#USChamps18 conference calls have started! First up, Ashley Wagner. There's a few if you look under that hashtag on Twitter, but here are some from Lynn Rutherford:
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2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
is it just for press??
Yes. In the past, they've posted the calls on Ice Network, but they didn't do that for the Skate America calls, so I'm not sure if we'll get to see them.
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- Jul 9, 2014
I can't help but think that Ashley's doing some posturing here. I truly hope she's feeling as good as she says she is. Withdrawing from an event and coming back just over a week later and saying that you're refreshed and refocused are the right words to say and I hope it's more than "Moxie" She's doing an entirely new program and I have to believe that has added some stress to her preparations.
With Bradie looking good and Karen not looking great at Skate America, the 3rd spot is a huge wildcard. Have their been any practice reports from Angela Wang, Polina Edmunds, or Mariah Bell? Tessa Hong? Courtney Hicks?
Well, it has been a full month since Ashley's aborted LP at Skate America. I think that's a reasonable amount of time to get her healed, trained and focused.
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- Aug 16, 2017
It is too late for the US to choose their No.1 lady to support at the Olympics. Even now they don't have one yet.
Sounds more or less like typical PR sound bytes; however, reading between the lines, I sense that she is simply trying to put on a brave face behind a bit of a tumultuous season (so far).
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- Jul 9, 2014
Look, I supported Jennifer Robinson for years and she was definitely the Canadian #1 in 2002 but, I wasn't expecting her to win. Of course, she'd already won several Canadian Championships before SLC and she was great there. She didn't win a medal but she did make herself, her country, and her fans very proud.
If we go by the GP, Bradie is the clear US #1. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a title to her name. What she does have, is ALL of the momentum among the US Ladies. I'd love to see Mirai make the team and if she holds herself together at nationals, she certainly could.
It sounds terrible to say but, I don't trust any of the US Ladies to go clean at Nationals. I hope it inspires ALL the Ladies to know that if they skate their best, they have a real shot at making the team.
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- Feb 17, 2010
It is probably stressful to introduce a program at Nationals, but I do think that she needed to make some big change to get out of her training rut. I'm fairly confident that her experience in big events will help her stay on her feet and make the team, and I don't think a new LP will derail her efforts.
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- Aug 16, 2017
I hope so too but she should keep her nerves... her last outing at National was... not that good.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^The way the Ladies skated this fall, all Mirai needs to do is stand up and she'll more than likely make the team. Even if she got into a situation similar to 2014, if she lands her 3A I think the "Committee" will send her ahead of Ashley should they be neck and neck after the Long Program. I'm still hoping that Angela Wang and Courtney Hicks can finally get themselves on the World Team after being so close, so many times. Speaking of that...Is there any chance Caroline Zhang will make the team? I haven't seen much of her this year, do we know how she's looking?
Starr is still a Junior, right? Will she be attempting to make the team?
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- Mar 23, 2014
I want to see Bradie deliver at Nationals. Show us all what consistency looks like from a US lady. It's a relief watching someone with jumps that are so clearly rotated that don't really need a second look. Based on the PR, she's still under the radar, which should be good for her going into Nationals.
I guess I want to see Ashley and Mirai round out the team. Ashley is a joy to watch when she's on (even if the jumps aren't rotated), and she's been carrying the load for the US ladies for the past several years. It would be sad to see her career end at Nationals and miss a spot on the team. I'm stoked for LLL, too. She's a great performer and pretty loved by international audiences, so even if she's not within podium reach at the Olympics, she could still have a "moment" in her LP and get a standing ovation, which is what I think is most realistic for me to want for her.
Not a huge fan of the skater Mirai is now, but I admire her guts in going for the 3A. Plus, she's clearly worked her butt off over the past 4 years, and the crying and whining of the ubers if she doesn't make the team would be unbearable. She can't falter at Nationals like she did last season, though. In this bleak of a field, the door for Mirai is more wide open than ever for her to walk through. If she can't do that, it's no one's fault but her own (this is the case for every single US lady this year - no one has the past results to get held up over others unfairly this time.)
I absolutely adore Karen Chen, but I think not making the team could be the wake-up call she needs to make a coaching change and change the trajectory of her career. Ashley not making the team in 2010 was better in the long run for her skating and for the US ladies, and I think that could be the case for Karen, too.
I guess I want to see Ashley and Mirai round out the team. Ashley is a joy to watch when she's on (even if the jumps aren't rotated), and she's been carrying the load for the US ladies for the past several years. It would be sad to see her career end at Nationals and miss a spot on the team. I'm stoked for LLL, too. She's a great performer and pretty loved by international audiences, so even if she's not within podium reach at the Olympics, she could still have a "moment" in her LP and get a standing ovation, which is what I think is most realistic for me to want for her.
Not a huge fan of the skater Mirai is now, but I admire her guts in going for the 3A. Plus, she's clearly worked her butt off over the past 4 years, and the crying and whining of the ubers if she doesn't make the team would be unbearable. She can't falter at Nationals like she did last season, though. In this bleak of a field, the door for Mirai is more wide open than ever for her to walk through. If she can't do that, it's no one's fault but her own (this is the case for every single US lady this year - no one has the past results to get held up over others unfairly this time.)
I absolutely adore Karen Chen, but I think not making the team could be the wake-up call she needs to make a coaching change and change the trajectory of her career. Ashley not making the team in 2010 was better in the long run for her skating and for the US ladies, and I think that could be the case for Karen, too.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
As much I don’t think she should, I believe that Karen will make the team. Reigning national champ and 4th at world. Only if she performs poorly at nationals will she be left off the team. Karen is a true talent but I do not want to see one as unreliable as her at the Olympics.
Is there another thread for US Nationals predictions??
Is there another thread for US Nationals predictions??
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
I would say no. Caroline has managed to skate well a few times at Nationals in recent years, but her low PCS combined with the low GOE she earns on jumps makes it very hard for her to get on the podium.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
If not a coaching change, then at least a choreographer. She moves beautifully on the ice, but the complexity of her programs from the ankles down is noticeably behind the top women.
