- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
I think Rachael can be satisfied with her start this season. She did OK in a venue where the condition of the ice, as reported above by Nigel, took its toll on everyone else. (The same thing happened in the first phase of the qualifying round of 2004 Worlds, with eveyone slipping and sliding and sticking to the ice.)
It would be nice if Rachael could find a way to improve her program component scores. She was only fifth in the LP in PCS, with scores in the mid-sixes, compared to the mid-sevens for Carolina Kostner. I don't think this improvement is going to happen, though, so she has to continue to out-tech everyone else if she wants to land on the podium.
Interestingly, she basically faces the same skaters as she did at NHK, sans Mao. Seven of the twelve competitors at NHK are also scheduled for Skate America, including all of the poduium, Kostner, Flatt, and Murikami (substitute Lepisto for Korpi. )
I thought Lepisto pulled out of SA?