Potential new partners for Rockne

[stjeaskategym]

Correct me if I'm wrong someone....but how high/far her previous partner threw her has little bearing on what she could accomplish with someone like Rockne. All I care about is what jumps she can do on her own. Obviously a 2ax and some triple would be good.....

I know, I just don't think she has great technique on the twist that would make it easy to turn into a triple. I don't know if she has her 2A yet. They did 2F and 2Lz in Novice last season, but it's possible she may have more than that.

She lists herself at 5'4" on icepartnersearch so this is all a moot point anyway.

[DORISPULASKI]

I vote for Rena Inoue.

They're both great pairs skaters, but it might not be that great a match, even in theory.

Does Rena have a reliable 3S? She did land one in 1994 nationals. She fell on it a 1997 nationals. The 3T and 2A and the 3Lz were her best & most reliable jumps.

And it's not clear how much of I&B's problems with the triple twist are due to her rather than to him. She and her previous partner Tomoaki Koyama only did the double twist. They might not have that great a twist as a result.

Plus she does the throw triple axel and he doesn't, and he can do the throw flip/lutz and she doesn't.

OTOH, then she'd be going to the 2014 Olympics with her third different partner, and has gone to Olympics once as a singles skater so that'd be quite a record.

[Ziggy]

Sigh. At this point I'm ready to pair Brubaker and Drew Meekins. Because at least they'd have each other.

Yes to that!

[casken]

Another comeback for Tiffany Steigler?

[skatak]

You know who'd really do him justice in terms of energy and charisma? Meagan Duhamel

lol, I was thinking 'let's hope Rockne will find his next partner in the same condition that Craig found Meagan'. He searched, searched, tried, .. and found her.

[orbitz]

Plus she [Rena] does the throw triple axel and he [Rockne] doesn't, and he can do the throw flip/lutz and she doesn't.

Rena doesn't do the throw 3A on her own, and Rockne doesn't do the throw flip/lutz on his own. Those are moves they can learn together if they come together as a pair.

[Sylvia]

Plus she [Rena] does the throw triple axel and he doesn't, and he [Rockne] can do the throw flip/lutz and she doesn't.

McLaughlin/Brubaker never attempted throw 3F or 3Lz in competition, did they? I recall them doing throw 3S and 3Lo (with great distance and flow out when successfully completed).

I remember Inoue/Baldwin trying sbs 3Lz at their first Nationals in 2001.

[manleywoman]

They're both great pairs skaters, but it might not be that great a match, even in theory.

Does Rena have a reliable 3S? She did land one in 1994 nationals. She fell on it a 1997 nationals. The 3T and 2A and the 3Lz were her best & most reliable jumps.

And it's not clear how much of I&B's problems with the triple twist are due to her rather than to him. She and her previous partner Tomoaki Koyama only did the double twist. They might not have that great a twist as a result.

Plus she does the throw triple axel and he doesn't, and he can do the throw flip/lutz and she doesn't.

OTOH, then she'd be going to the 2014 Olympics with her third different partner, and has gone to Olympics once as a singles skater so that'd be quite a record.

I was kidding actually, but it is an interesting breakdown you've written!

[LilJen]

But Drew isn't a strong jumper, is he?

He's got his triples but is inconsistent. Anyway, both guys seem to have a similar problem--smallish for pairs (Drew is taller than Rockne but very slightly built rather than truck driver-esque), lovely lines, kind of dreamy looking. . .

manleywoman, I thought Rena would be good for Drew. She might help his inconsistency on jumping because she's so dependable. Then again that didn't work for John "triple toe? what's that?" Baldwin. . .

[blue_idealist]

Has Anais Morand found another partner yet? I know that's a stretch with her being from Switzerland..

[pinky166]

I wonder if Ashley Cain would ever switch to skate with Rockne, she's 16 and just won the novice title with Joshua Reagan, she has a lot of nice qualities and where Rockne has a lot of experience and good results, the partnership could work. She looks kinda tall though, but very thin.

[Sylvia]

Ashley Cain's listed height in her USFS bio is 5'4" and she will turn 15 later this month.

[pinky166]

Ashley Cain's listed height in her USFS bio is 5'4" and she will turn 15 later this month.

Oh ok, so she's very young, and tall for pairs already, and likely to grow another inch or two before she stops. Nevermind then. I really like her skating though, she is so elegant on the ice

[stjeaskategym]

I wonder if Ashley Cain would ever switch to skate with Rockne, she's 16 and just won the novice title with Joshua Reagan, she has a lot of nice qualities and where Rockne has a lot of experience and good results, the partnership could work. She looks kinda tall though, but very thin.

She's thin, but prepubescent at 14 yrs old. 5'4" is just too tall. If she ends up not being able to handle the higher level pair elements, she can concentrate on singles since she has done pretty well there too.... I think she was 2nd in novice last season.

[genevieve]

manleywoman, I thought Rena would be good for Drew. She might help his inconsistency on jumping because she's so dependable. Then again that didn't work for John "triple toe? what's that?" Baldwin. . .

Don't forget that everytime John does land a triple, Rena has problems(possibly in surprise).

[Ziggy]

Has Anais Morand found another partner yet? I know that's a stretch with her being from Switzerland..

She has found a partner straight away, never had to search IIRC. She's skating with Ilja Glebov.

Don't forget that everytime John does land a triple, Rena has problems(possibly in surprise).

She's just so shocked, her focus goes totally out of the window.

[pinky166]

I wonder, would Felicia Zhang ever leave Taylor for Rockne? I found her very impressive this past nationals and she has solid jumps from her singles experience. She's also only 5' and thin so she would be the perfect size for someone smaller like Rockne. She is very promising and pairing up with someone like Rockne could help jumpstart her pairs career...

[shan]

I wonder, would Felicia Zhang ever leave Taylor for Rockne? I found her very impressive this past nationals and she has solid jumps from her singles experience. She's also only 5' and thin so she would be the perfect size for someone smaller like Rockne. She is very promising and pairing up with someone like Rockne could help jumpstart her pairs career...

I like Felicia and Taylor as a team. They've done well together for the short time they've been partnered, I would hate to see them break up.

[Polymer Bob]

I remember last year, a poster reported that skaters had asked Katy Taylor to skate pairs. She totally refused.

[hippychick]

I wonder, would Felicia Zhang ever leave Taylor for Rockne? I found her very impressive this past nationals and she has solid jumps from her singles experience. She's also only 5' and thin so she would be the perfect size for someone smaller like Rockne. She is very promising and pairing up with someone like Rockne could help jumpstart her pairs career...

I really hope that when Rockne goes partner searching it is not at the detriment of some other established pair team. We need to be supporting teams and encouraging them to stay together, not encouraging them the break up because someone "better" comes along. Rockne is extremely talented and I am sure he will have no problem finding another partner, however he is not the only talented pair guy out there, there are several other very talented pair guys out there and Taylor is one of them. I actually think that this season is going to be very exciting without Keauna and Rockne (as much as I will miss them). It will be very interesting to see which teams rise to the top.