Can Agnes Zawadzki break through next season?

[Mao88]

New article on Agnes Zawadzki. I think she has plenty of potential, but if she is to make a greater impact, then she needs to achieve much greater consistency. If her long program had been as good as her short program at Nationals, then she would have finished ahead of Czisny and qualified for Worlds. With her and Wagner in the Worlds team, the United States could well of regained its 3 spots. Indeed, I certainly think she could of finished ahead of Ksenia Makarova, in which case, the U.S. would have succeeded in getting back the 3 spots.

 

[FlattFan]

No. I don't think she's a factor at all. She's been tanking her LP all season long.

 

[PolymerBob]

She certainly can break through, but I don't know if she will. There are also several other girls trying to break through.

 

[skateflower]

NO. She didn't deserve the bronze medal at the nationals.

 

[silverlake22]

Well, she has all the goods, at this point it's about delivering consistently, especially when it matters most. She could do it, but so could a lot of other ladies (Mirai, Gracie, Christina, Angela, etc). Maybe her odds would be better if she could upgrade her 3-3 and then do a 3-3 and 2a-3t in her FS.

 

[blue dog]

She can, if she wants to. However, I don't think Ashley will be unseated easily. I don't think Caroline's momentum is gonna slow anytime soon, and I think Gracie has designs on the podium as well.

 

[skateluvr]

I think Agnes can pull up but feel Ashley is much more the package. Agnes SP was beautiful, but her LP was a mess. Not sure what held her back. She came on the nationals sr scene so well.. No all eyes are on Wagner, Gold and Zhang as the third lady this season. She needs spectacular choreo now to catch up. But She is a beautiful jumper, like no one else in Ladies at this time-like buttah!

 

[PolymerBob]

We certainly have several talented girls for next season. But just like those Alaskan dog sled teams, if you are not one of the 2 dogs in front, the view will be pretty much the same.

 

[R.D.]

Zawadzki has been struggling with the freeskate for the past 2 seasons...and quite frankly until Nationals, wasn't necessarily making much noise in the SP either. But I'm not ready to count her out yet, since she is still young and has only been at the senior level 2 seasons. I don't think she'll ever gain Wagner-level consistency but as long as she can at least hold her nerves together, even if she's not perfect, she'll be fine.

Jury is honestly still out on Wagner & Gold though. Especially Gold...at least Wagner has showed ONE season of consistency, but the real test for her will be next season when she is being pursued rather than being the pursuer. Can she handle the pressure of defending champ? No one else has been able to. Back to Zawadzki though, she'll definitely have her work cut out for her if she wishes to break through. The talent is clearly there, now it's up to her to develop the mental toughness to execute. Whether she does or not remains to be seen and at this point, is simply a guessing game.

 

[evangeline]

I think so. Agnes' skating and packaging has already improved significantly since she switched from Tom Z. to Christy Krall last year. With more time under Krall's guidance, I would not be surprised if Agnes has a real battle with Gracie Gold for the #2 US ladies spot (I think Ashley is likely to be US Champion again).

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I don't believe so. For her to improve upon this year she would have to beat all but one of: Ashley, Gracie, Mirai, Alyssa, and Caroline. That's a tall order because I think all (except Caroline) are superior skaters.

 

[macy]

i'm really iffy about her. she hasn't shown she can put the whole package together, short and long. her jumps are beautiful and her spins are good but the rest needs work. i agree with the above comment, she has a lot of competition now so her chances of going to worlds is pretty slim.

 

[sky_fly20]

NO she won't

and there are others ahead of her like Zhang, Wagner and of course Gold who will be in the grand prix final and may podium
chances of her improving next season are slim , even Alissa Czisny and Mirai have still better long term potential

 

[Jammers]

You already have Gracie in the Grand Prix final next season? Let the poor girl get some experience first. Next year will be a learning experience for her.

 

[Poodlepal]

I think Agnes will have her day in the sun. Sadly, this has been the pattern and I fear it will continue.

Skater Girl #1: Does really good, although nowhere near as good as the girls of the 90's, early 00's. Comes in 4th or 5th in major comp.

Next year: She tanks. Skater girl #2 arrives. Does very well. Comes in 4th or 5th. Disappears/gets injured/whatever

The next year: Skater girl #3 has a breakthrough season. Does very well. comes in 4th or 5th. Goodbye!

This year was Ashley's year. Last year was Alissa's, 2010 was the year of Mirai and 2009 was the year of Rachael. Kimmie had her 4th-7th place finishes in 2007 and 2008. Of course she won gold in 2006, but against a weakened field.

I imagine Agnes will come in 4th at World's next year (or 5th, 6th or 7th), then maybe Gracie, then maybe it'll be Vanessa Lam's turn, or maybe Nina Jiang. Nobody ever has two good seasons in a row to build any momentum. Will Ashley break the spell? I'm getting cynical.

I see Agnes getting the blahs, however. Last year she may have had consistency problems, but she was fiery, with her bleached hair, heavy makeup and showgirl look. She was different and stood out. This year she has the same brown bun as everyone else. Like Mirai, who apparently had to give up her iconic cutesy moves to be considered sophisticated, she is more generic than she used to be, which will hurt her in the long run.

 

[R.D.]

^ It's likely all done in the name of "growing up".

 

[centerpt1]

There are small moments of great elegance in Agnes's skating. I wish there was a way to bring that out more.

 

[silverlake22]

I too miss the Agnes from 2010 and 2011 with the glitzy costumes, cow lashes, and frizzy blonde ponytail. She could rock that look and programs like Chicago and even that strange Mambo. The SP this season worked so well when she got the jumps done because it was sultry and showgirl-ish. But the FS was too generic and tame for Agnes, and she didn't shine. I want the old Agnes back.

 

[Sylvia]

Agnes Zawadzki is back to being a blonde!

She visited Omaha, Nebraska yesterday on behalf of USFS to publicize 2013 Nationals there - photos of her and related links can be found in this SKATING magazine blog post: http://skatingmagazineblog.com/2012/05/10/agnes-zawadzki-visits-omaha/

Omaha World-Herald article: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120509/SPORTS/705099772/1001

A successful showing in Omaha could be a big step toward that goal. Zawadzki said people should expect to see a more refined, confident skater this time around.

“It's going to be an improvement from the last nationals,” she said. “I'm going to be more consistent, especially in the long program. I'm going to have a bigger jumping arsenal.”

Local NBC TV interview (video): http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/US_Figure_Skater_Drops_By_WOWT_150844175.html

 

[skateluvr]

Well, she is not the beauty ice princess type. With her angular body and athletic jumps, she appears a tad masculine. I think whatever they do to make her a bit more feminine looking-be it hair/makeup costumes will help her look. I did not care for either costume nor her slick backed brown hair. I agree, frizzy blond gives some needed femininity. I look forward to her "jump arsenal." Agnes seems a nice girl. Nothing screams ice princess, so as the underdog, I want her to do well. She is up against some real beauties, who can skate. Her LP I hope blows us all away. Music choice is so important.