Agnes on the list ?
might as well add Rachel Flatt![]()
Remember that Nagasu was elevated over Flatt for the 3rd alternate spot (Rachael finished 6th and Mirai 7th at Nationals).
Agnes has potential as we saw in her SP at Nats but she has to stop tanking in the LP.
anyone who thinks Agnes replacing Alyssa at Worlds is a good idea, no need to look further than Agnes' abbyssmal performance all season, even her 4CC was a disaster, I still think her nationals was a fluke. I Know she is the 1st alternate but sending her even if she is clean would barely reach top 10, if she bombs she'll score an overall between 130'ss-140's. so there is no alternative to Alyssa atm,
[sarcasm] I say they replace Alissa and Ashley with Gracie! What's the point of having two entries? Everyone knows if Gracie competes she'll win the competition by 40+, smashing Yu-Na Kim's record score from Vancouver! [/sarcasm] Why is Gracie's name even in this discussion?
I guess it's fun to debate (boredom is a mutha..) but it's a pointless discussion because Agnes is the first alternate which means if Alissa pulls out for some reason, Agnes will be the one replacing her. I'm not confident in Agnes doing much better than what Alissa can do at this point. Agnes had a good SP at nationals but the rest of her skating this season has been nothing to brag about, plus she has no pull with the judges in terms of scores.
Even with her problems Alissa is the best choice for that 2nd spot. If she manages to skate decently she'll get the scores needed to place well...same can't be said for Agnes.
Heck I'm not confident in Zawadzki even MATCHING Czisny on her worst day. Get this, AZ SB was only FIVE points higher than Alyssa's CC score. So if Czisny pulls out, our chances of 3 spots go from moderately slim to nonexistent. We could even lose the 2nd spot actually...so I'd just rather not think about it.
After 4CC, I maintain CZhang should have been moved up to 1st alternate position because even with her issues, she's still a stronger threat. Even Nagasu might be a better choice for crying out loud... so the order IMHO should have been: Wagner & Czisny for team / Alternates: 1. CZhang 2. Nagasu 3. Zawadzki
after all USFS wasn't afraid to "mix up" the alternates for 4CCs...
You know, I may seem down on Zawadzki- that's not my intent. I really do wish the best for her, she's cool and all- but in terms of THIS season, in THIS situation, judging by her past performances, there are other skaters which IMHO would be better choices for worlds alternate.
The potential is there, obviously, judging by her Natls SP (hopefully it wasn't a fluke) and if she can get her LP nerves under control and remain healthy, I have no doubt that she will become a world contender. But obviously she isn't one right now. Not even close. I'm seeing shades of Czisny in 2007...
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