2016 US Championships: Pairs Preview

The Senior Pairs event seems like it should be a slam dunk for Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierem, based on their International season, but when has a US Pairs event even been that simple? Here are a few questions that have me excited for this event:

1. Will Scimeca & Knierem allow their Skate America and NHK medals and GPF qualification to propel them to a 2nd consecutive US Title?
2. Looking forward, can Delilah Sappenfield coach a World Medalist?
3. Will Kayne & O’Shea or Aaron & Settlage, or Castelli & Tran perform in a way that establishes a clear 2nd place US Team?
4. Will Calalang & Sidhu be able to factor in? 
5. Can Mervin Tran ever achieve the success he once had with Narumi Takahashi again, and with Marissa Castelli? Will they stay together long enough for any of this to matter?
6. Which junior medalists from last year will sneak onto the podium? Fields & Utah Stevens, Liu & Johnson, or both? 
7. Who will give us that classic great half of a free skate and then crumble in the second?
8. And last but not least, how many of these teams will still be together next season?