldwin (48.70)
10. Donlan/Speroff (46.69)
11. Aaron/Cohen (46.30)
12. Katz/Lynch (45.68)
13. Davis/Leftheris (44.87)
14. Moore/Gaumond (43.95)
15. Zhang/Toth (43.80)
16. Scimeca/Dimitrov (40.91)


Average FS Scores:
1. Evora/Ladwig (105.24)
2. Yankowskas/Coughlin (104.10)
3. Denney/Barrett (102.64)
4. Castelli/Shnapir (101.57)
5. Simpson/Miller (94.00)
6. Vise/Baldwin (92.67)
7. Katz/Lynch (91.04)
8. Donlan/Speroff (90.98)
9. Davis/Leftheris (89.53)
10. Aaron/Cohen (87.83)
11. Bereswill/Young (87.16)
12. Smith/Bartholomay (86.69)
13. Zhang/Toth (80.71)
14. Moore/Gaumond (74.18)
15. Scimeca/Dimitrov (48.02)
16. Marley/Brubaker (0.00)