Emily Hughes

[JonnyCoop]

But...Emily winning next year? Got a bridge over here I can sell!

If Alissa Czisny can win the long program at Nats like she did last season, and if Rudy Galindo can win the Nats PERIOD, then I don't think it's far-fetched to think that Emily can conceivably win Nats next year. I'd certainly bet on THAT before I would bet on some of the other names that have been thrown around on this thread making the podium. And the season hasn't even started yet, so it's a bit early to speculate on anyone....

Why does Emily need to lose 10 pounds? Does EVERYONE have to look like Qing Pang??

Lastly, I too agree that "Carmina Burina" is a rather heavy selection, but let's see what she does with it. Personally, I think she should have stayed with "Sylvia" for another season; the music really suits her well, but IMHO the program seemed a little "unfinished" to me and was one of those programs that I feel could have gotten much stronger had it been allowed to evolve for another year.

 

[mskater93]

I LIKE Carmina Burana for her. It requires lots of speed and BIG jumps which just might make her deliver to her potential. I thought Sylvia was totally the wrong style for her - too light.

I think it will be a tough season to win Nats for Emily. Meissner's been spotted working with Frank Carroll the last couple weeks, especially on the 3A which I understand looks much better....

 

[R.D.]

Whatever one does in practice should not be the concern of another skater. It means squat until the jump shows up in competition. THEN you start shaking in your boots :yes:

I think it will be tough for Hughes because she is attempting to balance college with top-level skating. One will get shafted in favor of the other, and I think we know what it's going to be. Of course, it'll be different if she decides to go on leave and focus on skating full-time again. But for that reason mainly, I'm saying that I don't see her remaining competitive enough to beat Meissner. Meissner would have to completely crumble (something she hasn't done, although she's had the rough night here and there). Then again, I don't think ANYONE could have possibly thought of Alyssa doing what she did last year. But I think the chance of her repeating that next year is very small.

 

[flying camel]

Why does Emily need to lose 10 pounds? Does EVERYONE have to look like Qing Pang??

I think Emily is a nice size. But I think most feel that her jumps would look lighter if she were lighter. But they may not. I think she tries to be so aggressive that she just pounds down on the landings.

 

[childfreegirl]

And the season hasn't even started yet, so it's a bit early to speculate on anyone....

Why does Emily need to lose 10 pounds? Does EVERYONE have to look like Qing Pang??

No, everyone doesn't have to look like Quing Pang. For one, Emily is a different body type. Pang clearly has an ectomorph frame and Emily is more mesomprph. So no, you can't expect them to look anything alike. That being said, you have to look at the overall fitness level. If Emily is in the best shape she can possibly be and have great endurance, etc., then dropping any weight should not be an issue. Pang, OTOH, is a whole other kettle of fish which has been hashed and rehashed over and over and over...

And yes, I think it is waaaay premature to be speculating on who's going to win/do better at Nats. :agree:

 

[Tinymavy15]

I think it will be a tough season to win Nats for Emily. Meissner's been spotted working with Frank Carroll the last couple weeks, especially on the 3A which I understand looks much better....

ohh this is intersting. I hope that this is true... frank could really be what she needs. maybe she will move to LA.... that would be cool. It would be a skating mecca. I REALLY hope she has the guts to try the triple axel in competition next season. She kept promising it last year and we never even saw an attempt.

 

[feraina]

Wow, nice to hear that Kimmie is working on that 3A with Frank Caroll. Maybe she feels more of an urgency now to up the ante on the technical front with all these new talents coming up into the senior rank. Not to mention that she really needs it to if she wants to return to the Worlds podium! Hopefully she's fixing her 3/3's this summer as well.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I really do not see Emily in the mix of top 5 unless there is a splatfest among the top 5. Her perceived heaviness by some comes from her aggressive long entry into the lutz and flip. There are, however, other niceties with Emily's skating but the look on the determination to make those triples make the judges look all that more carefully at her. Not good, imo.

Kimmie is a big girl now and that on-again off-again 3A is tougher to accomplish. If Carroll can get it consistently, Kimmie will be podium competitive. If not, she remains top 4 or 5. Unfortunately, Senior Ladies is not all that exciting except for that one jump.

Joe

 

[R.D.]

Wow, nice to hear that Kimmie is working on that 3A with Frank Caroll. Maybe she feels more of an urgency now to up the ante on the technical front with all these new talents coming up into the senior rank. Not to mention that she really needs it to if she wants to return to the Worlds podium! Hopefully she's fixing her 3/3's this summer as well.

Like the Japanese ladies, she should look out for herself and not hurt herself.

 

[mskater93]

I doubt Meissner will be moving to LA. She's starting college at UDel!

I suspect she's hanging out there getting another perspective on her jumps after time with Lori Nichols. She was spotted on the elite session (Evan was also on that session) pounding jumps. Evan was supposedly working on some whacked out spin positions

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I doubt Meissner will be moving to LA. She's starting college at UDel!

Not sure what is so funny about her going to college?

Joe

 

[mskater93]

The thought that she'd move to Cali when she's already committed to UDel!

 

[Tinymavy15]

she hasn't officially commited yet. She said that she was taking "a few courses" i belive through an extension program. Might even be online classes.

 

[euterpe]

Mixing skating with college is not easy. The toughest part for Emily will be the fact that Harvard's fall semester final exams are the week before US Nationals. She won't be able to devote much time to practice at the most crucial point of the year.

I think last year was Emily's one shot to win the US championship. This year she will be faced with some pretty tough new shooters (Caroline and Mirai) and an improved Rachael Flatt who will have some international competitions under her belt. Kimmie is always a tough competitorand she is a hard worker as well.

Emily is the one with the major distractions, and that is not going to help her at all.

 

[flying camel]

Wouldn't that be something if Kimmie moved to LA. She needs some help with her jumps. The Axel wasn't the only jump giving her trouble. If she moved she would be skating with Bebe & Khale. I wonder how they would feel about that.

 

[JonnyCoop]

Wouldn't that be something if Kimmie moved to LA. She needs some help with her jumps. The Axel wasn't the only jump giving her trouble. If she moved she would be skating with Bebe & Khale. I wonder how they would feel about that.

Inspired, perhaps?

 

[JonnyCoop]

Mixing skating with college is not easy. The toughest part for Emily will be the fact that Harvard's fall semester final exams are the week before US Nationals. She won't be able to devote much time to practice at the most crucial point of the year.

I think last year was Emily's one shot to win the US championship. This year she will be faced with some pretty tough new shooters (Caroline and Mirai) and an improved Rachael Flatt who will have some international competitions under her belt. Kimmie is always a tough competitorand she is a hard worker as well.

Emily is the one with the major distractions, and that is not going to help her at all.

Not necessarily, some skaters (tho granted, very few) actually skate BETTER with distractions. And no, mixing college and skating ISN'T easy, but Debi Thomas managed to do it -- her Olympic disaster was the same year she took time off heavy duty studies at Stanford and went part time to a college in Colorado; up until then, she seemed to be doing much better. Some people are the "more they have to do, the more they get done" type, and it wouldn't surprise me if Emily falls under that category; that entire Hughes clan in general seems pretty driven. And as the youngest of -- five? six? -- Emily in particular might be especially driven.

And isn't it a little early to be tossing around the term "an improved Rachael Flatt"?? Last year at this time we could have just as easily said "an improved Katy Taylor" (and as a matter of fact I'm sure a few people did) and look how THAT turned out. Let's at least see Rachael skate first and then go from there. Personally, I don't even remotely get the whole Rachael Flatt thing, but she wouldn't be the first skater who draws raves from many but no more than a "meh" from me.

 

[chuckm]

Emily Hughes is NOT the youngest Hughes kid. She has a younger sister, Taylor, who doesn't skate competitively.

If you read through the LIBERTY thread, you would find out that Rachael Flatt won the Senior Ladies FS by a huge margin over Ashley Wagner, the Junior Worlds bronze medalist. At 14, Rachael finished 5th in her first US Nationals as a Senior. Emily was 16 at her first US Nationals, and she placed 6th. Emily improved to 3rd in her second try at Nationals, and there is no reason to believe that Rachael won't improve her standing as well the second time around.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Emily Hughes is NOT the youngest Hughes kid. She has a younger sister who doesn't skate competitively.

If you read through the LIBERTY thread, you would find out that Rachael Flatt won the Senior Ladies FS by a huge margin over Ashley Wagner, the Junior Worlds bronze medalist. At 14, Rachael finished 5th in her first US Nationals as a Senior. Emily was 16 at her first US Nationals, and she placed 6th. Emily improved to 3rd in her second try at Nationals, and there is no reason to believe that Rachael won't improve her standing as well the second time around.

Can I predict (although much too early): Kimmie, Rachael, Bebe, Caroline, Emily in that particular order?

Joe

 

[Tinymavy15]

Can I predict (although much too early): Kimmie, Rachael, Bebe, Caroline, Emily in that particular order?

Joe

I guess you are pretty much counting out allissa.... you must be a realist. Sounds like a good prediction to me.