2011 US Figure Skating Championships: Senior Pairs Short Program

Here we go y'all, I'm so excited! I try to state the facts while also giving my opinion on the performances, but I keep everything clean and nice. If I don't have commentary for a skater, it is because I had to step away from my computer, not because I didn't like them. I will watch the skaters I missed either tonight or tomorrow and fill in the commentary so I am prepared going into the free skate on Saturday afternoon. Happy watching!
**Denotes USFSA Fantasy Skating Picks

1) Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig

   Music: Sing, Sing, Sing

• Their new costumes for Sing Sing Sing are so adorable, love it
• Oh heeey Peter Carruthers
• At 26 and 30, they are so mature compared to other teams
• They are starting off with nice speed and energy
• That was a pretty clean catch on the split triple twist
• Some nice choreography and transition moments
• Nice solid side by side triple toe loops (huge YEAH screamed from the crowd)
• Throw triple loop had nice height, did she put her hand down?
• A slight loss of unison in their spins, but they got it back
• The steps are nice in this mirroring sequence
• They look slightly uncomfortable out there, probably because the program is new
• I am sensing a bit of holding back
• Amanda has a gorgeous death spiral position
• Their lasso lift is gorgeous, a highlight of the program for them
• SP Score: 35.33 (TES) + 27.54 (PCS) = 62.87

 2) Lisa Moore & Justin Gaumond

     Music: Singing in the Rain

• They train with Evora/Ladwig, and they have the elegance 
• Nice clean throw triple salchow
• They did side by side rippons
• I love the "faux umbrellas" and they really contribute to the choreography
• Very good unison in the spins until the foot change, also grew apart in terms of distance
• They are a lovely team, very easy to watch
• SP Score: 26.64 (TES) + 19.80 (PCS) = 46.44

 3) Lindsay Davis & Themisthocles Leftheris

     Music:

• SP Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) = 51.07

4) Alexa Scimeca & Ivan Dimitrov

    Music:

• This team has withdrawn due to injury, we wish them the best in the future
• SP Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) =

 5) Gretchen Donlan & Andrew Speroff

    Music: Moonlight Sonata

• Nice clean catch on throw triple twist, gorgeous extension 
• Beautiful landing on her throw
• Wonderful lines and such elegance
• Slight timing issue on their side by side jumps
• Good job staying together on those spins
• She looks so ethereal up their floating in the lasso lift
• The foot work looked a little clunky to me
• I'd love to see her get a bit lower with more of an arch in the death spiral
• What a lovely, quiet program from this very young team
• SP Score: 26.73 (TES) + 21.89 (PCS) = 48.62

 6) Tiffany Vise & Don Baldwin

    Music: Pirates of the Caribbean

• Don is the brother of John Baldwin, former US champion
• What an athlete she is, look at those guns!
• Good speed at the beginning, did a split double twist, but a clean one
• They do their SBS jumps in opposite directions
• That was a nice strong throw
• Their spins are also in opposite directions
• His sit positions are lower than hers and she seems to slow down
• He struggled to get that lift off
• They really lose speed in that death spiral
• She is very dynamic in this footwork
• Definitely some errors in this program. but she looks so happy with it
• Peter Carruthers always comments about the safety concerns involved with trying difficult elements
• SP Score: 31.13 (TES) + 23.17 (PCS) = 54.29

7) Caitlin Yankowskas & John Coughlin**

    Music: Tango Oblivion

• They have the personality of ice dancers
• Nice stretch out of the split triple twist
• I love that not a moment is wasted
• Strong throw triple salchow, bad camera angle there
• Beautiful side by side triple toes, impeccable timing
• Wonderful lift, smooth entrance and exit
• That is what a pairs spin sequence should look like
• I'm actually shaking for them right now
• This step sequence is new
• Gorgeous position on that death spiral
• That was an incredible short for them, I have tears in my eyes
• SP Score: 35.98 (TES) + 28.32 (PCS) = 64.30

8) Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir

   Music: Money/For the Love of Money

• Simon looks a little clunky in that opening "dance" sequence
• Simon stumbles on opening Side by Sides
• They lost speed on their crossovers, maybe caught an edge
• Split triple twist was huge
• Major unison issues right her on the spins
• The free skate is their strength, so they can recover from these mistakes on Saturday
• She was flying with so much speed on that throw triple salchow
• Her catch-foot lift position is pretty awesome
• SP Score: 29.57 (TES) + 21.91 (PCS) = 51.48

9) Chloe Katz & Joseph Lynch

   Music: Prelude

• 
  
• SP Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) =

10) Mary Beth Marley & Rockne Brubaker**

     Music: 

• 
  
• SP Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) = 58.10

11) Erika Smith & Nathan Bartholomay

    Music: Punch Drunk

• 
  
• SP Score:  (TES) +  (PCS) =

12) Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett

     Music: Love theme from "The Cousins"

• New costume for this program, I think I like this one better
• Caydee has always been very expressive but now Jeremy has started to come to her level in that department
• The footwork into the triple twist was nice
• Caydee was very tilted in the air on that side by side jump
• Throw triple flip was very nice
• I do not like that upside down death spiral position
• Very nice spin sequence
• Sometimes the pressure to defend a title is very intense
• They have a lovely step sequence
• John Zimmerman has done wonders with them in terms of presentation and performance quality
• SP Score: 32.13 (TES) + 26.66 (PCS) -1.00 = 57.79

13) Molly Aaron & Daniyel Cohen**

      Music: Schindler's List

• She fights for the landing on that throw
• She takes a tough fall on the side by side jumps
• This music seems to somber for a short program to me
• They are skating quite slowly
• SP Score: 27.08 (TES) + 21.16 (PCS) -1.00 = 47.24 

14) Becky Bereswill & Treover Young
      Music: Song of India

• Can we talk about how I'm obsessed with her costume
• Wow are they both tall, what long line
• Off ever so slightly on their unison for the side by side triples
• Split double twists as opposed to triples from most teams
• Nice reverse overhead lift, not the fastest rotation, but smooth entry and exit
• Good fight for that landing from Becky
• They look great for a pair just beginning their partnership
• I'd love to see them get some international assignments next season
• Slight unison issue at the end of the spin sequence
• That was a lovely and elegant program choreographed by Marina Zoueva
• SP Score: 27.55 (TES) + 21.22 (PCS) = 48.77

Standings After the Short Program:
Yankowskas/Coughlin    64.40
Evora/Ladwig                  62.87
Marley/Brubaker            58.10
Denney/Barrett               57.79
Vise/Baldwin                    54.29
Castelli/Shnapir               51.48
Davis/Leftheris                51.07
Bereswill/Young                48.77
Donlan/Speroff                 48.62
Aaron/Cohen                     47.24
Moore/Gaumond              46.44
Katz/Lynch                        46.38
Smith/Bartholomay           43.60

2011 US Figure Skating Championships: Senior Pairs Predictions and Fantasy Picks

My Predictions:
1) Caitlin Yankowskas & John Coughlin
2) Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett
3) Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig
4) Marissa  Castelli & Simon Shnapir
5) Mary Beth Marley & Rockne Brubaker


My Fantasy Picks:                                     SkateGate's Fantasy Picks:
A) Yankowskas & Couglin                         A) Yankowskas & Coughlin
B) Marley & Brubaker                               B) Marley & Brubaker
C) Aaron & Cohen                                     C) Aaron & Cohen

Pairs is always a tough event to call at Nationals because anything can happen. When your pair teams are as inconsistent as they are in the US, falls and mistakes are practically inevitable, especially in high-pressure situations. However, I am going to be an optimist and hope that we have a fabulous senior pairs event this year with clean programs and tight competition. The pairs title really could go to about five different teams depending on how the chips fall, but I think this event is going to belong to Caitlin Yankowskas & John Coughlin. They have a fierce short program that they really attack and a gorgeous free skate to Ave Maria dedicated to the memory of John's mother. They put up some strong programs on the Grand Prix and have the hardware to prove it with a bronze medal at Cup of China. Their scores this season, a top combined score of 166.72, are competitive internationally and they qualified as second alternate for the Grand Prix Final. Based on their momentum from the Grand Prix, I think they are truly the team to beat in Greensboro.

Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett are the defending US National Champions but based on their Grand Prix performances, I think they will be playing catch up at Nationals, and that may be a good thing for them. Last year they came in as underdogs and won the title. This season, all the buzz is about Yankowskas & Coughlin so Denney & Barrett are going to find themselves in another situation where they are not necessarily favored to win, and that low-pressure situation very well could lead to another title. Though at first glance it seems that they had an unsuccessful Grand Prix season because they did not bring home medals, they competed against tougher fields than some of the other top US teams. And though they suffered a fall in the free skate, their Skate America score that landed them in 4th was 166.42, only .30 less than the score that won Yankowskas & Coughlin a bronze at Cup of China. I love their Free Skate to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and I think it is so dynamic and exciting. Their coaching switch to John Zimmerman has done wonders for their performance quality and I think they will put up a strong fight to hold onto their national title.

Reigning US silver medalists Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig will also be right in the thick of things. They struggled at Cup of China but ended their Grand Prix season with a bronze medal at Cup of Russia so they have great momentum going into Nationals. Both of their programs this season, short to The Mask of Zorro and free to Nessun Dorma are gorgeous and they have some of the best elements in the world if they can execute well. In fact, one of the lifts in their free skate was the highest scoring single element in the entire pairs competition at the Olympics last season. Because of their lack of consistency, I have them in third, but they could easily run away with this competition if they skate two clean programs. Their 110.27 in the free skate is the highest of any US pair this season so if they can stay in the top 3 in the short program, their free skate could put them atop the podium.

Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir are a wildcard team for me because they have some spectacular elements but are incredibly inconsistent. They showed us an incredible short program at Skate Canada but fell apart in the free skate and fell into a hole in Skate America with a weak short program but went on to put up a good number in the free skate. They have an edge to them and do not conform to tradition in terms of music or costumes with a Pink Floyd short program and an Avatar free skate. They can definitely shake things up if they show up fully loaded. They have a throw triple axel in their free skate and the consistency is improving so that will be a key element if they hope to knock one of the top three teams off of the podium.

Speaking of wildcards, Mary Beth Marley & Rockne Brubaker, most of us have yet to even see them compete. They put up a strong score internationally at Nesquik Cup that ranks them 5th overall in terms of US pair team scores and they'll look to make a big splash in Greensboro in order to prove they are the real deal and set themselves up for a strong season in 2011-2012. 

Countdown to US Figure Skating Championships: 25 Days!

Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig (Southwest Florida FSC)

• 2009 US Nationals 4th
• 2010 US Silver Medalists
• 2010 Olympics 10th
• 2010 World Championships 9th
• 2010 Cup of Russia Bronze Medalists

Amanda and Mark were the surprise of the 2010 Nationals as nobody expected them to make the Olympic team. They are beginning to build a strong reputation for themselves, but I am concerned that at this point they are too old to ever make a big splash internationally. However, they still have a shot at racking up a few more US National medals and they have a legitimate shot of winning this season. Like the other top US pair teams, they struggle with consistency, but if all of our top teams skate clean, I think Amanda & Mark will come out on top based on their program components and the beauty of their programs.