Pairs Competition

[tulosai]

So Duhamel/Radford win their first Canadian title together and along with Dube/Wolfe will comprise the 2012 Canadian pairs entries for Worlds.

Senior Pair
Rank Competitor(s) Section SP FP Points
1 Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford QC 60.92 129.19 190.11
2 Jessica Dube / Sebastien Wolfe QC 60.65 110.95 171.60
3 Paige Lawrence / Rudi Swiegers SK 58.55 110.29 168.84
4 Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch WO 60.26 104.16 164.42
5 Taylor Steele / Rob Schultz WO 46.88 97.45 144.33
6 Margaret Purdy / Michael Marinaro WO 49.27 93.13 142.40
7 Brittany Jones / Kurtis Gaskell WO 53.16 88.10 141.26
8 Natasha Purich / Raymond Schultz AB/NT/NU 47.42 93.55 140.97
9 Julianne Séguin / Andrew Evans QC 45.82 89.77 135.59
10 Noemie Arseneault / Simon-Pierre Côté QC 44.03 88.61 132.64
11 Alexie Gélinas / David Struthers QC 39.79 78.34 118.13
12 Andrea Tou / Matthew Penasse CO 37.58 63.59 101.17

I am SO happy for Dube and Wolfe! I can't even really explain why but I have taken a strong liking to them after this competition. I hope they are able to grow together as a team

I like Duhamel/Radford and am happy for them as well. As someone else said above I don't really have a 'favorite' Canadian team at this point so I'm just enjoying the show.

Lawrence/Sweigers are probably my favorite to WATCH and I also hope they grow together as a team over the next few years.

I don't really know what's going on with Moore-Towers and Moscovitch but hopefully they'll come back strong next season.

Overall I'm pleased with the results

[ImaginaryPogue]

Second season in a row for Mt/M to peak up their first event.

[blue_idealist]

Meagan Duhamel's reaction to winning the national title was PRICELESS!

[museksk8r]

The delight and joy displayed by Meagan and Eric is infectious! I am so pleased for them! Tracy Wilson said on air that they could challenge for top 5 in the World with this performance, but I actually think they can challenge for the bronze medal if they skate this well again in the LP and can also pull off a clean SP at Worlds. The status of Kavaguti/Smirnov at this point is unclear with his injury and Aliona Savchenko is also dealing with an injury. I wish for Sasha and Aliona to be completely healed and ready for Worlds, but you never know what could happen. Duhamel/Radford are the cream of the crop for NA pairs and they could legitimately win 4CC this year if they skate like tonight!

[Kara Bear]

Duhamel's smile made my night. Out of all the performances I saw to day, Duhamel/Radford's were my favorite.

[Kara Bear]

Oh, my other pairs long comment: Lawrence/Swiegers & Moore-Towers/Moscovitch both looked really nervous. All kinds of little glitches in both programs. The wipeout by Moore-Towers/Moscovitch made me gasp and cover my eyes. Lift falls scare the poop out of me.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Yeah, Duhamel/Radford were phenomenal tonight. One slight error (Ur on the 3Lz, I think from her) didn't mar a terrific performance (though Megan seemed to be so excited she nearly forgot to do the final spin, apparently). I think top five would be amazing for them this year.

Dube/Wolfe were fine in a minor way. I don't think much of this program, but they skated it relatively clean. I wonder if all those people who wrote Jessica off and/or ragged her for the end of Dube/Davison are taking back those words now.

Mt/M.... well, I love Kirsten's comment in the KnC ("I still love figure skating") and this program is actually my second favourite pairs LP of the season, but obviously, this was not good. Some weaker moments throughout beyond the epic spills.

Lawrence/Sweigers.... like them a lot, but not a great skate either.

Well, this wasn't the podium I/anyone predicted.

[katia]

Duhamel/Radford were perfect, I also loved their reaction after the skate.
Mt/M program clearly went wrong, I was truly scared when I saw their mistakes.
I like Lawwrence/Sweigers, I am sorry that they did not skated clean because I still prefer their program from the Dube/Wolfe's program.
Dube/Wolfe performance was good, but somehow I do not feel that their program is good enough for international competitions. Still, they made a lot of improvement lately so one never knows.

[skatingfan04]

I'm really happy for Duhamel/Radford. Honestly, they couldn't have skated better.

Dube/Wolfe are really impressive for a new team. I don't think they'll fair as well at worlds as M-T/M would have, but still, they earned their spot and I think they'll skate well.

Lawrence/Swiegers, despite the weird lift disaster, looked a whole lot better here than they did at Skate Canada. Shame they won't be making the trip to worlds.

I really don't know what to say about Moore-Towers/Moscovitch except that Kirsten is incredible. To land all of the jumps like that after such a disastrous program is truly the mark of a champion. I think they're spectacular, and their programs this season were a huge step up. It's a shame that one fluke disaster will prevent them from finishing their season.

[Art&Sport]

Wonderful pairs competition! I haven’t been that impressed by Canadian pairs teams since S/P, although D/D were a nice team that somehow didn’t grow together and looked pretty bad at 2010 Olympics, where I thought the judging in pairs was unfair against the U.S team of Evora/ Ladwig who clearly performed better than the Canadian teams at that event.

Ever since I first saw D/R and Mt/M last season, I have been impressed with their strengths, and I now feel that the top Canadian pair teams are stronger in many ways than the current American pairs. This competition was great to witness. Even despite the mistakes clearly caused by nerves and adrenalin that happened to some of the top teams, it was an exciting event to watch. The caliber of all four of the top Canadian pairs is quite high – too bad only 2 teams can go to Worlds. If the top two perform as well or better than they did in this competition, they should win back a 3rd pairs spot for Canada, as the sport heads into the run-up to the Olympic season. If these teams continue to push each other and 3 are able to compete at Canada Worlds in 2013, that will really be something to see. The relatively new Canadian team of Bobak/ Beharry in Juniors is clearly also very strong and a team that seems to have a great future.

D/W are much improved and really wowed in the SP. Jessica has found her match, and this team will be fun to watch as they continue to grow and improve. Too bad for Mt/M’s mistakes, as they have great music especially in the fp, along with some wonderful elements. I also have a new found appreciation for L/S. I thought D/R performed solidly during the GP series, but their skating at this competition is the strongest I’ve ever seen from them. They definitely deserve their win, and the joy on their faces is what makes watching this sport worthwhile.

[sky_fly20]

very surprised that Duhamel / Radford are improving consistently every season but I'm happy for them
hope to see videos soon of their performance soon

[tulosai]

I've actually watched all the performances now so I'm updating my initial reaction.

Duhamel and Radford made my night. Their skate, and their reactions, were truly beautiful. I felt more genuinely happy for them than I've felt for any skater(s) in quite a while now. I almost felt like I was going to cry. I do think a top 5 finish at worlds is possible for them and would be lovely.

I remain happy for Dube/Wolfe and think that getting the International experience under their belt (I know they were part of the GP, but still) will be a very positive thing for them as they are such a new team. I do think that the 2 teams behind them would probably have had a better Worlds showing but they earned their spot fair and square and they are SO much improved since the GP that I can't help but be very impressed with them and excited about their potential.

It was really hard for me to watch MT/M. I wonder if she is injured or if it was just a really off night. Either way I wish them the best next season. Their attitude, considering everything, seemed really great to me.

I really love L/S. They have a lot of personality on the ice; I might have had them in second myself. I am also excited to see them develop next season and beyond.

[mmcdermott]

My reaction was very similar to yours, tulosai. I was wondering if Moore-Towers and Moskovich were sick or something. That was a strange performance from them. I'm so excited about Dube/Wolfe as well. Their improvement over the past few months is astounding. I can't wait to see where they'll be at Worlds.

Let's hope that the two teams at Worlds can do well enough to qualify three teams for next year. It's too bad that only 3(max) of these teams - and Bobak/Beharry will be in the mix next year too - can compete in Sochi.

[derplutz]

What is going on with Kirsten and Dylan . . . an injury perhaps? They were so strong during the GP season and now they may not even medal here.

Bad coaching.

[pangtongfan]

The delight and joy displayed by Meagan and Eric is infectious! I am so pleased for them! Tracy Wilson said on air that they could challenge for top 5 in the World with this performance, but I actually think they can challenge for the bronze medal if they skate this well again in the LP and can also pull off a clean SP at Worlds. The status of Kavaguti/Smirnov at this point is unclear with his injury and Aliona Savchenko is also dealing with an injury. I wish for Sasha and Aliona to be completely healed and ready for Worlds, but you never know what could happen. Duhamel/Radford are the cream of the crop for NA pairs and they could legitimately win 4CC this year if they skate like tonight!

No way they could come close to either the Germans or Volosozhar & Trankov. Those two teams can afford numerous major mistakes and still come out ahead of a clean Duhamel & Radford at this point. To win the bronze would be a heroic feat, they would need to skate spectacularly and both Kavaguti & Smirnov and Pang & Tong (who reportedly will be at Worlds) would have to have mistakes, but I guess an outside possability. I do think they should start to beat the Zhangs regularly from here. Barazova & Larionov are hard to call but they are up and down.