Wednesday, January 25, 2012

2012 US Figure Skating Championships: Senior Ladies Short Program LIVE Coverage

 1) Yasmin Siraj
  Music: Daphnis et Chloe
  • Yasmin has the highest score from Sectionals of anyone who went through the qualifying rounds
  • She is a beautifully elegant skater
  • I love this short program on her, gorgeous costume
  • 3t-2t combination, she usually does a 3-3, but she's battling an injury
  • She has a ton of speed 
  • Fall on the triple lutz, very tilted in the air
  • I love that back and forth Ina Bauer
  • Nice position in the traditional layback
  • She picked up some extra points in the entrance to that double axel
  28.58 (TES) + 24.38 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 51.96

2) Mirai Nagasu
  Music: Danzarin
  • Come on Mirai!
  • Mirai is looking to be in really good shape
  • Nice calm intensity in this opening section
  • That was a very funky landing on that triple loop, she really fought for that one
  • 3lz-2t was very close to the wall
  • Nice double axel
  • She gets so far back on that layback, that is something that was not affected by the growth spurt
  • Great variation on that back camel
  • Good footwork, but I really want more fire out of her
  • She is intense, but I'd like a little more excitement
 30.17 (TES) + 28.85 (PCS) = 59.02

3) Haley Dunne
  Music: Tosca Fantasy
  • Nice 3t-3t, second jump was probably short of rotation
  • I really like her style, she is very passionate
  • This is a very graceful and elegant performance
  • Nice clean double axel
  • Wonderful free leg position on the layback
  • Great skate from her overall
  26.79 (TES) + 24.62 (PCS) = 51.41

4) Morgan Bell
  Music: Assassin's Tango
  • Very aggressive from the start
  • That was a fierce opening
  • Spread eagle into a good double axel, pitched forward just a bit
  • Triple-single I think that was?
  • This started out so well, but there are definitely some rough spots
  • She was a break out star in the short program last year
 19.06 (TES) + 20.49 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 38.55

 5) Alissa Czisny
  Music: La Vie en Rose
  • She looked very settled in warm-up
  • Looking very calm
  • Nice 3lz-2t combination
  • I love the arrangement of this music
  • Very tilted in the air on that second jump, but held it up
  • Popped that axel into a single, caught an edge, that was really a fluke thing
  • I always say it, but she looks like she's in fast forward when she spins
  31.94 (TES) + 31.20 (PCS) = 63.14

6) McKinzie Daniels
  Music: Love Story
  • That blush is just a lot
  • Good spring on that opening combination
  • She is really a very fast skater
  • This costume doesn't scream Taylor Swift to me
  • Landed all the jumps
  • I really love hearing a contemporary music
   (TES) + (PCS) = 49.96

 7) Nina Jiang
  Music: Man with the Golden Arm
  • Great triple lutz from our youngest competitor out there
  • I loved that hydroblade moment
  • Nice Rippon variation on that 3t-2t combination
  • She is very elegant and stylish skater
  • She is only 14, she'll be someone to watch in the upcoming years
  • I love seeing a youngster make such a splash
  28.39 (TES) + 25.27 (PCS) = 53.66

 8) Joelle Forte
  Music: Cirque du Soleil
  • She was a surprise standout last year, so she'll have a little more pressure this year
  • She fought that 3lz-2t
  • She doesn't look completely over her legs today, she seems a little stiff
  • Nice clean double axel, she's settling into the program a little more after the halfway point
  • I really like her skating, she seems more elegant this year than in the past
  • I think doing Skate America and getting some exposure did wonders for her self-confidence
  26.54 (TES) + 21.59 (PCS) = 48.13

9) Angela Wang
  Music: A League of their Own
  • That is quite a fierce dress out there
  • That was an odd fall, she seemed to have it, but didn't check to stop the rotation
  • I love the look of that costume out on the ice, it's so different
  • Really crisp double axel, not a lot of height, but quick rotation
  • This program is a little slow moving for me
  • She doesn't look pleased, but she did have some great moments despite the fall
  27.24 (TES) + 22.74 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 48.98

10) Aimee Buchanan
  Music: 
  • It has to be touching coming in at the last minute to replace another skater
  • She is really looking down at the ice a lot, open up your chest and smile!
  • She looks really uptight and nervous, which I totally get
  • She has a nice stretch in that back camel
  • Now we get a nice smile!
  • I love that she is thrilled just to be there, good for her for having a good attitude!
  19.49 (TES) + 18.28 (PCS) = 37.77

 11) Agnes Zawadzki
  Music: Harlem Nocturne
  • Her hair and makeup are so harsh
  • She looks so much more mature this year, more polished and better packaging
  • Fantastic 3t-3t with great speed and precision
  • Easy 3lz
  • She is looking ON tonight
  • I'm loving her right now!
  • I love that every gesture and movement is exactly with the music and nothing is wasted
  • This is a very well composed short program and she's showing more confidence than we've seen all season from her
  • I feel like doing a double axel toward the end of the short is kind of her thing
  • I'm obsessed with her toe point on that final spin!
  • Leaving Tom Z was the best thing she ever did for herself
  35.65 (TES) + 30.59 (PCS) = 66.24

 12) Vanessa Lam
  Music: Con te Partiro
  • She was a "breakout star last year" but if you've been following the Junior Grand Prix, she's been great for years
  • I love her elegance, she is a quiet, subtle skater
  • She is fantastic in her expression
  • She is a good jumper, but where she draws you in is with her face and her expression
  • Point that toe on the sit spin
 30.43 (TES) + 24.14 (PCS) = 54.57

13) Caroline Zhang
  Music: Rushing Wings of Dawn
  • Keep the momentum going!
  • Very nice 3lo-3lo combination!
  • I'm dying over that combination right now
  • Nice flying camel, I don't love the broken leg position
  • Give us some face Caroline, we want to see your smile
  • Huge smile erupted once she knew she landed all the jumps
  • Needs just a tiny bit more stretch in that leg catch spin 
  • Phenomenal job on that final layback spin, as per the usual for her
  • Karen Kwan and her magic braid have fixed Caroline Zhang!
 31.53 (TES) + 28.65 (PCS) = 60.18

14) Ashley Wagner
  Music: Pollock
  • I love this costume on her, such gorgeous beading and detail
  • She has a great upper body, who is her trainer?
  • Fantastic speed
  • 3flip-2toe in the Adam Rippon variation
  • I love this music, it's very postmodern
  • I love her relationship to the music and the audience
  • Great triple loop
  • Perfect double axel, and now she can just sell the rest
  • I'm so glad she's gotten over that hump of struggling in the short
  • She is in control out there, nobody is getting between her and what she wants
  • Great job engaging the audience in eye contact on that spread eagle
 32.63 (TES) + 30.63 (PCS) = 63.06

15) Rachael Flatt
  Music: East of Eden
  • I loved this program last year at Nationals because it was so out of character for Rachel
  • 3lz-2toe with a nice glide out of it
  • Good 3flip, she is finally smiling!
  • Singled the axel, that's going to hurt her scores big time
  • I love that Ina Bauer
  • She is building some nice speed here
  • I wish that her face would match the expression in her body in that step sequence
  24.96 (TES) + 27.75 (PCS) = 52.71

16) Sophia Adams
  Music: Music of Hope
  • I like her expression a lot, both on her face and in her upper body
  • Really nice spiral position, almost a complete split position
  • I haven't seen this skater before but I like her a lot! She looks so happy just to be out there on the ice!
  27.00 (TES) + 24.40 (PCS) = 51.40

 17) Kiri Baga
  Music: Piano Fantasy
  • She is fighting for these jumps, but landing them nonetheless
  • She has a lot of strength to hold onto some of those landings that others would let go of
  • Some nice, unique positions on those spins
  • That use of one leg on the footwork was great
  • Really solid performance from Kiri, showed a fighting spirit
  26.01 (TES) + 24.14 (PCS) = 50.15

 18) Christina Gao
  Music: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
  • 3f-2toe combination
  • She's struggled every since she went through the growth spurt
  • 3loop is a very popular jump tonight
  • She needs to really straighten out her legs and use those long limbs to her advantage
  • She is really coming into her own and getting better throughout the program
  • I love her unique spin variations
  • Very nice job from Christina
  28.78 (TES) + 25.85 (PCS) = 54.63

19) Leah Keiser
  Music: Intro and Rondo Capriciosso
  • Unfortunate fall on that combination after a great warm-up
  • That triple flip was clean as a whistle
  • This costume is fantastic
  • She is so spunky, I love her personality out on the ice
  • She has potential and the right attitude, just needs a little time and some more refinement
  29.58 (TES) + 23.86 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 52.44



Start No.
NameScore
111Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC66.24
25Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC63.14
314Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington63.06
413Caroline Zhang, All Year FSC60.18
52Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC59.02
618Christina Gao, Northern KY SC54.83
712Vanessa Lam, All Year FSC54.57
87Nina Jiang, TX Gulf Coast FSC53.66
915Rachael Flatt, Broadmoor SC52.71
1019Leah Keiser, All Year FSC52.44
111Yasmin Siraj, SC Of Boston51.96
123Haley Dunne, WA FSC51.41
1316Sophia Adams, All Year FSC51.40
1417Kiri Baga, FSC of Bloomington50.15
156McKinzie Daniels, Broadmoor SC49.96
169Angela Wang, Salt Lake Figure Skating48.98
178Joelle Forte, SC of NY48.13
184Morgan Bell, Rocky Mountain FSC38.55
1910Aimee Buchanan, Colonial FSC37.77

2 comments:

  1. YES CAROLINE IS BACK

    ReplyDelete
  2. she had the performance of the night/her life and she should be in first

    ReplyDelete