2018-19 Ladies' power ranking

[chopinskate]

Funny, Rika's performance actually reminded me of Mao's first Nocturne that she did as a full-time senior... not much that choreographically stands out in the program...

That program had choreographic highlights (twizzles to the music in that lovely crossfoot position, with her arm unfurling ever upwards, for instance), and the interpretation was better in general. I can name nothing that stands out in Rika's.

Also important to keep in mind that Mao did this Clair de Lune program in her 4th senior GP season as opposed to Rika in her first.

Especially keeping that in mind we can see how the PCS is inflated. It's not to bash Rika, though, just the judging,

 

[gravy]

That program had choreographic highlights (twizzles to the music in that lovely crossfoot position, with her arm unfurling ever upwards, for instance), and the interpretation was better in general. I can name nothing that stands out in Rika's.

Especially keeping that in mind we can see how the PCS is inflated. It's not to bash Rika, though, just the judging,

I think Rika's arabesque spiral out of her 3Lz is quite beautiful. There were of course nice choreographic touches in Mao's program but they're quite pale in comparison to the highlights in her second Nocturne. Maybe that's why I'm being a bit more critical of Mao's first SP even though it's still better than the majority of programs being put out today...

I will give you that Mao had superior interpretation of her music in 2006 though. Rika listens and responds well to the music but I'm not sensing her feeling the music like Mao. I think it'll come in time though. She has all the ingredients to be a mega star in the coming years.

I think the end point here though is that we both agree that Mao is one of a kind and we both wish she was still competing.

 

[chopinskate]

I was right.

JSF better seize this.

 

[tokoyami]

Keep in mind it's only been one competition Rika's beaten the Oly Champ BUT it's hard to say that with the GPF Title under her belt Rika is not the one to beat this season. We'll see how Alina comes back at Nats and Euros and we'll see how Rika performs at her Nats and 4CC but BOY what a season this is turning out to be!!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Kaori is really an underrated skater. I hope she makes the World team and does well.

 

[Ophelia]

Keep in mind it's only been one competition Rika's beaten the Oly Champ BUT it's hard to say that with the GPF Title under her belt Rika is not the one to beat this season. We'll see how Alina comes back at Nats and Euros and we'll see how Rika performs at her Nats and 4CC but BOY what a season this is turning out to be!!

You can make an argument for consistency and what not, but based on points alone, Kihira is the one to beat.

 

[tokoyami]

You can make an argument for consistency and what not, but based on points alone, Kihira is the one to beat.

She is an absolute force to be reckoned with, I wasn't able to watch the event today but in terms of consistency she's been pretty much clean in her free skates this season, no? Considering the level of technical difficulty and quality she's putting out I think she has the potential to not only be the pinnacle of the sport for this season but many seasons to come. We'll see though, ice is slippery after all

 

[FS101]

1. Alina Zagitova- no change
2. Rika Kihira- no change
3. Satoko Miyahara and Elizaveta Tuktamyshaeva Tied, since comparing them on the technical and peformance wise, one excels in one and while one in the other pretty equally and this was reflected at NHK
4. Evgenia Medvedeva- no change
5. Kaori Sakamoto- no change
6. Mai Mihara and Sofia Samodurova- I really like these two skaters, and both are very consistent and will do well.
7. Carolina Kostner- still has not competed yet but I have a feeling she's going to do somewhat well this season
8. Bradie Tennel- no change
9. Mako Yamashita and Mariah Bell- Although these two skaters are not very similar technical and performance wise, I think they will score in the same range.
10. Loena Hendriccx- had a good outing at GP Finland and I really like her FS and has so much potential
(11th to 14th would be Wakaba Higuchi, Yuna Shirwaira, Eunsoo Lim, and Elizabet Tursynbaeva)

Sorry about the misspelling!!

UPDATE! Also sorry again for the poor grammar and misspelling!

1. Rika Kihira- +1
------------------------------------------------------
2. Alina Zagitova- -1
2. Elizaveta Tuktamyshaeva +1
(I think Liza could really overtake Zagitova, because of the Triple Axel and I think Zagitova' is struggling a bit)
------------------------------------------------------
3. Evgenia Medvedeva +1 (in the end, the struggle will pay off)
3. Kaori Sakamoto +3 (Very consistent, I think she could get higher scores later on this season)
------------------------------------------------------
4. Satoko Miyahara -2 (She still under-rotates, and it's going to be to tough at nationals vs Kihira and Sakamoto)
------------------------------------------------------
5. Bradie Tennel- +3, I think from her performances from this season, she is improving and I really like her Lutz-Loop combo but I think she hasn't peak yet.
5. Mai Mihara +1 (Very consistent)
------------------------------------------------------
6. Sofia Samodurova- One of my favorite skaters this season and very consistent! But doesn't have a high enough technical difficulty and very low PC's
7. Carolina Kostner- (no change), still has not competed yet but you always have to put her in the top 10 based of her amazing skating skills and high PC's
8. Mariah Bell- +1, She has improved so much!! I really like her SP; and FS song choices! But she needs to up the technical difficulty
------------------------------------------------------
9. Mako Yamashita (no change)
9. Anatasiia Gubanova (New, since I really like her skating from her challenger cup competitions and has alot of potential)
-------------------------------------------------------
10. Loena Hendriccx- had a good outing at GP Finland and I really like her FS and is one of my favorites this season.
-------------------------------------------------------
(11th to 13th would be Wakaba Higuchi, Eunsoo Lim, and Anna Tarusina)

 

[chopinskate]

7. Carolina Kostner- (no change), still has not competed yet but you always have to put her in the top 10 based of her amazing skating skills and high PC's

Kostner injured herself again. Saw it in her FF.

 

[jinhamasaki]

Kostner injured herself again. Saw it in her FF.

Fell down the stairs...:hpull:

 

[rachno2]

After Tallinn Trophy, Golden Spin and GPF

1. Rika Kihira (+1) —We still have yet to see what a clean Rika can accomplish (can you imagine??), and there is a possibility for fatal errors at any given competition. However, she showed here that she doesn’t need to go clean to win; she just needs to stay focused and react quickly, and the PCS will follow. She did just that, and the gold was hers.
2. Alina Zagitova (-1)—Like it or not (and I don’t), she is still getting sky-high PCS even when she doesn’t go clean, and that near-withdrawal should be taken into consideration as well. I place her below Kihira cautiously, and I look forward to the next match-up between these two amazing competitors.
3. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (+1)—The high continues for Empress Liza, even if the 3A wasn’t perfect here. The judges are being stingy on PCS, but if she keeps delivering high-tech, high-energy performances, she may very well will her way to a second World title.
4. Satoko Miyahara (-1) — The Tiny Queen had a similar competition to her teammate Shoma, in that the judges suddenly decided to be strict about her jumps (unfortunately for Satoko, her PCS suffered in addition to TES). Will this break the seal, so to speak, and set a precedent for the future? Or was it a product of being last in the SP? Either way, Satoko continues to be a reliable contender, and I don’t think her spot on the World team is gone. It just isn’t assured anymore.
5. Kaori Sakamoto (-) / Mai Mihara — It looks as if the Japanese World team is solidifying, even before Nationals, and Kaori has made an excellent case to be a part of it. She still struggles with putting together two clean programs (has done it once, at Skate America), but she has a commendable ability to lay down a powerful performance when it counts, no matter the circumstances. However, her PCS is still holding her back. As for who could replace her (or Satoko) on the Worlds team, Mihara is the most likely candidate.
6. Sofia Samodurova (+0.5) / Evgenia Medvedeva (-0.5) —With the depth in ladies skating in Russia, anybody could step up at Nationals and claim that third spot, but I suspect these two are the ones RusFed will be looking at most intently. Samodurova proved her ability to stay cool under pressure, which surely counts in her favor, but all the consistency in the world won’t give her Medvedeva’s PCS. On the other hand, PCS can only help you so much. This will be an interesting battle.
7. Bradie Tennell (-)—She is stabilizing her 3Lz3Lo and becoming a major contender. A bronze at IdF, a win at Golden Spin and an all-but-guaranteed 2nd national title will set her up well for 4CCs and Worlds.
8. Eunsoo Lim (-)
9. Elizabet Tursynbaeva (-)
10. Mariah Bell (+1) / Ting Cui (new)—Mariah still needs a reliable 3-3, but she had a great first half of the season, capped by a bronze at Golden Spin. With Karen Chen sidelined by injury, Mariah's only competition for the Worlds spot is Ting Cui, and I doubt USFS would send her there in addition to Junior Worlds.
11. Loena Hendrickx (-1)—I look forward to seeing her at Euros!

Wild Cards and National Team Spoilers
Russia: Stanislava Konstantinova, Anastasiia Gubanova, Anna Tarusina
Japan: Wakaba Higuchi, Mako Yamashita, Yuna Shiraiwa, Marin Honda

 

[BillNeal]

A reality check for some of what the real ranking among the top ladies is, after this weekend's big competition. In retrospect, it's slightly amusing how some of us had already predicted this 'shuffling' in the ranking weeks ago and were met with such resistance. Well the judges have finally confirmed it. Some may still be skeptical but really merit had a small triumph here over status.

 

[rachno2]

*presses mute button*

 

[tokoyami]

gloating is never a good look, imo

 

[Ophelia]

A reality check for some of what the real ranking among the top ladies is, after this weekend's big competition. In retrospect, it's slightly amusing how some of us had already predicted this 'shuffling' in the ranking weeks ago and were met with such resistance. Well the judges have finally confirmed it. Some may still be skeptical but really merit had a small triumph here over status.

Well deserved gloating since you ended up being correct.

 

[lzxnl]

A reality check for some of what the real ranking among the top ladies is, after this weekend's big competition. In retrospect, it's slightly amusing how some of us had already predicted this 'shuffling' in the ranking weeks ago and were met with such resistance. Well the judges have finally confirmed it. Some may still be skeptical but really merit had a small triumph here over status.

Rika herself was only aiming for GPF. She wasn't gloating about her victory. Let's stay as modest as her.

 

[chopinskate]

After Tallinn Trophy, Golden Spin and GPF

1. Rika Kihira (+1) —We still have yet to see what a clean Rika can accomplish (can you imagine??), and there is a possibility for fatal errors at any given competition. However, she showed here that she doesn’t need to go clean to win; she just needs to stay focused and react quickly, and the PCS will follow. She did just that, and the gold was hers.
2. Alina Zagitova (-1)—Still getting sky-high PCS even when she doesn’t go clean, and that near-withdrawal should be taken into consideration as well. I place her below Kihira cautiously, and I look forward to the next match-up between these two amazing competitors.

I definitely now don't think Kihira is contested at the top spot. Especially with worlds in Japan. The thing with reputation judging is that they could easily have propped Zagi much higher up on PCS and GOEs in the SP and LP (even with her mistake) no matter what the actual performance looked like, and yet they chose not to. The momentum really seems to have changed. Zagi is definitely their Olympic champion they'll fall back on if Kihira manages to blow worlds, but I don't think there's a competition for Number One if Kihira goes clean (well, BV of course would have put her ahead, but judges are throwing the GOE and PCS too).

 

[artsciboy]

After Tallinn Trophy, Golden Spin and GPF


5. Kaori Sakamoto (-) / Mai Mihara — It looks as if the Japanese World team is solidifying, even before Nationals, and Kaori has made an excellent case to be a part of it. She hasn’t skated a clean competition yet, but she has a commendable ability to lay down a powerful performance when it counts, no matter the circumstances. However, her PCS is still holding her back. As for who could replace her (or Satoko) on the Worlds team, Mihara is the most likely candidate.

Actually, Kaori had a clean competition at Skate America. She's definitely been undervalued in terms of her PCS - but her scores are rising - IMO, she should have PCS higher than Rika K's.

 

[chopinskate]

Well deserved gloating since you ended up being correct.

Lol, literally most people in the thread were saying Kihira could be #1, just needed to see her build the momentum. He even once said Miyahara was number one in his attempt to "predict" a "shuffling in the ranking". Anyone can throw a 100 darts and hope one hits the bullseye, except the one that did hit was already the one most thought would. Hardly anything to gloat about.

 

[sweetice]

A reality check for some of what the real ranking among the top ladies is, after this weekend's big competition.

You are definitely right.

Personally, i was skeptical on Kihira's chances to overtake Zagitova on this final, but just because of how the judges were undeservedly scoring Zagitova at the beginning of the season.

Zagitova has take her throne with a TES superiority, but now it's clearly obvious that Kihira is above her on that.