I'm excited about this, well actually I'm only excited about Eastern Sectional Championships because Gretchen Donlan & Andrew Speroff are scheduled to skate there on Friday, November 12th, at 10:40AM EST. And then the FS is the next day, which I won't be able to see because I will be at Skate America (hopefully when I get back IN will have it on-demand).
I just really like this pair, they are the only ones that have caught my eye thus far.
Here is their SP to "Moonlight Sonata" (shades of a very young Katia & Sergei): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZaXsnsi2I
And their FS is skated to Led Zeppelin (one of my all-time fav rock bands): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epf9vM0AIOk
Their split triple twist is amongst the very best, and so is their throw triple salchow. And Gretchen does their throw double loop so easy that I can easily see her adding an extra revolution in there. The lifts are decent, could be better with more variety. So the only real problem I see is their side by side jumps, which definitely need A LOT of work.
He's 22 and she'll be 17 in a few weeks time, so they do have time, but now's the time to really make an impression at Nationals, their first in Seniors if I'm not mistaken. I'm hoping a Top 5 finish for them (crossing my fingers).
ETA: I just now watched some old archive footage of them on IN (think they've only been together a little more than a year), and I was shocked to see how different Gretchen looks now than she did at 2010 US Jr. Nationals. I didn't even recognize her. She looks to have lost about 10-15 pounds. I just naturally assumed that she was built fey-like, ala Katia Gordeeva at that age. The change looks good on her I must say.
I just really like this pair, they are the only ones that have caught my eye thus far.
Here is their SP to "Moonlight Sonata" (shades of a very young Katia & Sergei): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZaXsnsi2I
And their FS is skated to Led Zeppelin (one of my all-time fav rock bands): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epf9vM0AIOk
Their split triple twist is amongst the very best, and so is their throw triple salchow. And Gretchen does their throw double loop so easy that I can easily see her adding an extra revolution in there. The lifts are decent, could be better with more variety. So the only real problem I see is their side by side jumps, which definitely need A LOT of work.
He's 22 and she'll be 17 in a few weeks time, so they do have time, but now's the time to really make an impression at Nationals, their first in Seniors if I'm not mistaken. I'm hoping a Top 5 finish for them (crossing my fingers).
ETA: I just now watched some old archive footage of them on IN (think they've only been together a little more than a year), and I was shocked to see how different Gretchen looks now than she did at 2010 US Jr. Nationals. I didn't even recognize her. She looks to have lost about 10-15 pounds. I just naturally assumed that she was built fey-like, ala Katia Gordeeva at that age. The change looks good on her I must say.