Senior Ladies Short Jan 26 7:30 PM

[tulosai]

i feel bad for rachael, a lot. i hope she doesn't read forums like these, a lot of the things people say would hurt. yes it probably is going to come down to either college or skating, but i know she doesn't want to think that. she's a very ambitious and driven girl, but no one can do it all and be perfect. and if you can, you're just crazy i'm still rooting for her though, and even though her PCS has been inflated at times, i've always loved her confidence and consistency. i hope Reliable Rachael isn't gone yet, but just taking a vacation.

I'm pretty sure that, fortunately, Rachael is too busy to be lurking here. I do think she should probably choose between skating and school for now even though I know she really does not want to. Her grades are honestly probably suffering too- even if they are high I find it hard to believe they couldn't be higher were she not trying to do both.

I personally think that, if she is serious about skating competitively, she should put off Stanford until after the next Oly cycle is over. I TOTALLY respect that it is her choice to make and I will not judge/hate on her for whatever she decides, but I am a few years older than her and I understand in a way she maybe doesn't that actually, it won't be the worst thing EVER if she graduates at 24 or 25 instead of at 22 and then graduates med school at 29 or 30 instead of 27 or 28. Most people who go to med school now (or at least a good few that I know) take a few years off between undergrad and med school anyway to do peace corps, other work, teaching abroad, whatever so she'd be graduating at the same age as them anyway.

This is just my opinion; again, I totally respect it's her life and it is up to her. However, she is at this point (again, in my opinion) just tarnishing what was a relatively strong, or at least solid career.

 

[Jammers]

Now it seems like Mirai is the one that doesn't want to be out there sort of like where Caroline was the last couple years. Mirai better take a page from Caroline's playbook and decide if she really wants to continue to skate and to work her *** off and try to improve. Caroline had a lot more problems to correct then Mirai does. Mirai has or used to have more speed and doesn't have to rework her jump technique like Caroline did but i don't see a fierce competitor when i watch Mirai . I see someone who just goes through the motions.

 

[figureskate]

my summary on results http://thewrongedgefigureskatingblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/us-nationals-ladies-short.html

 

[raress]

Wow Caroline looks so thin now,she seems to be in very good shape ,to me the 3L-3L looks ok,don't know why was marked as under rotated!Any way nice performance I just sow the Caroline we all know ,confident and full of joy.Is it me or she lost some weight since skate america?...

 

[Mrs. P]

Now that it's been a day...

I'm impressed with...:
* Agnes — Fly fly fly! That's all I could say about this girl. She was just BLAZIN through that ice. And those jumps - HUGE HUGE HUGE!!! I was too worried they would use PCS to prop her down, so glad that she got the cushion she deserved.
* Caroline — Man oh man, the moment I saw her in the warmup I knew she was going to bring the house down. Seriously, she looked fantastic and as others said the fact that she was close on that 3-3. (I think given the frequency that 3Lo combos are downgraded, getting a UR is pretty praiseworthy). I hope that will boost her confidence for the long.
* Nina — This was the other highlight of my evening. Wow, sassy and saucey at the tender age of 14. She looked like a senior lady out there. If she can up her tech content, things are going to get interesting this year.
* Ashley — I'm glad she finally, at least in the short program, walked the talk! That was a fantastic program and she should be proud.
* Haley Dunne — She did not act nor skate like a first group/first year senior. I agree that she was dinged a little too much.

I'm sad for ...
* Mirai — I just did not feel her skate at all. I don't know if its the program or something else, but something just didn't work out there. She did all the jumps and spins and that helped her score, but I don't think she or Frank should be surprised that at the PCS scores. She did not perform the program. It's hard to believe this was the same girl that dazzled us with her Pirates program just two seasons ago.
* Rachael — I've been the de-facto defender of Rachael on these boards as of late and I don't regret it. I think she should feel proud that she did the lutz and flip in this program after not having them just a few weeks ago. Still being in ninth place after being on the podium all these years must really really hurt. I think this was going to be a tough season because of all the changes. I hope she can do a free program she can be proud of and than re-evaluate things when she's done.
* Angela Wang — She wants it so bad. She has the tech and skills to get to the top but it just did not work for her last night. I hope she comes back in the long.
* Leah Keiser — She has a ton of potential and she also really wanted, but I felt she wasn't quite there yet. I think she (and Angela, me thinks) could have benefited from staying in juniors. The Pacific girls in juniors were not all that competitive (except for Polina) and I really think they Leah and Angela could have given Gracie a run for her money.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I personally think that, if she is serious about skating competitively, she should put off Stanford until after the next Oly cycle is over. I TOTALLY respect that it is her choice to make and I will not judge/hate on her for whatever she decides, but I am a few years older than her and I understand in a way she maybe doesn't that actually, it won't be the worst thing EVER if she graduates at 24 or 25 instead of at 22 and then graduates med school at 29 or 30 instead of 27 or 28. Most people who go to med school now (or at least a good few that I know) take a few years off between undergrad and med school anyway to do peace corps, other work, teaching abroad, whatever so she'd be graduating at the same age as them anyway.

I also think it is decision time for Rachel. Her GP assignments this season were based on the strength of previous years, but it looks like her days of international competitions are over. I don't think, as a former national champion and Olympian, she is going enjoy having to compete in sectionals next year and I could easily see her losing motivation and retiring to focus on school.

 

[Becki]

I was so impressed by Caroline!! Almost tears in my eyes.....good for her!!!

btw, is it just me or does anyone see some Yuna Kim in Christina Gao??

 

[Blades of Passion]

Girls who are underscored: Caroline, Vanessa, Rachael. I don't understand why all 3 got negative GOE for their flips.

Caroline had a break in the required connecting steps before the jump.

 

[cornell08]

I always felt like Ashley had this ego imo. Just a feeling I'd get from her every now and then. It's one of the reasons that I'm not really a fan although I do enjoy some of her skating.

Thats exactly how I feel about Ashley lol

 

[Andalusia]

Darn it...I only managed to see Caroline's SP before the others were pulled. IN has always been problematic for me, so YT is pretty much my only source for skating clips these days.

Caroline was wonderful, and yes, my mouth dropped a little when she did the 3R-3R. It looked neat and clean in real time, so I hope the judges weren't being unduly harsh in downgrading it. Still, I dislike that the spread eagle is now gone (that was my favorite part of the program and it matched the music so well), and I have a sinking feeling that Caroline will tank in the LP as she's got many more difficult passes to overcome.

I noticed that Caroline's SP on YT could only be posted by someone who knows the URL (one can't search for the clip), so if anyone knows the links to the top three As' (Agnes, Ashley, and Alissa) SPs, as well as Mirai and Nina Jiang's, please, please PM me!

 

[FlattFan]

this is off topic, but why does everyone think hannah miller's jumps are small? i think they're average. vanessa lam hardly gets off the ice at all, i really don't think there's any comparison there...

as far as mirai goes, i'm just not into her anymore. all this season her programs have no heart, no fire, no will to even be doing them. there's no love anymore. even last year her skating started to dwindle.

I saw Hannah and Vanessa live. Hannah had the smallest jumps I have ever seen. If Vanessa got 6 inches off the ice, Hannah must got around 2 inches. It was really really tiny. I've seen her skated both the SP and LP and they were small on all jumps.
Mirai was lifeless. And very slow. I'm surprised, actually. I thought she would be the faster ones of the US Ladies.

agnes did great last night, but i don't like her music at all. awesome jumps though, so high and big and clean. she finishes the rotation before she lands. but i thought her choreography wasn't anything to jump up and down about either. i know a few people have said her PCS should have been above alissas, and i really don't agree with that. alissa's presentation is just exquisite and beautiful. in my opinion the only skater that compares to her is carolina kostner. agnes did well technically, but artistically it could have been better. she didn't captivate me.

PCS are Skating Skill, Transitions, Performance/Execution, Choreography, Interpretation.
What make you think Alissa have better Transitions and Choreography? What transitions? What choreography? She didn't have anything in that program. Interpretation is subjective, but that was it. P/E, clearly, Agnes had it over her with a standing O and everything. Skating Skill, Agnes did a lot more than her to show off her skating skills.

 

[FlattFan]

I fear that they are going to prop Alissa up with inflated PCS scores on Saturday - she seemed over marked last night to me. Her speed and transitions are average but what really bothers me is that her jumps are so tentative and have no height - Agnes' jumps just seem to soar and Alissa's make me nervous to watch and yet the difference in marks somehow doesnt seem to reflect that ??? Am I missing something ? I also cant help but feel that Alissa always presents the same type of program - very lovely very elegant yes, but nothing different from one season to the next .

She had no transitions. Her GOE is inflated as well. Especially the step sequence and her loop. She was stalking that loop for a quarter of the rink. As Blades of Passion pointed out, Caroline got dinged on her flip for having a short break before her flip. Alissa had a longer break and got possible GOE.
As I mentioned earlier, Alissa covered the ice better, was smoother on her blade compare to a lot of girls. But she covered the ice so well because she didn't do anything but cross overs.

 

[LeCygne]

Ahh I'm dying to see Nina Jiang's SP. Sounds like she did so well and I haven't seen a video of her from the past 2 years...

 

[FlattFan]

Forgot to add Angela Wang. During the warm up, she did a triple flip triple toe combo. Fully rotated. Very nice. Would have gotten +2 GOE for that combo. I was expecting her to break 60. In the actual program, she fell apart. Poor girl.

 

[jenaj]

I was so impressed by Caroline!! Almost tears in my eyes.....good for her!!!

btw, is it just me or does anyone see some Yuna Kim in Christina Gao??

I saw more of Yu Na in Nina Jiang. I hope her program shows up somewhere. She really lit up the ice.

 

[FlattFan]

I personally would have
Agnes - 65
Caroline - 63
Ashley - 59
Alissa - 57
Mirai/Vanessa - 55
Christina/Nina/Rachael - 53
Haley - 52
Leah - 50

 

[icebeauty]

I personally think that, if she is serious about skating competitively, she should put off Stanford until after the next Oly cycle is over. I TOTALLY respect that it is her choice to make and I will not judge/hate on her for whatever she decides, but I am a few years older than her and I understand in a way she maybe doesn't that actually, it won't be the worst thing EVER if she graduates at 24 or 25 instead of at 22 and then graduates med school at 29 or 30 instead of 27 or 28. Most people who go to med school now (or at least a good few that I know) take a few years off between undergrad and med school anyway to do peace corps, other work, teaching abroad, whatever so she'd be graduating at the same age as them anyway.

This is just my opinion; again, I totally respect it's her life and it is up to her. However, she is at this point (again, in my opinion) just tarnishing what was a relatively strong, or at least solid career.

i agree. i recently graduated college at 22, like most normal average people. I'll admit my college is a top 12 school, but not Stanford. it was HARD and very strenuous at times, and graduating in 4 years was a huge accomplishment...grad school is hopefully in the cards, but i'm not in any big hurry.
When i entered my freshman year, there was another girl in my dorm who was starting as a freshman at 26. She was previously a professional dancer (i was told by someone that it was ballet in Europe). She ending up getting married, having a kid, then going to college (Her family lived in the next town over and I think her mom was helping out...she was in the dorm M-Th, then was home for the weekends).
I think Rachael needs to understand that while she's had a lot of success in a lot of areas, sometime you can't do it all at once. If she wants to skate competitively, she needs to cut down on the academics. I almost feel like she's put herself in this position so that she can show us that she's "better" than everyone else and it looks like she wants it all, and she was being very naive about that fact that she was setting herself up for disappointment. (We can't all be Paul Wylie's or Matt Savoie's - remember he deferred admission to Cornell Law so he could do the Turino Olympics - we just all WANT be that awesome). Most people take longer than 4 years to graduate with their BA/BS degrees these days as the academic rigor is tough - i don't remember the stat but the average is between 4 and 5 yrs these days. I know people who are enrolling in med school as 30-somethings. Rachael should recognize that the life of being a figure skater is one of a professional athlete, she (should be - if she wants success) putting in as much if not more time than regular college NCAA athletes, and most of them aren't carrying as heavy of a course load as she is.
Rachael has the skill-set to both succeed in skating AND academics, but IMO not at the same time, there really isn't enough time in a day. If I were her, I think it's time to realize that skating is for right now (if you really truly love it), school can wait.

side-note: look no further than the Michigan ice dancers. Education is important for all of them too, but they're only part-time students (at a GREAT public university might I add), and that's working for them...obviously, Rachael needed this year to figure out her limits, but I hope she evaluates them quickly otherwise she'll never really be back on track.

 

[icebeauty]

just watched that video of Caroline...BEAUTIFUL, i was tearing up...some quick thoughts
- that 3r-3r looked rotated...
- her flip looked so easy, it really nice to see her jumps look easy
- the lay-back camel spin (i.e. yuna spin) is not one that i particularly like, but i think with arm variations it could work wonderfully
- really nice to see that her spins are a great as ever
- Caroline finally looks at ease on the ice...almost Alissa-like?
- WHAT DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES! Karen and Peter have really taught her how to use her body not just for power and the jumps, watching Caroline skate now, you can see the energy and completeness of every movement. I really hope she keeps it up!

 

[ManyCairns]

Was so happy for Caroline just watching the leaderboard last night. Now, having seen the program, I am actually a little teary. First because the program was riveting, 2nd bcs Caroline looked SO HAPPY, 3 rd because I really like her improved technique, and finally because I LOVE the 3lo-3loL! (and it looked rotated in real time to me)

Sorry for Rach's lackluster results but overall wow, what an event. Seems like that performance might otherwise have placed okay for Mirai, but just too many women BROUGHT IT last night.

 

[Kitt]

I really loved Nina Jiang's performance. What a senior debut!

Very happy about Caroline also.

ITA with icebeauty's assessment re Rachael and schooling. If you want to be an athlete, the time is now. There is nothing wrong with graduating college a bit later than 22. I was 26 when I graduated....no big deal. She should think about the part-time option for now.