Here's the thing in my mind:
They probably aren't going to pick Ross. He's not like Bradie or Polina in 2014 where they were kind of newcomers to the senior circuit and all (yes Bradie had done nationals but injured and never any GPs or majors) They've given him chances and this is the only time that he's succeeded, in kind of the same way that many ladies did at worlds last year: because others didn't.
Zhou may or may not get picked because his GPs were pretty awful and he consistently messes up the short program. That being said, he's the future and he has the technical content to compete with the big shots if he nails it.
Rippon and Brown should be hoping for BOW criteria. Both skaters made the GPF and finished in the bottom two, although Rippon placed higher. However, Rippon did not go to 4CC, Nationals, or Worlds last year because he was injured, and that's a big part of BOW. It's thanks in part to Jason that the US even has two spots, as he finished 7th and Chen finished 6th. They may wish to reward this the way they did with Karen or they may not since he was the lower-ranked skater and didn't medal. For what it's worth, Rippon competed at one challenger event and finished second, and Brown competed in one, finishing second, as well as the US championships, finishing third.
For the first tier, I think Jason has the advantage, as their GPF scores were only a point apart, and Jason competed at worlds and did well. This being said, Rippon's score here was two placements and 13 points ahead of Brown's.
For the second tier, I think it's a toss up. Although Brown has more competitions in this tier, Rippon has more medals and a higher score. That being said, Brown didn't really bomb out of anything. He just kind of... made mistakes that affected him, but he didn't Pogo out of anything.
For the third tier, Jason clearly has the advantage. He went to two competitions and medaled at both of them, with higher scores than Rippon had at his one competition at each competition of his.
Who I think will be on the team:
Chen (definitely)
Zhou (the future, medal chances if he gets it together and everyone else doesn't)
Brown (BOW)
1st alternate: Rippon
2nd alternate: Miner
3rd alternate: Hochstein
:gclap: :gclap: :gclap:
so sad though
