2021-22 US Ice Dance | Page 16 | Golden Skate

2021-22 US Ice Dance

dancelion21

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
It looks like both teams want the dance event to be split. At the same teleconference, a different journalist reports that C/B and H/D have apparently discussed this already and they would both like to share it, though "it is ultimately not their choice." I struggle to picture a scenario where USFS forces one team to do both segments when they've already both expressed a desire to split, though.

 

Seven Sisters

Medalist
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Chock/Bates have commented on the team event and have mentioned that they would want to share it with Hubbell/Donohue, so if C/B win US Nationals, the team event would probably be split between the two teams.

That’s…nice that they have this all decided but, I guess they didn’t ask their other training mates, Hawayek & Baker? Or, you know, Green & Parsons? Even though this is ice dance, II don’t think we should assume anything. Let’s have everyone skate first!
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
It looks like both teams want the dance event to be split. At the same teleconference, a different journalist reports that C/B and H/D have apparently discussed this already and they would both like to share it, though "it is ultimately not their choice." I struggle to picture a scenario where USFS forces one team to do both segments when they've already both expressed a desire to split, though.


Smart move by both teams to publicly state their wishes to try and force a split to happen...though it could bite them if the Fed decided since they both want to split and the Fed didn't want to for the Fed to choose team #3 to do the team event
 

dancelion21

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Smart move by both teams to publicly state their wishes to try and force a split to happen...though it could bite them if the Fed decided since they both want to split and the Fed didn't want to for the Fed to choose team #3 to do the team event
Yeah, um, there's no way USFS does that because that would absolutely lose them the silver medal to Japan. Winning the silver medal over Japan relies on the giant advantage the US has in dance thanks to C/B and H/D since Japan and the US are on basically even footing in all the other disciplines. Muramoto/Takahashi scored 190 at Warsaw Cup, which is only a point lower than what Hawayek/Baker got at Golden Spin. No way that USFS takes that risk to somehow punish their two top ice dance teams just for wanting to split the event.
 

Amei

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Yeah, um, there's no way USFS does that because that would absolutely lose them the silver medal to Japan. Winning the silver medal over Japan relies on the giant advantage the US has in dance thanks to C/B and H/D since Japan and the US are on basically even footing in all the other disciplines. Muramoto/Takahashi scored 190 at Warsaw Cup, which is only a point lower than what Hawayek/Baker got at Golden Spin. No way that USFS takes that risk to somehow punish their two top ice dance teams just for wanting to split the event.

I don't think they would do it either, but it would be hilarious if they did
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
That’s…nice that they have this all decided but, I guess they didn’t ask their other training mates, Hawayek & Baker? Or, you know, Green & Parsons? Even though this is ice dance, II don’t think we should assume anything. Let’s have everyone skate first!
Now @Seven Sisters , we know that even if C/B and H/D fall multiple times (I am not wishing this. No injuries!) and H/B skate gloriously perfectly, the first two will finish 1/2 in some order and H/B will finish 3rd. It’s ice dance. 🙄
 

cheerknithanson

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Country
United-States

lurkerghost1

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2021
What is USA plan after this season? Try to get chock/Bates to continue (they could maybe finally win worlds in 22-23 if P/C retire or take a break). Then will it be H/B and G/P “moving up” to slots 2/3 or is there a younger team waiting in the wings like Russia has with Kaganovskaia/Angelopol?
 

dancelion21

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
What is USA plan after this season? Try to get chock/Bates to continue (they could maybe finally win worlds in 22-23 if P/C retire or take a break). Then will it be H/B and G/P “moving up” to slots 2/3 or is there a younger team waiting in the wings like Russia has with Kaganovskaia/Angelopol?
US Ice Dance will be fine in the next quad. Chock/Bates have been noncommittal about continuing, but if they do continue, it will probably be for another season or two at most (very unlikely that they'll make it to 2026 considering their injury history), and they could certainly challenge for a world title in that period since P/C are probably retiring and S/K are definitely done considering Nikita's back injury. Hawayek/Baker are almost certain to continue since they will want a chance at a US title. Green/Parsons have made a lot of strides. Carreira/Ponomarenko are still extremely young and I'm sure they'll be better next season once they're adjusted to their new coaching situation. In the junior ranks, Wolfkostin/Chen, Brown/Brown, and Flores/Tsarevski have all been doing really well, and there are other young senior teams too, like Pate/Bye, Bratti/Somerville, Cesanek/Yehorov, etc. Even after Chock/Bates retire, the US has a lot of depth in dance and there are many young teams ready to step up.
 

lurkerghost1

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 6, 2021
US Ice Dance will be fine in the next quad. Chock/Bates have been noncommittal about continuing, but if they do continue, it will probably be for another season or two at most (very unlikely that they'll make it to 2026 considering their injury history), and they could certainly challenge for a world title in that period since P/C are probably retiring and S/K are definitely done considering Nikita's back injury. Hawayek/Baker are almost certain to continue since they will want a chance at a US title. Green/Parsons have made a lot of strides. Carreira/Ponomarenko are still extremely young and I'm sure they'll be better next season once they're adjusted to their new coaching situation. In the junior ranks, Wolfkostin/Chen, Brown/Brown, and Flores/Tsarevski have all been doing really well, and there are other young senior teams too, like Pate/Bye, Bratti/Somerville, Cesanek/Yehorov, etc. Even after Chock/Bates retire, the US has a lot of depth in dance and there are many young teams ready to step up.
I'm not so impressed by Wolfkostin/Chen, they don't have the spark that Nguyen/Kolesnik did. The judges seem not to like H/B so much perhaps because of the lack of height difference so I guess Green/Parsons have a chance to move up to the top tier of teams in the world. I would like to see Brown/Brown develop more as they are really original
 

dancelion21

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
In sad news for junior ice dance, the Browns and Flores/Tsarevski have withdrawn from US Nationals. The Browns both contracted COVID, while Flores/Tsarevski's situation is extremely sad, and is summed up in this Twitter thread. These two teams were probably the favorites for the gold and silver in Junior Ice Dance, since Wolfkostin/Chen are competing Senior this year.

Hopefully, the Browns don't have too strong COVID symptoms, and they will surely be chosen to compete at Junior Worlds by USFS even though they didn't participate at Junior Nationals since they qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. Flores/Tsarevski's situation is a lot more uncertain, but I hope the best for such a promising team ❤️

 

Hyena

Tous les whiskys
Medalist
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
I'm so bummed for the skaters. I hope the Browns will be healthy enough and USFS will give them the nod to Junior Worlds, if it happens. Off to watch some of the Browns' performances from the JGP because I was really looking forward to seeing their programs again.

I feel for Flores/Tsarevski, too. Even though we don't know what exactly happened/is happening, both of them must be going through something difficult.
 

readernick

Medalist
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
I'm so sorry the Browns won't be competing. They are and have long been my favorite junior ice dance team. I'm quite worried about the number of teams who are testing positive for COVID-19. It doesn't bode well for the Olympic athletes. A positive test could ruin their Olympic chances.
 
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slider11

Medalist
Joined
Jan 12, 2014

dancelion21

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Brief summary of the US skaters

1) Madison Chock / Evan Bates - A great Nationals showing for them to win agains H/D. Their rhythm dance was fantastic, Evan's new costume is a massive improvement, and this momentum is great in terms of contending for an Olympic medal. Since they won US Nationals, I would expect that they get to choose whether they want to split the team event or do it solo. They said in a pre-Nationals interview that they want to split it with H/D, and I would expect C/B to skate the rhythm dance segment since they won that segment at US Nationals and they got a great RD score at NHK Trophy.

2) Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue - They lost the National title due to mistakes in the rhythm dance, but they certainly are not out of contention for a medal at the Olympics. They just need to make sure to stay clean, because there are multiple risks in their programs. The sliding element in their rhythm dance looks awesome, but they have to keep it in control at the Olympics so that they don't get fall deductions. Their impressive overhead lift has been teetering the line all season, so Zach has to be ultra careful at the Olympics to not accidentally lock his arms, or they're going to get a massive illegal element deduction.

3) Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker - Their free dance was a moment at US Nationals, and it is awesome that they finally get to go to the Olympics after a late start to the season due to injuries. It will be really interesting to see what happens next quad since H/B are no longer really a young team, but they haven't had the opportunity in their career to compete as one of the top US teams.

4) Caroline Green / Michael Parsons - Their programs this season have been stellar and they provided great competition with H/B for the last Olympic spot. I think that they are going to be the top US dance team next quad once C/B retire. It is interesting that they are the only first alternates who were assigned to 4CC and I absolutely think that they can win 4CC. They should still take as many precautions as possible leading up to the Olympics considering the COVID situation.

5) Emily Bratti / Ian Somerville - This has been an amazing debut season for this new team. They're headed to 4CC where they can absolutely do well, and next season, I would expect them to get Grand Prix assignments. They are also the first team to be coached by the Michigan Ice Dance Academy, so it will be really interesting to see which other teams might join them at this new training center. Taking fifth at US Nationals was a huge victory for them in an already excellent debut year.

6) Katarina Wolfkostin / Jeffrey Chen - The top US junior team this year chose to compete senior at US Nationals, and they did an admirable job, beating out more established senior teams. They are probably disappointed that they weren't assigned a 4CC spot, since that was probably the main reason why they chose to compete half-senior this season. Regardless, they will be competing at Junior Worlds where they will certainly be favored to win a medal, and might even win if they're clean enough and other teams make mistakes. I look forward to seeing their senior debut next year.

7) Christina Carreira / Anthony Ponomarenko - This has been a pretty disappointing season for CPom after making a big coaching change. It's normal that new coaches take a while to adjust to, but while they used to score on par with G/P, it's probably pretty disappointing that they finished behind a new team and a junior team. I'm glad for them that they were still assigned a 4CC spot, but they definitely need to evaluate in the off-season how they're going to deal with this situation. They were never in contention for the Olympics since Christina doesn't have citizenship, but for 2026, they will need to make some big improvements, since until this season, they would have been favored to be one of the top US dance teams going into the next quad. They can still do that, but it's looking more precarious than it was in the past.

8) Eva Pate / Logan Bye - A result pretty similar to what they've gotten in the past two seasons since teaming up, where they were seventh in the past two US Championships. This is a team who I wonder might choose to switch to the Michigan Ice Dance Academy. They currently train in Michigan with Igor, but it doesn't really feel like they're a priority for Igor's team since he has so many junior teams and of course, Diana Davis. I don't know if they are entitled to Grand Prix assignments based on season's best or world standings. If they can't get those, then they should definitely get a host pick to Skate America so that they can make their Grand Prix debut next season.

9) Lorraine McNamara / Anton Spiridonov - A pretty good result for M/S based on how they've skated this season. They will probably see beating their training mates, Cesanek/Yehorov, as a victory, and something they can definitely take with them into the next year. This team also probably won't get any Grand Prix assignments based on season's best or world standings, and they are also good contenders for a Skate America host pick next year.

10) Molly Cesanek / Yehor Yehorov - A bit of a disappointing US Nationals for C/Y since they probably would have hoped to beat teams like P/B and M/S as they did at US Nationals last year where they had a bit of a breakout season. They got the host pick for Skate America this year, but it might be difficult for them to get it again next year considering their placement at US Nationals.

Honorary mention for Avonley Nguyen / Grigory Smirnov who had to withdraw due to a hip issue from Smirnov. I'm looking forward to seeing the international debut next year where they should get assigned a few Challenger events.

Overall, the US ice dance field is still incredibly deep and there are a lot of young teams who will most likely be continuing through the next quad to try to go to 2026. H/D are retiring at the end of the season, and C/B are noncommittal. It will still be an extremely competitive field to get major international assignments in.
 

Spiralgraph

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Country
United-States
I think H/B and G/P will have a rivalry over the next few years like H/D and C/B have had. I do not expect G/P to just leapfrog over H/B.

I don't either. But I'm glad the next generation of US ice dancers seem so strong. H/B are my favorite dance team but I have new respect for Green/Parsons. Their programs this year are such a step up from what Wheaton usually gives their teams. And if C/Pom can improve I'm going to enjoy watching all these teams develop and climb the ranks internationally soon. But I still hope that kaitlin and Jean-Luc lead the way.
 
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