Senior Ladies SP

I'm excited, but I'm nervous for Ashley. I know people on here were saying Polina would be in the top three. I did not think it was going to happen.

If Edmunds lands in the top 3 i say send her. Sometimes these skaters peak at 15,16 and from then on can't land the more difficult jumps. So what if she has no experience as a Senior internationally she's going to be a star in the future i think if she can keep those big jumps.

Grace nailed it, I'm sorry I was asleep
so Wagner might not even make the Olympics Team ?

a few things...

gracie skated very well and i love this program so much more than the other one. it fits her so much more and it is so classy. perfect for her.

second, i hope to God ashley can pull up. i am an ashley fan but i am a fan of many others too so i don't mean to sound biased if i do, but this really is ashley's year. i feel she was VERY lowballed, i was expecting up towards a 69 and i feel she was deserving of a 68 ish. she sold everything and the only mistake was the tail end of the flip. if she would have skated clean i think she would have tied gracie since gracie sold her program so much.

third, i think polina was a bit overscored although her program was great. i would have given her a 64 and put her behind mirai.

fourth. AGNES. HER SCORE. CAN I CRY RIGHT NOW. HER FACE IN THE K&C. OMG. that was so heartbreaking. her oly dreams are basically shot. i personally would have put her behind hannah. but a 54?! these judges arent foolin anymore.

fifth. where are caroline's coaches? did they desert her or something? why would she come to nationals without coaches? gosh that would be so hard to put yourself out for competition alone. i hope she's okay especially after her placement.

sixth. rachael. i'm proud of her for getting out in front of this HUGE audience after two years and doing her thing. it's too bad she missed the lutz but i hope she can do a clean long. i will miss her dearly when she's done.

seventh. sam's score?! i'm also surprised they placed her so low. i was expecting 6th-8th but not 11th.

IMO the top 4 should be gracie, ashley, mirai, polina. the only reason i would have ashley ahead of mirai, despite the fact that mirai landed a triple triple and the rest of her jumps and ashley made a mistake is that ashley sold her program and has better choreo and interpretation. i did see the spark from mirai tonight...but it wasn't like in the past.

but i will say one thing, the long will be a different story for many skaters and i think we will see a shakeup in the standings. i think we have some pissed off skaters (agnes, hannah, ashley, etc) and i hope we see some great comebacks.

ForeverFish said:

Even if Ashley is in 4th, she's going to the Olympics (just my prediction). She's the US ladies' best bet for a medal in Sochi -- the federation would be fools not to send her.

Click to expand...

No she's not, Gracie is their No.1 American Lady
and their Golden Girl

Gracie has the biggest chance for an OGM atm, not Wagner

sky_fly20 said:

No she's not, Gracie is their No.1 American Lady
and their Golden Girl

Gracie has the biggest chance for an OGM atm, not Wagner

Click to expand...

macy said:

Click to expand...

I like Gracie too but there will be no living with sky_fly20 if she does pull it off and wins Nationals.

MIRAI!!! :yay: And she didn't look the least bit bored unlike in past years. Let's hope she can do well in the LP too.

Why do so many people think USFSA will send Ashley Wagner even if she doesn't finish in the top three at Nationals? There is absolutely no precedent for something like that happening. The only times they haven't sent top two or top three skaters is if an injured favorite petitions onto the team or if a skater/team who placed higher isn't eligible due to age or citizenship issues.
Make no mistake, I agree (at this point) she's the U.S.'s best shot at a medal for the ladies, but there have been times in the past (Jeremy Abbott in 2011 and 2013 being the most recent cases) where a skater who could be considered the U.S.'s top skater finished outside the top three/two, and he didn't make the world team either time. I have a very hard time believing U.S. Figure Skating will put Ashley on the Olympic team if she doesn't go out there and earn it.

And I do expect her to come back Saturday and earn it.

coolboogie22 said:

I agree, I'm so happy that Mirai bring back her great personality and her joy of skating :yay:
She was skating like a world class skater tonight!!

I would have put her 2nd in the SP.

Mirai is back!!!

Click to expand...

Even before I could get through the thread and get to where the videos were posted, just reading about Mirai's skate from those who posted about it made my eyes welly. And that doesn't happen that often! So thrilled just to see her seeming to enjoy skating again and to have done so well in the process!

Gracie seemed far more confident to me - and her dress suited her well and was gorgeous.

I'm anxious to see Christina and Samantha. And Polina - especially Saturday, to see how she handles the pressure.

As for Agnes, though admittedly I wasn't keen on how much of a 'shoe-in' that it seemed like she was being considered prior to this, I'm a little surprised her scores were as low as they were. But I suspect that has definitely opened the door for some of the others who I think may handle the pressure better than her, though I feel badly for her at the same time.

I'm glad to read there were so many (positive) surprises tonight and I'm anxious to get to actually watch it all, and then to see how Saturday plays out!

Thanks to those of you were posting for those of us who couldn't watch - and thanks to those who posted links, as well!

Ashley's stock took a big hit after placing 3rd at the GPF.

Gold comes here with renew confidence, a clean SP with a 3z/3t, and Frank Carroll as her coach. She's the USFSA's best chance for a medal.


The LP will be exciting. I pick Polina to stay in second and go to the Olympics along with Gracie.

It will be a bloodbath between Wagner and Nagasu for the third spot,

Who of Wagner and Nagasu will be the Tonia Kwiatkowski/Angela Nikodinov of this cycle? :scowl: :no:

Jammers said:

If Edmunds lands in the top 3 i say send her. Sometimes these skaters peak at 15,16 and from then on can't land the more difficult jumps. So what if she has no experience as a Senior internationally she's going to be a star in the future i think if she can keep those big jumps.

Click to expand...

that's almost a contradiction send her, some top out at 15 and 16 yet she will be a star in the future lol. But sure why not send her and maybe leave Mirai at home. She had her chance. Now she suddenly improves but we'll see the free where the girls and women will be separted and where Wagner will fight back. I still think national inflation is the worst i have seen in the US compared to other nations.

First of all, I hate Ice Network. It froze up during all of the top ladies skaters. I didn't see Gracie's 3-3 because IN froze up at that moment. But leaving that aside, I was thrilled for Mirai!
But, at the same time, I'm worried about Ashley. Is Nationals her nemesis? She was lucky to win last year and here, she is in fourth place! But she is a strong long program skater, so I do expect her to bring it. Gracie skated well. I can't argue with her score. I can argue with Polina's score, however. Her PCS was too high. Are her components really better than Mirai's? She is a very nice skater, with lots of potential but I think she should have scored lower than both Mirai and Ashley. In the old system, with ordinals, I'm sure she would have. There is no way she should go to the Olympics over Ashley, if it came that. Unless, of course, USFS is on a suicide mission.

Dots said:

Ashley's stock took a big hit after placing 3rd at the GPF.

Gold comes here with renew confidence, a clean SP with a 3z/3t, and Frank Carroll as her coach. She's the USFSA's best chance for a medal.

Click to expand...

this sums about all of it

caseyl23 said:

Why do so many people think USFSA will send Ashley Wagner even if she doesn't finish in the top three at Nationals? There is absolutely no precedent for something like that happening. The only times they haven't sent top two or top three skaters is if an injured favorite petitions onto the team or if a skater/team who placed higher isn't eligible due to age or citizenship issues.
.

Click to expand...

Maybe not for the Olympics, but USFS sent Kimmie Meissner to Worlds one year when she didn't finish in the top three.

caseyl23 said:

Why do so many people think USFSA will send Ashley Wagner even if she doesn't finish in the top three at Nationals? There is absolutely no precedent for something like that happening. The only times they haven't sent top two or top three skaters is if an injured favorite petitions onto the team or if a skater/team who placed higher isn't eligible due to age or citizenship issues.
Make no mistake, I agree (at this point) she's the U.S.'s best shot at a medal for the ladies, but there have been times in the past (Jeremy Abbott in 2011 and 2013 being the most recent cases) where a skater who could be considered the U.S.'s top skater finished outside the top three/two, and he didn't make the world team either time. I have a very hard time believing U.S. Figure Skating will put Ashley on the Olympic team if she doesn't go out there and earn it. You can only lose the title in the short program not win it.


And I do expect her to come back Saturday and earn it.

Click to expand...

Ashley is in it. You can only lose your spot in the short program you don't win it yet. Wagner is in striking distance easily of the podium and even Gracie could fall from grace excuse the pun faster than Johnny Weir loses sequins and feathers.

jenaj said:

Maybe not for the Olympics, but USFS sent Kimmie Meissner to Worlds one year when she didn't finish in the top three.

Click to expand...

But that was because 1-2-4 were not age eligible (Nagasu, Flatt, Zhang); so the US sent 3rd (Wagner), 5th (Liang), and actually I believe WERE going to send 6th (Hacker) but she declined, so the spot went to 7th (Meissner).

swurvestar said:

Am I the only one that's actually excited at all these surprises? It's making Nationals much more interesting that's for sure!

Click to expand...

This. I'm so pleasantly surprised to see these results, and I don't have any problems with any of judging.

Gracie skated great, so happy for her. Love the new short program and the dress (although red for the SP again?) but I wish she'd ditch the high bun. Hope she can carry the momentum into Saturday and doesn't get intimidated by skating last. She just has to stay on her feet and Sochi is hers (and possibly a National title while she's at it?).

Ashley, Ashley... She sold her program amazingly well but the placement just goes to show that there's no messing around in an Olympic season. I have no doubt she'll pull up in the long and make the team comfortably, but a 3rd National title is looking questionable.

Really happy for Mirai and Polina too, but Ashley Cain seriously came out of nowhere! I had no idea she had a 3-3, let alone 3F-3T! Looks like the fight for the 3rd spot comes down to Mirai, Polina, Ashley Cain, and Christina Gao. In terms of consistency, I'm betting on Polina and Christina to deliver clean longs. Not sure if the scores will reflect that though. Still frustrated by Gao's footwork stumbles. She's so much better than this.

I'm hoping "worn-out Wagner" skates the hell out of her LP and wins just so sky_fly20 will shut up, but imagine if Wagner didn't make the team and Nagasu did. And if Nagasu placed 4th in Sochi? LOL she'd be like the anti-Wagner, doing well at nothing but the Olympics while Wagner places well at every competition but doesn't make it to the Olympics.

A handful of the ladies' videos are on this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/0316seisato/videos