I like Nina too and think she has a lot of potential especially considering she is only 13! Apparently she recently landed a 3lz too, which is really exciting. I think she has a good shot at winning the junior title at nationals this year.
It's not Russian juniors in general, it's two girls, Adelina and Liza, who have both medaled at senior nationals the past two years, that are better than Christina now, and it's not like they are even that much better. Those girls are wunderkinds, they would most definitely be beating Zhang, Czisny, and Wagner if those girls were competing against them on the JGP. Christina is still better than Shelepen, Sheveleva, Agafonova if you compare their scores this season, and Anna's injured this season so she is a non-factor for now
I hardly think Christina would get eaten alive in seniors, considering the scores she earned at her 2 competitions this season on the JGP would have qualified her for the senior GPF last season. Plus most of the US ladies, apart from Nagasu and Flatt when she's on, struggle to put up a FS score of 108-109, and Christina's done it twice, in junior competition where PCS are lower and there is one less element in the FS. You have to give credit where credit is due. She scored 167 in Graz, that is a big score. If we see Wagner, Czisny, Zhang, and Flatt topping that score on the GP this season, then we can start talking, but until then, she's one of the best US senior ladies at the moment, IMO behind only a healthy Nagasu and an "on" Flatt, and maybe comparable to Agnes and Yasmin.
And I still can't get over she scored 108 with major -GOE and fall on the flip. That actually speaks to her nerves. I noticed with the U.S. ladies is that when they fall apart on one element everything else seems to go with it. If you look at the rest of the elements she only had one -1 in the rest of her elements.
You're right. I think on the national scene, she's really only behind Mirai as of now. But I was comparing her with the two Russian phenoms, because I think they are the ones who will eventually be her main rivals. The way Eliza and Adelina dominated the junior scenes so far reminds me of Mao and Yuna as juniors. So I fear that Christina may get overshadowed by these two in the future.
I guess the one thing to remember, however, is that junior dominance doesn't always equal senior dominance. I think in this case we have a pretty good chance that this, but RD's right, four years is a long time.
If you take a close look at this competition -- Liza really dominated this competition because Gao's fall in the SP (which cost her about 10 points when you factor the -GOE and the deduction for the fall). if Gao was clean her score would have matched Liza's even maybe squeaked by.
In the FP, Liza won by five points. That can all be pointed to the one fall Gao had on her flip.
Also if Gao did not fall on her flip, she would have successfully done a 7-triple program. (3Z, 2-3F, 3L, 2-3T, 3S)
Liza's (2-3Z, 3F, 3S, 3L, 2-3S)
Highest scoring elements by order of point value
3Z-3T (Liza) - 11.20 vs 3F-3T (Christina) - 10.30 (Liza)
3S-2T-2L (Liza) - 8.10 vs 3Z-2T-2L (Christina) - 9.50 (Christina)
3Z (Liza) - 7 vs 3L (Christina) - 6.31* (Liza)
2A-2A SEQ (Liza) - 6.31* vs 3T-2T (Christina) - 6.25* (Christina)
3L (Liza) - 6.31* vs 3S (Christina) - 4.90 (Liza)
3F (Liza) - 6.1 vs 3S (Liza) -5.02* (Liza)
3S (Liza) -5.02* vs 3F (Christina/fall) - 3.73* (Liza)
PLUS:
2A (Christina) - 3.92*
Point is that Liza dominates because she has that second lutz. Christina has the potential to keep up, but she will definitely have some work ahead of her and she has to be clean!
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In the big scheme of things of course they aren't. But nationally, can anyone beat them at this point? That remains to be seen but on a national scale I don't think it can be discounted that they have asserted themselves as the top crop for the past three years.
