Senior Ladies Short Jan 26 7:30 PM | Page 14 | Golden Skate

Senior Ladies Short Jan 26 7:30 PM

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Just read the results. WOW for Agnes and Ashley, good for them. Glad Alissa stayed on her feet and how about Caroline sitting in 4th. Can't wait to see the videos.
Sounds like it was a good competition, sorry I missed it.
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Happy for Caroline. I'm glad she stuck it out. I was worried she might give up but she has truly improved. Glad Alissa skated well and that Mirai is still in the mix. Finally Ashley put together a clean sp at nationals. Poor Rachel. I'm so not a fan and I've never truly enjoyed her skating but I feel for her. I do like her long program. First time I've ever liked her long program. Hope she's able to skate it clean.

Dream podium would be Caroline, Alissa and Mirai but Ashley will probably do well and if she does I'll be happy for her. She has a great long program.
 

PolymerBob

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
It really was a well skated event. I'm glad Caroline did so well. She may even be able to pull herself a notch or 2 in the free. It would be great if she made the World team. :clap:
 

tulosai

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Rachael is in NINTH? What on earth happened?

But how splendid for Caroline. Fingers are crossed.

A few things happened:

1. Singled a double axle.
2. Level 2 on one spin and on footwork. Also one level 3 spin. Everyone in the top 5 had level 3 footwork and (I think) all level 4 spins.
3. USFSA's love affair with inflating her PCS's beyond all reason appears to be over.
 

wonderlen3000

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Did anybody have any idea what are the TES (jumps content) will be attempting from the final group?? Is Alizza still going to do 3+3??
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I predicted after last years Worlds Flatt was done with the USFSA and this has indeed been the case. Even without the singled axel she would have had only about 55 points and been out of the final flight. She might as well go to college full time now. She is past her prime and after her terrible and dishonest decision to skate at Worlds injured last year which probably cost the U.S regaining 3 spots for Worlds, she has gone from the USFSA held up pet to the their enfant terrible. She will become the next Fumie Suguri minus the international assignments if she stays.

Even though Agnes did a good short I hope it is Ashley and Alissa who make the World team. I think they are the U.S's best chance at 3 spots again.
 
Last edited:

BackStage Barbie

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
I predicted after last years Worlds Flatt was done with the USFSA and this has indeed been the case. Even without the singled axel she would have had only about 55 points and been out of the final flight. She might as well go to college full time now. She is past her prime and after her terrible and dishonest decision to skate at Worlds injured last year which probably cost the U.S regaining 3 spots for Worlds, she has gone from the USFSA held up pet to the their enfant terrible. She will become the next Fumie Suguri minus the international assignments if she stays.

Even though Agnes did a good short I hope it is Ashley and Alissa who make the World team. I think they are the U.S's best chance at 3 spots again.

Thank you for saying everything I was thinking
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Gracie for 4cc and if she does really well for Worlds!

Like most, I'm ok with 4CC but even if Gracie did well there I wouldn't send her to Worlds. I do think she could do well, perhaps better than most US ladies we could potentially send, but it just strikes me as unfair. Skaters like Ashley and Caroline slug it out at senior nationals year after year and fail to make the team. Dick Button has said Nationals is the most difficult competition and under the pressure even great skaters like Kwan and Cohen have had poor performances. So many other factors add pressure (skating before a live television audience and a packed venue, media attention, etc.) that for a junior skater to bypass all of this and get on the World team strikes me as grossly unfair.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
It really was a well skated event. I'm glad Caroline did so well. She may even be able to pull herself a notch or 2 in the free. It would be great if she made the World team. :clap:

Sorry, I don't want her to do quite well enough to make the world team. There's too much chance of her bombing once AT worlds.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Personally, unless there is some written rule that forbids it, I don't think any factor but performance should determine who goes to Worlds. The point is to win, not to pass out favors to all the lovely girls who work so hard. If Gracie kills at 4CC and no one else does, she'd be our strongest bet at Worlds too.

That said, I'm really hoping Agnes pulls it out for a win here. That SP was so strong and mature. The program is not particularly to my taste, and I agree with Backstage Barbie who mentioned in her blog that Agnes's hair and costume seemed very "harsh." She deserves better. But she really put it down last night.

As for what happened to Rachael - she had a LOT of competition last night. I lost track of all the talented girls. She no longer has the unflappable steadiness that she had. She made only one major mistake and got nice applause, but instead of raising the bar in order to face down the competition, she merely made it through the program that blew the roof off last year.
 

BackStage Barbie

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Personally, unless there is some written rule that forbids it, I don't think any factor but performance should determine who goes to Worlds. The point is to win, not to pass out favors to all the lovely girls who work so hard. If Gracie kills at 4CC and no one else does, she'd be our strongest bet at Worlds too.

That said, I'm really hoping Agnes pulls it out for a win here. That SP was so strong and mature. The program is not particularly to my taste, and I agree with Backstage Barbie who mentioned in her blog that Agnes's hair and costume seemed very "harsh." She deserves better. But she really put it down last night.

As for what happened to Rachael - she had a LOT of competition last night. I lost track of all the talented girls. She no longer has the unflappable steadiness that she had. She made only one major mistake and got nice applause, but instead of raising the bar in order to face down the competition, she merely made it through the program that blew the roof off last year.

Spun Silver, I agree with you in regard to Rachael. She was always "Reliable Rachael" and when she lost that consistency, she lost what made her a contender. She always had the mental toughness to stick a program when other "head cases" unraveled. I've always given her the benefit of the doubt and I was blown away by East of Eden last year at Nationals because it was such a departure from the way she usually performs. She just didn't have the same spark and life in her skating last night. I feel that she does still really love skating but she's had a tough season and that has to be getting go her. She'll have to dig deep in the off season and figure out what she really wants and what is best for her.
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Sorry, I don't want her to do quite well enough to make the world team. There's too much chance of her bombing once AT worlds.

I dont want to see her make it to Worlds this year either. I dont think she would do well. I think it is better for her to get back in the top 5 and get Grand Prix assignments for next year, then maybe make it next year if they have 3 spots, she has improved more, and has a good Nationals.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
I went to see the Ladies SP. Some notes on a few of the top 10 girls

1. Yasmin. She had the worst ice coverage in the top 10. I was surprised at her score because her combo is probably the easiest. Doesn't seem to perform this time.
2. Mirai. Wow, Mirai must be slower than at least 7 or 8 girls in the top 10. She was really slow. Her speed going into her 2A was almost Caroline's speed back in the day minus the compete halt. Did not perform, did not connect to the audience at all. Her score is huge for what she did. Then Haley Dunne skated immediately after her, and showed everyone how it's done. That explained the boo when Haley got her score relative to Mirai.
3. Alissa. I'm surprised to see Alissa isn't as slow as most other girls, she covered the ice better. But she didn't do anything between elements. Just cross-overs. Huge score for PCS. Agnes should beat her on every components. Her TR should be the lowest of the top 10. Smooth landing on the first two jumps. Looked fully rotated in real time.
4. Agnes. Wow!!! During warm-up, she doubled a few times. I was nervous for her. Then her 3T3T combo. And the beautiful 3Lutz. Gracie should take a look at Agnes' 3Lutz. It was perfect from take off to landing. Perfect air position. Love this SP. I thought they would give her 63 just to keep Alissa in the game. Good score! Now, this girl is still very slow. Maybe work on her speed and consistency. The US fed has 2 great girls who can outjump the Russian babies. Need to start polish both of them now.
5. Vanessa. Second worst ice coverage. Her jumps aren't as tiny as Hannah Miller or Yasmin, but they are small. She needs to work on her flutz. Speed is ok. Her step sequence is probably the best of the top 10. Very effortless with a lot of turns. Didn't lose speed throughout the steps. Which made sense because she got level 4 on her steps several times this year. Also, she seemed too focused and thoughtful throughout. Maybe learn how to perform.
6. Caroline. WOW!!!!! She did the 3loop-3loop once in warm up and it looked really good. I was so nervous for her. Her combo in the competition looked fully rotated in real time. When they showed the slow-mo, I thought it looked close but I would give it to her. Her flip was good. Axel is still work-in-progress. She performed. She was happy out there. They totally lowballed her. There's no way that program should be lower than Alissa and Ashley. What a crooked event.
7. Christina. Troubled on her flip, so she aborted the 3T. She did 3F3T in warm up twice I believe. The second time, she URed and two-footed the 3T. Overall, ok performance. She is the fastest girl in the top 10. Axel is also work-in-progress. I believe she can develop a bit more.
8. Rachael. She landed the 3F in warm-up. Then doubled her 3Lutz later. Then went back and rotated the 3Lutz-2T. I thought she's smart to do the Lutz in combo. She wouldn't need to have steps in front of it. What a fighter! From not able to land flips and lutz to put both of them out in the SP. Trouble with the 2A. I thought she would be around 56-57. Oh well. She got quite a few groupies with her. During the warm-up, they did a segment on her.
 
Top