2024-25 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[BlissfulSynergy]

I am excited to see how U.S. pairs teams will further develop in the coming season during this time of transition.

Currently included in the International Selection Pool:

Saya Carpenter and Jon Maravilla
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe
Nica Digerness and Mark Sadusky
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
Olivia Flores and Luke Wang
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea
Ellie Korytek and Timmy Chapman
Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard
Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez
Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer


Team Envelopes for U.S. Pairs:

 A
Ellie Kam/ Danny O'Shea
(USNats S1/ 4CC3/ W11)

B
Emily Chan/ Spencer Howe
(USNats SP-1 prior to WD/ W12)

Elisa Efimova/ Misha Mitrofanov
(PF-S2/ USNats S2)

Isabelle Martins/ Ryan Bedard
(PF-S3/ USNats S6)

Katie McBeath/ Danill Parkman
(PF-1/ USNats S5)

Valentina Plazas/ Maximiliano Fernandez (USNats S3/ 4CC9/ W13)

 C
Sydney Cooke/ Matthew Kennedy
(PF-1/ USNats J3)

Nica Digerness/ Mark Sadusky
(PF-S5/ USNats S7)

Olivia Flores/ Luke Wang
(JGPF5/ USNats J1/ JW2)

Ellie Korytek/ Timmy Chapman
(PF-S4/ USNats S8)

Naomi Williams/ Lachlan Lewer
(USNats J2/ JW3)

 D
Saya Carpenter/ Jon Maravilla
(PF-J4/ USNats J5)

Jolena Grohne/ Reede Lunt
(PF-N2/ USNats N4)

Sofia Jarmoc/ Luke Witkowski
(PF-N3/ USNats N1)

Reagan Moss/ Jakub Galbavy
(PF-J5/ USNats J6)

Codes:
PF=U.S. Pairs Final; J=Junior;
JGPF=Junior Grand Prix Final; W=Worlds; N=Novice; S=Senior;
JW=Junior Worlds; WD=withdrawal;
4CC=Four Continents


Other U.S. senior pairs teams:

Linzy Fitzpatrick and Keyton Bearinger (PF-S6/ USNats S10); AFAIK they are still training in Detroit with coaches Jim Peterson & Amanda Evora

Grace Hanns and Danny Neudecker (PF-WD; placed 9th in SP); Uncertain whether they still plan to compete; AFAIK they are both coaching at Monument rink in Colorado

Mazie McFarland and Jordan Gillette (PF-S9)

Maria Mokhova and Ivan Mokhov (USNats S9) I haven't heard anything about this team's plans for the future

Nina Ouellette and Rique Newby-Estrella (PF-S8); AFAIK one or both may be skating in shows; uncertain if they will return to eligible competition

Megan Wessenberg and Edoardo Caputo (PF-S7; Injury WD before USNats SP); Caputo sustained an injury during a 2024 Nats practice session; I liked what I saw from them at U.S. Pairs Final; I hope they can continue to develop under coaches Brubaker & Berton in Chicago

Junior team, Melania Delis and Jaden Schwab (PF-7/ USNats J-9)

If anyone has any information or updates about any of these teams, please do post your knowledge.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

2024 Grand Prix assignments for U.S. Pairs:

Skate America
Alisa Efimova/ Misha Mitrofanov; Ellie Kam/ Danny O’Shea; TBD

Skate Canada International
Emily Chan/ Spencer Akira Howe

Grand Prix de France
No U.S. team

NHK Trophy
Ellie Kam/ Danny O’Shea; Valentina Plazas/ Maximiliano Fernandez

Finlandia Trophy
Emily Chan/ Spencer Akira Howe; Naomi Williams/ Lachlan Lewer

Cup of China
Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez

It is too bad that Danill Parkman has not been released yet by Georgian fed. I hope something favorable happens toward Danill gaining his release before the start of the season so that he and Katie McBeath can at least be assigned to one or two Challenger events!


New teams that are announced:

Audrey Shin/ Balasz Nagy; perhaps they might receive the SA tbd if they come together well over the summer and are felt to be ready for a major competition rollout

Addyson *McDanold/Aaron Felberbaum; senior (*sp is accurate)

Gracie Gottschalk/Sam Herbert; junior

Elizabeth Yun/Blake McGee; senior


As well, Gabriella Izzo has apparently come back from her brief retirement to partner with Luc Maierhofer for Austria. They were recently pictured at a training camp in Germany.

 

[Lutzedge]

I am interested in Efimova/Mitrofanov this upcoming season. They did very well at Nationals with their Silver medal having barely done competitions together, so I think they have some solid potential. Chan/Akira Howe are beautiful skaters (I love their speed, natural performing, and fluidity), so hopefully with focusing on their health they could gain some consistency.

Flores/Wang have really been sprouting nicely. Their Nationals score would have given them in the top 5 in Seniors, and with one less element done. I am intrigued by their potential going forward.

 

[Kittosuni]

I am interested in Efimova/Mitrofanov this upcoming season. They did very well at Nationals with their Silver medal having barely done competitions together, so I think they have some solid potential. Chan/Akira Howe are beautiful skaters (I love their speed, natural performing, and fluidity), so hopefully with focusing on their health they could gain some consistency.

Efimova is a pretty good pair lady. I was pleasantly surprised seeing how good and gritty she was with Korovin during their Skate America debut. She has done well and medaled with her previous partners. Mitrofanov seems a good match for her in terms of physicality and levels. They just need to be consistent.

 

[Lutzedge]

It appears that Daniil Siianytsia may have found a new partner, via his Instagram story. Because of it being on a story, it will go away by sometime tomorrow. So if anyone misses, he is doing drills off the ice and practicing a lift on the ice with Canadian skater, Meghan Fredette.

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[saine]

Program announcements for Fredette/Siianytsia from Trudy Oltmanns

 

[SubRosa]

Am loving all these new partnerships (American and Canadian and European and all combinations thereof). This promises to be a very interesting season for pairs, both senior and junior.

 

[ramurphy2005]

Some training clips from Audrey Shin:

Audrey Shin 신수민 on Instagram: "…work in progress🩵"

2,118 likes, 53 comments - audreyshin.skater on June 21, 2024: "…work in progress🩵".

www.instagram.com

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Thanks @ramurphy2005. You beat me to it. I came to update everyone, too, with Audrey's latest pairs training clips post. This time with her new partner. They are looking good. Audrey's height looks very nice here on their twist. And especially the jumps are refreshing. Of course, there's nothing like putting it out there in competition. Certainly, Shin/ Nagy will be a front-runner for the tbd at SA.

 

[FlossieH]

Some training clips from Audrey Shin:

Audrey Shin 신수민 on Instagram: "…work in progress🩵"

2,118 likes, 53 comments - audreyshin.skater on June 21, 2024: "…work in progress🩵".

www.instagram.com

They are so in sync with each other. They don't look like a new pair team. I suspect they will start overtaking some of the other US pairs quite quickly.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Hey U.S. pairs fans, I just see this posted by several skaters on IG, most importantly posted by Mark & Nica! They have moved to WASA rink!

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ETA:
I also see Gabby Izzo in this group photo at WASA pairs rink. Hmm Does this mean that Gabby & Luc will be training in the U.S., but repping Austria? Are they just in Colorado for the summer to train? Or, are they planning to rep the U.S.? While that would be nice for them, in terms of possibly more funding support, there obviously aren't as plentiful opportunities to compete at international comps, with a packed and uber-talented U.S. pairs field.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Oh wait, I see Severin Kiefer to the far right in the group photo. That must mean he is coaching Gabby and Luc for Austria, and they are just visiting WASA rink for a bit of training this summer.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

They are so in sync with each other. They don't look like a new pair team. I suspect they will start overtaking some of the other US pairs quite quickly.

It's great to see how easy Audrey & Balasz are making it look on their jumps. If they are going to be this consistent and strong on their jumps, more power to them! As we know, sbs jumps in pairs can be difficult for many teams (and not just U.S. pairs teams). I would bet that issue is in large part what led to Chelsea's and Balasz's partnership ending so quickly.

While I am increasingly harboring great hopes for Audrey & Balasz, I still think expectations of new pairs partnerships are overly high. Plus, it is important to nurture new partnerships with support and patience. I agree that these clips look promising. Keep in mind, though that these are edited clips. We have not yet seen their dismount from the twist, nor a full program sequence. The proof is going to be in the full pudding.

But yep, they look strong and competitive. I would bet they get the SA tbd if they feel comfortable enough with their programs by October's start of the GP.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Oh wait, I see Severin Kiefer to the far right in the group photo. That must mean he is coaching Gabby and Luc for Austria, and they are just visiting WASA rink for a bit of training this summer.

Luc and his former partner (Giorgia Ghedini) have visited WASA before for some additional training opportunities, and teams from WASA trained with the EisTeam Salzburg in Austria before the JGPs last season. Nora Rothenbühler/Mozes Berei were also at WASA at the same time (he was also tagged in the video), and they too train with the EisTeam Salzburg

 

[Lutzedge]

Izzo said that she retired, but maybe she is returning, which would be really nice.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Naomi and Lachlan 3STh (seems like they are getting that one down quite well now)
Nica and Mark 3TTh

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Izzo said that she retired, but maybe she is returning, which would be really nice.

I think she deleted her retirement post, and she's now recently been seen on the ice multiple times. Seems like she's at least giving it another try

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

@FlossieH, I am very much looking forward to seeing Audrey & Balasz in competition. I can't wait to find out what they are skating to. We know they had a program choreographed by Drew Meekins before they departed for Marcotte's training rink in Oakville, Ontario (as per a knowledgeable poster) in the previous thread.

I would like to see them get a fp from someone other than Julie Marcotte, but it might be inevitable that she will work with them on choreo.

I do not think we can tell about how in sync they are yet. Even when Alexa/ Brandon came together so quickly in terms of their synergy and athleticism, it still took them awhile to develop comfortable knowledge of each other under high pressure competitive situations. As we all know, skaters need to compete in order to improve, learn, grow. The sport should be paying more attention to providing competitive opportunities to all skaters. The opportunities are so limited under the antiquated competitive structure. Yes, I'm a broken record about this.

On the bright side, it will be exciting to see U.S. pairs teams pushing each other forward and jockeying for position, with great camaraderie, as is usually the norm. I think Kam/ O'Shea will continue to be strongly supported by usfigsk, along with Shin/ Nagy, who are obviously being heavily encouraged. Chan/ Howe will have a lot of support, too, with fans hoping that they come back strongly this season. Sadly, for Danill Parkman and Katie McBeath, they are being held back a bit competitively by Danill not yet having his release from Georgia.

Efimova/ Mitrofanov will be strong contenders for the Nationals podium, as defending U.S. silver medalists. It is good for them that they have the chance to compete on the GP. We should not forget about Val & Max either. They have top-notch lifts. Plus, they are getting their new programs choreographed by Car/ Pon. They all train in the Detroit area. Other good senior U.S. pairs teams will be pushing forward, too, including Digerness/ Sadusky; Martins/ Bedard; Williams/ Lewer; et al. I am hopeful to see progress by Wessenberg/ Caputo, who train with Berton/ Brubaker in Chicago. Unfortunately, Ellie Korytek & Timmy Chapman will have to wait another year for international assignments due to the age limit ruling.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Naomi and Lachlan 3STh (seems like they are getting that one down quite well now)
Nica and Mark 3TTh

Yep, thanks for sharing. This reel was also posted on IG stories by Mark Sadusky and other skaters at WASA rink.

 

[FlossieH]

@FlossieH, I am very much looking forward to seeing Audrey & Balasz in competition. I can't wait to find out what they are skating to. We know they had a program choreographed by Drew Meekins before they departed for Marcotte's training rink in Oakville, Ontario (as per a knowledgeable poster) in the previous thread.

I would like to see them get a fp from someone other than Julie Marcotte, but it might be inevitable that she will work with them on choreo.

I do not think we can tell about how in sync they are yet. Even when Alexa/ Brandon came together so quickly in terms of their synergy and athleticism, it still took them awhile to develop comfortable knowledge of each other under high pressure competitive situations. As we all know, skaters need to compete in order to improve, learn, grow. The sport should be paying more attention to providing competitive opportunities to all skaters. The opportunities are so limited under the antiquated competitive structure. Yes, I'm a broken record about this.

My comment about their synchronisation was in relation to their timing on the elements, not to interpersonal chemistry. Their timing is unusually good for this stage in a partnership. They are both established skaters who have had different coaches and will have learnt slightly different technique. Normally it takes longer for pairs to synchronise their jump technique and thus timing e.g. Vanessa James and Eric Radford were still struggling with it after a full competitive season.