2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating

[SashaJuliaSpins]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQ_lStAre8

Thank you! I swear, when she was doing her last spin, I squinted and it seemed like she was Sasha Cohen spinning instead! No, I have not been drinking!

 

[Lunalovesskating]

I notice that Adam Rippon is now listed as one of Mariah's coaches, along with Raf.

Maybe that's old news, and I've just noticed.

Yes, he is training her! Mariah talked about it in an interview
https://youtu.be/bH-K2-RRHrg

 

[Mishaminion]

Realistically, only Bradie Tennell has a viable path to the GPF among the American ladies, and a very narrow one, assuming both Tuktamysheva and You are off the podium in China (which is highly improbable in that much weaker field), or one of them is third (with the other placing lower) but their scores would not allow them to win a tiebreaker. While Bell has improved significantly from last season, her jumps don’t get much height and displacement (they’re just your average 0 GOE jumps), some landings are still low with bent knees, she is prone to underrotations, and lacks the difficult entries and transitions of the Russian girls, taking a long time to set jumps up. She has also been highly inconsistent in the past, and only two events are insufficient to judge her consistency this season. To be fair, she benefitted from excessively generous scoring in France, in combination with some unwarranted calls and deductions for the Russian girls. I highly doubt she can count on similarly favorable treatment at the Rostelecom Cup. Trusova is untouchable even if she falls on a jump or two. Medvedeva has been steadily improving (her SP at SC was a fluke, she nailed all those jumps in practice), and her scoring potential is higher. Konstantinova tends to do very well at home, so I wouldn’t rule her out either (she got silver last year in a GP event). Then there is Miyahara, who also has low jumps, but has shown a much higher consistency rate than Bell across the past 2-3 seasons, has by far more career accomplishments at a similar age, and should also score higher in components. So I would expect Bell to finish 5th at Rostelecom, under the strong assumption that she is consistent this season, for the first time in her career, and doesn’t put out a free skate like the one at Four Continents earlier this year. Even in the highly unlikely event that she gets a bronze at Rostelecom and Tuktamysheva fails to win silver in China (with You placing 4th or lower), she would likely not win a tiebreaker with Tennell, who scored higher at SA than Bell did at IDF. I’m hoping to see an American lady in the GPF, of course, but the joint probability of all the necessary events to occur in order for Bell to qualify is extremely low.

I thought the scores for many skaters were too low, the judges were harsh but not just to the Russian girls. And I agree with the calls they got for the most part, considering the level of strictness. I don't pretend there were no issues, there were.
Kaori got hosed in tech calls especially, harsh but there were issues with her too.

I don't expect Mariah to make the final but her performances so far this season are very promising, she's skating better than ever.

 

[mrrice]

I thought the scores for many skaters were too low, the judges were harsh but not just to the Russian girls. And I agree with the calls they got for the most part, considering the level of strictness. I don't pretend there were no issues, there were.
Kaori got hosed in tech calls especially, harsh but there were issues with her too.

I don't expect Mariah to make the final but her performances so far this season are very promising, she's skating better than ever.

This is exactly how I feel. Even if Mariah and Bradie miss the final, they have both had great GP seasons. Add Alysa and Starr to the mix and the US ladies had a GP to be proud of.

 

[moonvine]

This is exactly how I feel. Even if Mariah and Bradie miss the final, they have both had great GP seasons. Add Alysa to the mix and the US ladies have a GP to be proud of.

Doesn't Mariah have another GP coming up?

 

[mrrice]

Doesn't Mariah have another GP coming up?

Good question. Nebelhorn was a Senior B so, she may have one more assignment.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Good question. Nebelhorn was a Senior B so, she may have one more assignment.

She is going to Rostelecom Cup

 

[mrrice]

She is going to Rostelecom Cup

 

[Skatefan15]

Realistically, only Bradie Tennell has a viable path to the GPF among the American ladies, and a very narrow one, assuming both Tuktamysheva and You are off the podium in China (which is highly improbable in that much weaker field), or one of them is third (with the other placing lower) but their scores would not allow them to win a tiebreaker. While Bell has improved significantly from last season, her jumps don’t get much height and displacement (they’re just your average 0 GOE jumps), some landings are still low with bent knees, she is prone to underrotations, and lacks the difficult entries and transitions of the Russian girls, taking a long time to set jumps up. She has also been highly inconsistent in the past, and only two events are insufficient to judge her consistency this season. To be fair, she benefitted from excessively generous scoring in France, in combination with some unwarranted calls and deductions for the Russian girls. I highly doubt she can count on similarly favorable treatment at the Rostelecom Cup. Trusova is untouchable even if she falls on a jump or two. Medvedeva has been steadily improving (her SP at SC was a fluke, she nailed all those jumps in practice), and her scoring potential is higher. Konstantinova tends to do very well at home, so I wouldn’t rule her out either (she got silver last year in a GP event). Then there is Miyahara, who also has low jumps, but has shown a much higher consistency rate than Bell across the past 2-3 seasons, has by far more career accomplishments at a similar age, and should also score higher in components. So I would expect Bell to finish 5th at Rostelecom, under the strong assumption that she is consistent this season, for the first time in her career, and doesn’t put out a free skate like the one at Four Continents earlier this year. Even in the highly unlikely event that she gets a bronze at Rostelecom and Tuktamysheva fails to win silver in China (with You placing 4th or lower), she would likely not win a tiebreaker with Tennell, who scored higher at SA than Bell did at IDF. I’m hoping to see an American lady in the GPF, of course, but the joint probability of all the necessary events to occur in order for Bell to qualify is extremely low.

I completely agree that Mariah has soo much to work on so I really don’t get the hype all of a sudden because she got one medal at a reasonably easy GP (compared to SA and SC) with a not majorly competitive score (12th overall score this year).

 

[natsulian]

Eight Challenger and three Grand Prix events later...

Top Total Scores:
1. Bradie Tennell, 216.14 (Grand Prix USA) and 211.31 (Grand Prix Canada)
2. Mariah Bell, 212.89 (Grand Prix France)
3. Amber Glenn, 186.28 (US Classic)
4. Starr Andrews, 181.18 (Lombardia Trophy)
5. Ting Cui, 177.47 (US Classic)
6. Karen Chen, 173.66 (Autumn Classic)
7. Gabriella Izzo, 169 (Asian Open Trophy)
8. Megan Wessenberg, 148.21 (Finlandia Trophy)

Amber Glenn will be competing this upcoming week in China. Best of luck to her.

I completely agree that Mariah has soo much to work on so I really don’t get the hype all of a sudden because she got one medal at a reasonably easy GP (compared to SA and SC) with a not majorly competitive score (12th overall score this year).

The field may not have been tough, but the judging panel was immensely strict. To have been the only competitor with one or two jumps called is a huge compliment and bodes well for Bell in the future. Also, had she not under-rotated the last Lutz, Bell would've scored in the 214-216 range. Also, if you take out the juniors on the list of highest scores received thus far, Mariah has the 10th best total score. If Bell can work on receiving high GOEs across the board and continue to improve everything else, I think she could very well score near 218-220 come Worlds.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I completely agree that Mariah has soo much to work on so I really don’t get the hype all of a sudden because she got one medal at a reasonably easy GP (compared to SA and SC) with a not majorly competitive score (12th overall score this year).

She beat the reigning world champ in the LP. She beat Kaori overall, who is a fine skater. This is a very good result for Mariah. While her total was the 12th best so far this season, eight of those ahead are Russian and only three of them will be at Worlds, so she is positioned to improve upon her 9th place finish at Worlds last year.

 

[Mishaminion]

She beat the reigning world champ in the LP. She beat Kaori overall, who is a fine skater. This is a very good result for Mariah. While her total was the 12th best so far this season, eight of those ahead are Russian and only three of them will be at Worlds, so she is positioned to improve upon her 9th place finish at Worlds last year.

To be fair Alina wasn't at her best and Kaori had a poor SP and multiple UR in FS.

Still, Mariah was amazing!!! Huge improvement, hope she can continue with this kind of consistency.
Bronze behind two Eteri champs is nothing to sniff at xD

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Has the Asian Open competition concluded yet? How did Gabriella Izzo do?

 

[tothepointe]

To be fair Alina wasn't at her best and Kaori had a poor SP and multiple UR in FS.

Still, Mariah was amazing!!! Huge improvement, hope she can continue with this kind of consistency.
Bronze behind two Eteri champs is nothing to sniff at xD

Well that's every competition really. There is always someone who is not at their best. If Bell does ok at her next GP I would hazaard a guess that both her and Tennell end up in the GPF simply through withdrawals alone. As amazing as the Russian skaters are they aren't the best at staying injury free all season.

 

[ice coverage]

I finally found a link to results: http://hksu.org/event/CSHKG2019/

Protocols say Izzo did triple flip/triple loop combo, solo triple lutz and double axel. Great job!! Especially since she struggled so much on the jgp. Hope she'll have a good freeskate! ...

Has the Asian Open competition concluded yet? How did Gabriella Izzo do?

Thanks to purplecat's post #2579 , the link to Challenger schedule/results/protocols for Asian Open Trophy has been in this thread since yesterday.
It is the senior/Challenger competition Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy.

(Not to be confused with the companion competition Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy International, which was for junior and novice.)

Congratulations to Gabbie. :yay:

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Are Gabriella Izzo and Emilia Murdock competing in seniors at nationals in January? Sectionals should tell us what they aim to do, right?

 

[Hyena]

Well that's every competition really. There is always someone who is not at their best. If Bell does ok at her next GP I would hazaard a guess that both her and Tennell end up in the GPF simply through withdrawals alone. As amazing as the Russian skaters are they aren't the best at staying injury free all season.

I don't necessarily see that happening, since pretty much all the skaters I'd anticipate to make the final feel like they have something to prove and will want to be there. Hopefully no one gets sick like Liza last year and has their season derailed.

Even if they don't make the GPF, it's been a very successful fall so far for both Bradie and Maria. We may be looking at quite the fight comes Nationals.

 

[sailormoon]

I notice that Adam Rippon is now listed as one of Mariah's coaches, along with Raf.

Adam Rippon choreographed her spicy short program. He previously talked about the cost of coaching. “The coaching can be anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, give or take a few $10,000. A skating coach on the elite level can be anywhere between $80 and $140 an hour. Then you have programs. To work with a choreographer, the cheapest program I ever had done was $3,500. On the most expensive side of that, you can get a program done and it costs $10,000.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLB28eL94Gg

Sometimes I'm A Choreographer | Adam Rippon

I choreographed a piece for my dear friend and student Mariah Bell. We're doing something extra saucy to none other than Britney Spears remixed by DJ ShyBoy.

 

[ice coverage]

In Senior Ladies at Central Pacific regionals, Sierra Venetta and Milly Murdock placed first and second, respectively -- in SP, in FS, and overall. ...

Not sure whether Milly already got the TES minimum elsewhere. (She came very close at JGP Lake Placid, where her TES total was 74.76; and at Glacier Falls, where it was 74.35.)
If not, I am hopeful that she will get it at sectionals. ...

Are Gabriella Izzo and Emilia Murdock competing in seniors at nationals in January? Sectionals should tell us what they aim to do, right?

A week ago, Milly Murdock competed in Senior Ladies at regionals, so we already can be 100% sure that she is aiming to qualify in Senior Ladies for Nats. (I hope/expect that she will qualify.)
(Milly also had said before this season that started that she hoped to qualify for 2020 Nats in Senior Ladies.)

Gabbie Izzo also had said before this season started that she would compete domestically as a senior, and she did compete in Senior Ladies in the NQS series. She already has the TES minimum for Nats.

I think it is possible that Gabbie has a bye to Nats -- because she already has had three international assignments this season? Disclaimer: I don't remember whether JGPs count toward the three.

ETA (on Nov 4):

Gabbie does have a bye to Nats. I checked the USFS guidelines, and junior comps do count toward an international bye.​

Anyway, my two cents: Whether at sectionals and/or Nats, I would be surprised if Gabbie did not compete in Senior Ladies.

---

Congratulations to Mariah Bell. :yay:
Happy for Starr too.

 

[theharleyquinn]

Adam Rippon choreographed her spicy short program. He previously talked about the cost of coaching. “The coaching can be anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, give or take a few $10,000. A skating coach on the elite level can be anywhere between $80 and $140 an hour. Then you have programs. To work with a choreographer, the cheapest program I ever had done was $3,500. On the most expensive side of that, you can get a program done and it costs $10,000.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLB28eL94Gg

Sometimes I'm A Choreographer | Adam Rippon

I choreographed a piece for my dear friend and student Mariah Bell. We're doing something extra saucy to none other than Britney Spears remixed by DJ ShyBoy.

Still, I wonder what motivates calling him a coach for ISU purposes when he mostly just choreographed the program for her.