Ladies - Qualifying B - Comments

I'm happy for Sasha. One fall isn't bad......

This proves even with a fall Sasha still can pull up big numbers.

Wow, Sasha won her QR. Glad she starts strong.

Sasha's PCS scores are a little lower than I expected. Nothing above 7.5. Looks as though you have to be great to get an 8 in singles. Not so for pairs or dance.

Didn't Plushenko also only get 7s for his PCS marks? Maybe the judges are holding back in the qualifying.

Joannie! I guess it's only Q round but that skate was so uncharacteristic. Hopefully, it's out of her system now.

Big-time BUMMER for the Canadian ladies, Cynthia & Joannie. Where are they overall? 10th & 16th? Sheesh....

Michelle/Sasha

I am very happy for Sasha and disappointed for Michelle. There were reasons for Michelle's scores and I don't think the judges are sending her any messages. She just had a bad skate. I think she will come back fighting however. I hope Sasha can maintain her momentum and do really well for herself. It would be vindication for her decision to go back to John Nicks and would shut up alot of people.

kyla2 said:

I am very happy for Sasha and disappointed for Michelle. There were reasons for Michelle's scores and I don't think the judges are sending her any messages. She just had a bad skate. I think she will come back fighting however. I hope Sasha can maintain her momentum and do really well for herself. It would be vindication for her decision to go back to John Nicks and would shut up alot of people.

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ITA with you kyla2, and I hope both of them skate their best.

Now that Rosaleen has updated her comments on Michelle with the levels (thanks, Rosaleen! ), I have to say that it's criminal that Kwan should have only a Level 1 spiral sequence. Without having seen her performance, it's hard to know whether it was intended to be Level 2 but perhaps was downgraded because she didn't hold her positions long enough, but if it's an absolute Level 1 regardless of execution, then shame on all of her advisors because she's certainly capable of more.

Very happy for Cohen - would love to see her follow this up with great short and long and a big win! This qualifying group had tougher judging, I think, but regardless, all the ladies are still really in the mix, much like the men were after qualifying, with many, very similar scores. Hope Rochette can pull up after the short. Sounds like nobody had a great qualifier.

Frau Muller said:

Big-time BUMMER for the Canadian ladies, Cynthia & Joannie. Where are they overall? 10th & 16th? Sheesh....

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Yes, overall they may be that far down right now - but it isn't over yet.

Joannie finished 5th in her group (group B). That places her in group #4 for the short, which is the next to last group (top 3 each in A and B go to group 5, 4th-6th to group 4, etc). If she skates well, she could move into the final group - very much like Jeff Buttle did.

Cynthia finished 8th in group A, so she will skate in group #3 for the short. She still has a chance to move into group #3 for the long (she would have to be in 7th-12th after the short).

Herm (sk8ngnutt)

BittyBug said:

Now that Rosaleen has updated her comments on Michelle with the levels (thanks, Rosaleen! ), I have to say that it's criminal that Kwan should have only a Level 1 spiral sequence. Without having seen her performance, it's hard to know whether it was intended to be Level 2 but perhaps was downgraded because she didn't hold her positions long enough, but if it's an absolute Level 1 regardless of execution, then shame on all of her advisors because she's certainly capable of more.

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Michelle's spiral sequence at nats was just barely a level 2, so i'm not shocked that she only acheived a level one with an otherwise mediocre performance. It is terribly disappointing, though, since I always thought spirals to be her strong point.

yelyoh said:

Sasha's PCS scores are a little lower than I expected. Nothing above 7.5. Looks as though you have to be great to get an 8 in singles. Not so for pairs or dance.

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Now that I've seen part of Sasha's performance on CBC, she looked a little tentative. To me, her program did not have the flow and grace that we have come to expect from her. So I think the component scores were right for this performance.

Sasha said afterward that the early hour (she had to get up at 6:00 AM for practice) affected her.

Mathman

Mathman,
Thanks for the Mathman's-eye-view from the CBC. ITA with Kyla2, I'm very happy for Sasha and disappointed for Michelle. But icy performances tend to bring out the fire in Michelle (okay, the analogy doesn't really work, lol), but you know what I mean. As I said on another post, I sure ain't counting Michelle out from anything! I also hope Sasha puts together three performances she can be proud of, which would be a big step forward for her. And as I've said before, this year, my heart is with Irina.

But then there are all those gorgeous Japanese women! And the Canadians! Let's just double all the medals--2 golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronze.

Also, as I said on the "Comments on the A Qualifying Round" thread, would somebody be a sweetie and list the top 10 finishers in each Q group and their points? I realize it's only 14% of the total, but it would make it easier for some of us numerically challenged to see a list and the point spread for the A and B Qualifying groups. Unless of course there're already up and I've missed them

Thanks,
Rgirl

Changing edge spirals are not that new anymore. Sasha can do spectacularly, and some ladies can even do it in biellman spin position...Michelle also does not have great layback spin which is very important as a top lady competitior...She used to do that spin with both arms holding behind her back and with the back similar to layback position, somehow she did not do it anymore...her Y spin is not that attractive as Sasha's...A few extra pounds(maybe she keeps the same weight, but the lack of sufficient training just let you look more than you really are.) would not even let the great choreography look like it should be...I love Michelle as a person and as a skater, and now just worry about if she can fight back...

Body Language

Michelle Kwan looked absolutely terrified before stepping out in the Qualifying Round. Her body language made it obvious that she was nervous and things were not going well. Things went poorly.

Irina looked very business like before getting onto the ice. She was a little sloppy in some of her elements, and she changed her program to add another 3 loop, but she was powerful and secure on most of the jumps. Her spins were only fair, for her.

Body language said a lot this time around.

Jesslily, this is twice now recently that you've commented on Michelle's weight and how she needs to lose a few pounds. I'm sorry, but that's absolutely ridiculous. I just watched her qualifying skate on TV and she looked fantastic--slim and gorgeous. She's perfect just the way she is.

eyria said:

Jesslily, this is twice now recently that you've commented on Michelle's weight and how she needs to lose a few pounds. I'm sorry, but that's absolutely ridiculous. I just watched her qualifying skate on TV and she looked fantastic--slim and gorgeous. She's perfect just the way she is.

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I agree that Michelle looks "fantastic--slim and gorgeous"--absolutely! But I also noticed that she does not look as muscular in her upper body as she did for Nationals and Worlds in 2004 and especially in 2003. Maybe it's a factor in her jumps, maybe not. Maybe muscles are in the eye of the beholder.

I also felt that Peter was correct in his assessment that Michelle was skating on the defensive. I don't think I've seen her skate like that since the '02 Olympics LP. One of the commentators (I forget which one) also said Michelle looked very angry with herself coming off the ice. I hope this is correct, because in the past this has seemed to motivate Michelle to blow the roof off the building.

Having said that, I'm just as much a fan of Irina's skating. Her power, speed, and depth of edges don't come across well on TV, but in person, I find her breathtaking. Nobody's Q round was a "caereer best" but they aren't supposed to be. Peggy said Irina was the only skater who performed with real energy. I hope she has enough to get through the whole competition and not have a repeat of her Euros LP.

I like what Nicks and Sasha have done with "Nutcracker"--more interesting spin positions and the many changes in the FW sequence. Also, this is the most triple jump and jump combos I've seen Cohen land if not completely successfully (flutzing and the two-foot on the opening combo). She said in the interview that she was delayed in getting to Moscow. I hope the jet lag doesn't catch up with her tomorrow. IMO, Cohen still looks too thin. I think adding about two pounds of muscle would help with her jumps

Gee whiz, Shizza is gorgeous! It looks as if Tarasova sent her for a makeover. Her hair and make-up look great, it looks like she's lost a few pounds (probably another bit of TT coaching) and IMO, it helps with her line and overall look. Beautiful costume, BTW, and no more wedgie, yay! Kind of imploded in the second half, but if she skates that program the way I know she can skate it, she'll be amazing.

As for Kirk, all I can say is, "Poor Jenny." My heart just goes out for her.

Anyway, there are a lot of "ifs" here. Based only on having seen the few skaters ESPN showed in the Q round, Irina's scores seemed completely legitimate to me. No "holding up" as far as I could see. I might feel differently after seeing the SP. But we'll see tomorrow--or rather, later today.

Good luck, ladies!

Rgirl