2019-20 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating

[Greengemmonster]

WELL DONE BRADIE!!!!!!

I try not to gripe too much but in this instance I felt like she deserved a silver. I sort of get why it played out the way it did but I really do think a silver would have been the more fair result.

In any case I am thrilled she medalled! She was up against stiff competition and had nerves of steel to get over that lutz wobble!

 

[KatGrace1925]

WELL DONE BRADIE!!!!!!

I try not to gripe too much but in this instance I felt like she deserved a silver. I sort of get why it played out the way it did but I really do think a silver would have been the more fair result.

In any case I am thrilled she medalled! She was up against stiff competition and had nerves of steel to get over that lutz wobble!

It wouldn’t be our beloved dramatic figure skating if the results were fair.

 

[Jammers]

To be honest i had given up on Karen being a factor in the future with all of her struggles and now going to college but with her skates here she has i think put herself back into the conversation among the top US Ladies and if she is willing and able should think about putting college aside to focus on her skating and make a run for another Olympic team.

 

[natsulian]

Karen truly had her best skate in AGES alongside Amber Glenn. I was so belated for both ladies as they showed grit, passion, and a liberation and freedom that was lacking in the . Comparing Amber and Karen to the other ladies truly underscores why they are SO special. The way they move and just... SKATE is spine tingling, exciting, and so endearing. Amber and Karen have now earned their place as one of the top US ladies at the moment. I cannot wait to see what next season brings.

Congratulations to Bradie who managed to shake off a weird turn on the opening Lutz combo to skate one of her best Free programs yet. With a medal at Four Continents and being only a point away from a Young You with a triple-Axel, Tennell could very well challenge for the top 5 or 6. Best of luck Bradie.

 

[KatGrace1925]

I’m getting really hopeful for worlds. I think Bradie and Mariah are going to absolutely kill it and get those 3 spots back.

And yes Amber and Karen did something wonderful here. The American ladies are really showing up this season. I had counted Karen out to not want to get too hopeful but she really showed up to this competition. She got her 3-3 back for the short program, really brought it in the long program.

If this were last olympic cycle these ladies would be major medal contenders. I do wonder if Bradie or Mariah will indeed master the triple axel as both have said they’re working on it.

 

[elliana]

I am pleasantly surprised by Karen! I do hope she will defer school and try her darndest to go for one more Olympics. PCS-wise I can see her outdoing Bradie if she continues on this path.

With Bradie, I am a fan, what I feel like what I'm missing from her is a sense of vulnerability. The choreography feels piecemeal at times. But to be fair, all these ladies are still very young. I was not a mature artist at 22. And a decade later I'm still working on it.

 

[Shani]

I wish Karen Chen would go to Brian Orser. If he could fix her underrotation issue she could podium at Worlds again. This competition was a big step in the right direction.

 

[rlopen]

I wish Karen Chen would go to Brian Orser. If he could fix her underrotation issue she could podium at Worlds again. This competition was a big step in the right direction.

I don’t think she could even fixing underrotations. At 4cc? Yes. But Worlds? No. Clean Anna, Kostornaia, Trusova, Kihira, and You would all beat her URs or not. She’d basically be Bradie/Mariah...a dark horse with an outside shot if others mess up and they’re squeaky clean. But also at this point I don’t care if she’s a medalist or not. As long as our girls deliver clean programs and are happy with the results and scores I’m happy.

 

[hippomoomin]

I am so happy for the progress Bradie has been making in the past few years. Seeing her score so close to the two 3A ladies and the highest pcs among all ladies at 4cc is truly exciting.
Karen has to do some big change (e.g., a new technical coach) if she wants to go to the Olympics, or I don't see her pass beyond her previous top form, which is not enough to beat Bradie, Mariah and Alyass. She is good at things she has been good at, and has not fixed her under rotations.

 

[lusterfan]

I watched Skate America live and seeing Karen struggle there, I accepted that her journey would slowly fizzle out (similar to Rika Hongo & Maria Sotskova). And that was after her summer competitions where I developed some hope for her.

She was not perfect at 4CC, but she seems to have figured things out. Finally brought back and landed her 3Lz+3T!! That's huge for her. Still suffering from underrotations, but not as severe as she's infamous for. She still has huge jumps, beautiful extension (especially the layback and her spiral), and mesmerizing musicality. It saddens me watching videos of when she was still a novice/junior - so much bursting talent, only to be sidelined by injuries and boot issues every other day. Every time she developed momentum, she would lose it.

I think it's healthy that she decided to start college and continue down that path of her life, but from a figure skating standpoint I wish she would focus on skating and push it through another quad. She finally seems to be done with those boot issues, so we might finally see her true potential if she can focus and get the proper guidance. Tammy seems like a comfortable coach for her, but I don't know if it's the right coach for her skating.

If Bradie and Mariah can bring back a 3rd spot at Worlds for next year, I think Karen has a decent shot. Alysa is not eligible yet, so she doesn't have fierce competition. Amber is great, but has yet to pull out a good enough two-program skate. Ting would've been my choice, but it's hard to root for her yet with so much uncertainty surrounding her. Same thing for Hanna.

 

[bubblecherry]

Karen was the star of 4cc for me (as usual when she's anywhere near clean) She just has everything you could want in a skater. She's finally a part of the 200+ club too! Congrats!

 

[Skatefan15]

Congrats to Amber and Karen for a great 4CC, with season bests! But especially a big congratulations to Bradie, so proud of her and her overall progress through the years. I’ve been a fan since she won juniors in 2015 and it’s so great to see her doing well! So awesome to see great skates from my three favorite US ladies!

 

[mrrice]

I couldn't be more proud of Bradie. She held her composure after the turn out of that first triple and skated perfectly from then on. Way to represent the USA.....

 

[natsulian]

The Top 10 ladies coming into Worlds based on their highest scores throughout the season:

1. Alena Kostornaia, 247.49
2. Alexandra Trusova, 241.02
3. Anna Shcherbakova, 240.92
4. Rika Kihira, 232.34
5. Young You, 223.23
6. Bradie Tennell, 222.97
7. Mariah Bell, 212.89
8. Satoko Miyahara, 211.18
9. Wakaba Higuchi, 207.46
10. Yelim Kim, 202.76

The chances of gaining back the three spots rests in the hands of our ladies and although that may seem daunting, I think it’s a great indicator of their skills and how far they have come. If Amber and Karen manage to find their resolve and become as consistent as Bradie and Mariah, the US is looking at producing a level of depth not seen since many years ago with (hopefully) a healthy Hanna H. And Ting C.

Of note: Satoko has been scoring in the 190s as of late whilst Wakaba and Mariah are on the upswing. Trusova without her quads scores around 223-225 and Young without a 3A in the Free scores around 218-220. Bradie with < scores around 215-218. Worlds is going to be very exciting.

 

[skatinggold]

i just wish Karen Chen will just prerotate some of her jumps a little earlier. Like Johnny weir said, she is like a diver who makes their turn when they are already in the water. She can easily do a quad lutz and a triple axle if she prerotates like the Russians. Also why is she always doing a flip when she gets ding on it. Don’t know why she just doesn’t change it to a toe or salchow and get positive GOE. her jumps are so massive. Everything about her skating is so good but she just doesn’t have the consistency and she doesn’t prerotate. She needs to start playing the figure skating game of prerotating if she wants to win.

 

[skatenewbie]

i just wish Karen Chen will just prerotate some of her jumps a little earlier. Like Johnny weir said, she is like a diver who makes their turn when they are already in the water. She can easily do a quad lutz and a triple axle if she prerotates like the Russians. Also why is she always doing a flip when she gets ding on it. Don’t know why she just doesn’t change it to a toe or salchow and get positive GOE. her jumps are so massive. Everything about her skating is so good but she just doesn’t have the consistency and she doesn’t prerotate. She needs to start playing the figure skating game of prerotating if she wants to win.

She did 3Flip to maximize her layout, 7 triples and 2 double axel. She can't do another toe or salchow because she will get zayak. She repeat 3Lutz and 3Loop and already have 3Sal in euler combo and 3Toe in 2A-3T combo. At least she didn't do 3Flip in SP like Wakaba or Gracie in the past

 

[Jammers]

As long as Karen stays with Tammy Gambill she will underrotate her jumps. Vincent had the same problem with her.

 

[mrrice]

As long as Karen stays with Tammy Gambill she will underrotate her jumps. Vincent had the same problem with her.

Wasn't Tammy the coach of Richard Dornbush? I thought he was quite good when I saw him at Nationals in 2011. I don't remember him having a problem with under rotations.

 

[natsulian]

As long as Karen stays with Tammy Gambill she will underrotate her jumps. Vincent had the same problem with her.

I don't think any coach would teach their students to under-rotate. I'm hoping Karen also makes the move to Mie Hamada and does a joint partnership with her and Tammy. Karen's issue is not that she can't rotate jumps, she rotates too late. If she could learn to rotate a little quicker on the take-off and not wait until she's already half way done with the jump then her problem might be solved. If Karen manages to work on her under-rotation issues, I think she has a chance of getting a 4Lz because of how much she delays her rotations.

 

[Makemi]

Finally got a chance to catch up on all the 4CC performances, and what stellar performances they were for US ladies!

Congrats to Bradie on her bronze! (although I kept thinking if she hadn't had that mistake on the first combo it would have been silver...argh). Bradie has really sent the message that she is here to stay. Removing Evgenia (who won't be at Worlds) Bradie is now the top lady without a triple axel or quad. I find this mind-boggling.

Proud of both Karen and Amber. Even with the mistakes (not sure why she kept popping her axel), I think that is Amber's best FS to date. That score will put her in good stead for future GPs and hopefully she won't have to rely on a SA host spot next season.

That Karen was able to break the 200 barrier with limited training this season says a lot about her potential. Karen could certainly be a top US lady, but what worries me is that she is still lacking the drive needed to make international podiums. I was listening to Johnny on the NBC TV broadcast during the Ladies SP and he said he had talked to her after the National Championships about how internationally it's about quads and triple axels. Karen responded that the most important thing to her was her artistry and gave no indication to Johnny that she had any interest in learning new jumps. I know that emotional, beautiful skating is important to her (and to us as fans) but the landscape of ladies skating has really changed. Both Bradie and Mariah are working on triple axels because they know they need to up their game. At this point I'm not even sure if Karen will ever be able to fix her URs, at least not with her current jump technique (my understanding is she relies on height rather than rotation speed; because of the delay in rotation she will always be prone to UR. That rotation delay will also make it difficult for her to learn the harder jumps). I will always love and cheer for Karen but I have learned through the years that I need to temper my expectations and simply enjoy what she puts out. (Actually working with Mie Hamada is a good idea, Hamada was able to help Vincent quite a bit with his URs).