2013 US Nationals Senior Pairs SP

[samson]

Surprised no one has posted about this yet! I guess it is midday on a Thursday...

I missed the first group but the second group was very entertaining. I thought it was three great skates!

Any way two groups down with Castelli and Shnapir not surprisingly well into the lead with 62.27. The looked a little tight to me, like they really wanted to make it a great event. I feel like they have been looser in the fall but they managed to go relatively clean here. It will be hard for any other team to pass them.

I also really like DeeDee Leng and Timothy LeDuc. Their style is so distinct and they had a lot of great speed. REALLY need to figure out that twist though. Their speed is something they'll have to learn how to harness and use to their advantage. You can tell at times it got away from them. Fabulous side-by-side toes, great positions in the side-by-side spin and I LOVED their footwork. They have some really unique moments in the choreography that I loved. I kind of thought they were underscored so I'll be interested to see the protocols. I hope they do well in the FS and get one or two international assignments.

I thought Zhang and Bartholomay also did a nice job. Their look is a little more classic. Is it their first season together? They seem like a new pair. A little slow through the moves but pretty clean. Zhang had a hand down of the salchows but they looked good otherwise.

Here are the standings so far!
1 Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir 62.27
2 Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay 53.19
3 Lindsay Davis and Mark Ladwig 51.65
4 DeeDee Leng and Timothy LeDuc 50.84
5 Kiri Baga and Taylor Toth 48.13
6 Tarah Kayne and Daniel O'Shea 47.74

 

[Art&Sport]

^^ Thanks for getting it started. I thought Davis/ Ladwig and the rest of the early teams started out of the blocks really well and no major mistakes either. I think U.S. pairs look very promising overall. And the top favorites Castelli/ Shnapir did a fine job too. They certainly did not disappoint. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the field in the sp. Third group is in warm-up right now.

I think Zhang/ Bartholomay have been together for at least two seasons. Zhang used skate with Taylor Toth, who is now paired with Kiri Baga. Zhang and Toth did well in juniors but split up either before or after their senior debut I think. Hopefully, all the newly formed teams and more established teams will stay together for the long haul. There is indeed a lot of promise.

 

[Art&Sport]

Ohhh, I thought that Donlan/ Speroff were low-balled with just the one fall by Andrew on the sbs triple. They didn't get deserved points for their superlative positions and artistry at all. They should at the least been in front of Lang/ LeDuc in my estimation.

Obviously their stock has suffered in the eyes of TPTB.

 

[samson]

AAAAH I missed them! Had to walk the dog but I'll catch them later. Yeah I think after their rough fall Donlan and Speroff are probably looking to gain some redemption points.

Tough skate for Vise/Baldwin. Into 8th of 8 so far. Shame. You can tell they are both really upset. Baldwin especially. Ok got to run to work but will be back to the ladies sp!!!

 

[draqq]

Wow, those comments from Baldwin were not classy at all...

 

[hrmsk8ngnutt]

I'm watching the last group on IceNetwork. Don Baldwin was not happy....

WOW!! That split triple twist by Scimeca/Knierim was huge!! Too bad about the mistakes on their next elements (turn out on throw 3F, both fell on SBS 3Sal).

 

[Whitneyskates]

What did Baldwin say?

 

[Art&Sport]

Is no one else watching? Feel bad for Scimeca/ Knierim -- they should not let their mistakes discourage them, but use it for fuel to go out and perform much better in the fp. Also, too bad for Vise/ Baldwin. No matter your marks, it's always a better feeling to know you did your best.

 

[hrmsk8ngnutt]

What did Baldwin say?

GD, dammit. Tiffany was trying to calm him down, but it sounded like he said it doesn't matter. He stormed off as soon as the marks came up.

 

[Art&Sport]

Whoa, wait a minute. I guess Scimeca/ Knierim are new favorites. My Gosh, they did NOT skate better than the pairs they are in front of, especially with the mistakes they made. Donlan/ Speroff only had one fall == C/S had a bobble on the throw and both fell on their sbs jumps, and then they were a bit lackluster in the second half of the program. Wow!

 

[hrmsk8ngnutt]

Denney/Frazier were having a wonderful skate (great 3twist, gorgeous throw 3sal), but he just SINGLED the SBS jump. Still, this is the first time I've seen them and I think they are a very nice team.

So nice to see Silvia and John!!!

 

[Art&Sport]

I really like C/S and I thought if they skated well, they might make second place. But based on what they did, they should not be in third place. It's quite obvious some kind of political favoritism or TPTB harshly judging D/S season so far that had them being so lowballed for one mistake. Such total disregard for their above average lines, positions and presentation skills.

Okay, so Denney/ Frazier also had some errors and are in 4th place? Really unfair result for Donlan/ Speroff - they should at least be in 5th place behind D/F.

 

[Jammers]

Imagine a Denney that can hear music and point her toes.

 

[Mrs. P]

Looks like S/K's huge triple twist helped. They got a +2.10 on it, which basically negated teh -2.10 they got for their SBS jumps. So with that in mind the only major deduction was the -1 for the fall and -1.40 for the throw jump issue.

D/S got a Basic level on their death spiral AND triple twist. Ouch!

More protocals here: http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/results.html

 

[WeakAnkles]

Imagine a Denney that can hear music and point her toes.

Hmmm, I don't think my imagination is that overactive...

 

[Tesla]

Whoa, wait a minute. I guess Scimeca/ Knierim are new favorites. My Gosh, they did NOT skate better than the pairs they are in front of, especially with the mistakes they made. Donlan/ Speroff only had one fall == C/S had a bobble on the throw and both fell on their sbs jumps, and then they were a bit lackluster in the second half of the program. Wow!

Could it be because they are they only other team with minimum scores for Worlds? The judges might want to keep them close to second.

 

[Jammers]

If only Donlan/ Speroff could land their jumps. Donlan has positions to die for in her lifts.

 

[tulosai]

If only Donlan/ Speroff could land their jumps. Donlan has positions to die for in her lifts.

Their other issue though is they have no speed compared to some of the other teams, at least in the past (I have not seen the pairs tonight yet so cannot comment on tonight specifically). They also have to get their levels up on anything else they can since they are not strong jumpers. A level 1 death spiral in this situation is not okay.

 

[Art&Sport]

Looks like S/K's huge triple twist helped. They got a +2.10 on it, which basically negated teh -2.10 they got for their SBS jumps. So with that in mind the only major deduction was the -1 for the fall and -1.40 for the throw jump issue.

D/S got a Basic level on their death spiral AND triple twist. Ouch!

More protocals here: http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/results.html

If only Donlan/ Speroff could land their jumps. Donlan has positions to die for in her lifts.

ITA Jammers, and Gretchen seemed a bit more on than Andrew. Thanks for sharing the protocols Mrs. P. Still doesn't change my overall assessment of the marks. D/S did not have a good season so far, which is an understatement. And, true the fact that they don't have "minimum score for Worlds" is a huge factor. They should have received better PCS scores, IMHO, and higher levels on what they did well. The scores are just sending them a message. Pretty sad. I hope they are able to buckle down and continue working hard and come back to challenge. There is still time for them to throw all nerves and jitters aside and just lay it down, even despite judges are unlikely to give them great scores no matter what they do at Nats this year.

As I said, I do like S/K, but they are a newly formed team, so the bobbles are to be expected I suppose. They sure did come out blazing with the opening moves and 3-twist, but it was very obvious that after their mistakes on their sbs jumps, that they became more flat-footed and tentative. Tonia K even remarked as much. S/K were happily surprised at being in third place. The judges were sending them a message too that they are held in high esteem, and that more is expected from them in the fp.

 

[Ziggy]

Well, I guess the gold medal has already been handed out pretty much.

Looking at the protocols, I am really surprised at how high the level was in this event.

So many solo and thrown triple jumps landed. Great job US pairs!