2012 US Figure Skating Championships: Novice Men's Short Program LIVE BLOG

1) Brian Krentz
   Music: Lucia

• He has really soft knees in his crossovers
• He's a little stiff in his upper body
• This music choice is a little dull for me, it sounds like elevator music
• Solid skating from him today, but he looks tentative, I feel that he played it a little safe

22.33 (TES) + 19.73 (PCS) = 42.06

2) Kyle Shropshire
   Music: The Race

• This piece is so associated with Alexei Yagudin, it's a bold choice
• He looks like one of those skaters who has gone through a recent growth spurt and hes yet to grow into his body
• He seems really hunched over
• I'd like to to see better posture and for him to use his long limbs to his advantage
• Really cool hydroblading move, nice and low to the ground
• Lost my feed....missed the end of the program

20.02 (TES) + 19.10 (PCS) = 39.10

3) Oleksiy Melnyk
   Music: El Tango de Roxanne

• Here we go again with this music
• Just sat down that jump, really didn't fight for it at all
• I almost said that this boy looked really Eastern European, and then I looked at his name and chuckled
• Nice easy double axel
• Nice job maintaining the character of the piece throughout

21.77 (TES) + 21.20 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 41.97

4) James Schetelich
   Music: Smooth

• Nice combination, a little bit a a high wrap 
• Feed kept cutting out, missed most of the program, but he looks happy!

 24.16 (TES) + 22.29 (PCS) = 46.45

5) Tony Lu
   Music: Russian Sailor's Dance

• A Priscilla Hill student!
• He is adorable, I love him
• That 3-2 combination looked so easy for him
• A tiny slip and step down on the footwork, but otherwise an awesome performance!
• Finished just a hair before his music, but covered it well

 21.39 (TES) + 19.68 (PCS) = 41.07

6) Vincent Zhou
    Music: Nut Rocker

• This is a hometown boy so he's going to have the crowd on his side
• This is a very cool piece of music, a rocking nutcracker
• He is very good, really speedy and good jumping ability
• Nice spins too!
• Such a little showman! I loved that performance
• Same coach as Ricky Dornbush, no wonder he's a little crowd pleaser

26.96 (TES) + 25.49 (PCS) = 52.45

7) Chase Belmontes
   Music: Tosca Fantasy

• Wow he reminds me of Johnny Weir for some reason
• Shame he couldn't hold onto that first landing
• I will always love this music, but I've always seen it as more of a free skate because it's so grandiose
• Trouble on that low sit spin, he totally lost all his rotational speed
• First Tom Z sighting of Nationals

21.35 (TES) + 19.89 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 40.24

8) Jimmy Ma
    Music: Theme from the Untouchables

• Really nice height on those jumps and good rotation
• He is a very good performer, he is really acting the part
• Despite a fall, he seems really happy with that

21.90 (TES) + 22.98 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 43.88

9) Spencer Howe
    Music:

• I really like this music choice, and his performance is living up to the tempo thus far
• I really like the speed and the pacing of this program
• I hated those gloves, they were distracting, but a nice program overall!

24.85 (TES) + 21.21 (PCS) = 46.06

10) Wilbur Ji
   Music: Medley, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

• Wild fall out of the opening jump, but he saves it
• Nice crisp arm movements
• I love that costume and the iridescent quality
• This is a really fun program, nice split jump!

17.55 (TES) + 20.69 (PCS) = 38.24

11) Nicholas Vrdoljak
   Music: The Man in the Iron Mask

• I will never get sick of this music, no matter how many times I hear it
• Huge height on the opening jump
• Nice use of the arms in choreography
• He has a very mature look on the ice
• Really deep landing on the double axel, but pulls it out
• He really needs to point that foot on the sit spin
• Ended slightly after the music
• I like him, but I feel that the program didn't live up to the excitement of the music

25.66 (TES) + 20.94 (PCS) = 46.60

12) Kevin Shum
   Music: Vortex

• He is carrying a ton of speed
• He is a very expressive skater, I love his performance quality
• Very solid, clean program
• He has such as big smile on his face as he should!
• That was a fantastic program

26.65 (TES) + 24.20 (PCS) = 50.85

Start No.	Name	Score
1	6	Vincent Zhou, Peninsula SC	52.45
2	12	Kevin Shum, St. Moritz ISC	50.85
3	11	Nicholas Vrdoljak, DuPage FSC	46.60
4	4	James Schetelich, SC of NY	46.45
5	9	Spencer Howe, Los Angeles FSC	46.06
6	8	Jimmy Ma, SC of NY	43.88
7	1	Brian Krentz, Skokie Valley SC	42.06
8	3	Oleksiy Melnyk, WA FSC	41.97
9	5	Tony Lu, SC of Wilmington	41.07
10	7	Chase Belmontes, Broadmoor SC	40.24
11	2	Kyle Shropshire, Wagon Wheel FSC	39.12
12	10	Wilbur Ji, SC of San Francisco	38.24