At Lombardia, Green/Parsons placed 6th after two very messy skates
Wow. They aren't ready for the season? They were on the upswing two seasons ago with their edgy modern dance aesthetic. Looks like this move to MIDA is not bearing good fruit for them.
I saw clips of Bratti/ Somerville. They are okay, nothing very exciting. Of course Ian is tremendously talented. He should have patiently stayed with his original partner, Eliana Gropman. They were partnered together very young and grew up together. Even if their personalities didn't mesh well, they should have held on for the sake of their career. Had they done so, they would probably be right there on the cusp of the top teams for U.S. ice dance, even ahead of the flailing Green/Parsons and holding their own against Zingas/ Kolesnik and Carr/Pon.
Gropman had applied to the Univ. of Michigan, yet she probably would have deferred for a year, had she and Ian communicated with each other wisely. Apparently, Ian was set on partnering with his then girlfriend, Kat DelCamp. They were striking together on the ice and very romantic. Kat has flexibility and dramatic flair, yet her ice dance skills were not at Ian's level. They were second and then third in U.S. juniors, with the Browns moving ahead of them, along with the then team of Isabella/ Dima, fast rising. I believe Ian had one more season of junior eligibility, but he was ready to move on to seniors, and Kat had and needed two more seasons in juniors to hone her skills. They split in April 2021, not amicably. Kat had a brief pairing with Billy Wilson French of Great Britain, which didn't come to competitive fruition.
Ultimately, Kat has found happiness in partnering on and off-the-ice with Turkish ice dancer, Berk Akalin. They recently competed (and placed second overall in a limited field) at the Philadelphia Challenge event.
Meanwhile, it appears to me that Emily Bratti has grown slightly taller. She was okay with Ian when they first partnered, but I was not impressed by how they looked together at Lombardia (even despite the fact they placed fourth, ahead of Green/ Parsons). Emily's skills are not at Ian's level. He looked better with DelCamp, even though her ice dance skills were not at his level either. His best partner though, was his first partner, Eliana, whose height, talent and skill level were the best match, especially seeing they grew up learning ice dance together. Ironically, Ian is now training in Michigan, where Eliana moved to attend university. That could have all been worked out, with patience.
I wonder whether Green/ Parsons can work things out? The only teams I'm really excited by at this point for U.S. ice dance are the veterans, Chock/ Bates, and Hawayek/Baker, plus relative senior newbies, Zingas/ Kolesnik, and Flores/Desyatov (great chemistry & huge talent). I also enjoy watching the Brown siblings, Carr/Pon and Pate/Bye. While the recently formed team of Kaia/ Dima are technically wonderful, I do not feel any genuine emotional connection from them yet.
I suppose Emily/Ian and McNam/ Spiro will remain in the mix for awhile competitively, but I do not view either team as well-matched. Moreover, I'm doubtful that either have huge potential to be highly competitive at the very top for the U.S. internationally. Yes, they are competent, and they can place fairly well, and both teams have worked hard to improve, but for me neither possess great potential. It would be better if Ian could find another Eliana Gropman. They were wonderful together. But, that's pie-in-the-sky. I also loved Lorraine McNamara with Quinn Carpenter, who retired awhile back. C'est la vie.