"Just Between US Ladies": 2011-12 season news, views, score updates & more

[DickButtonFan]

Mirai looked much happier out there. That's a good sign for up-coming nationals.

[RD]

Kostner did not fall.

My bad, I meant to type hand down. Still a glaring error.

ETA: original post has been fixed

[os168]

Weird place to post Mirai stuff without her name in the thread title, but anyway here it goes.

Wow it is nice to see the Spirited away Mirai decide to come back with a vengeance!

- Mirai Confidence *checked*
- No more rubbish mistakes *checked*
- Mirai sassiness and swagger back *checked*
- Remember to perform to the Audience / Judges *checked*
- Most importantly: Listen to music and fit the choreography to it *checked*

What a difference a week makes!

It is still no quite a tango, but it is as close to Latin spirit from an US lady with some nice touches responding to the mood change in the music well.

Overall, an encouraging result with a so so program. Mirai did not do a 3:3, otherwise she'd easily beat Carolina. She need to upgrade her jump element if she want to be one of the leaders in this sport!

So excited but exasperated at the same time! Wonder how's she's going to do in her LP! Dreading it actually!

[Jarrett]

I think she will do pretty well in the LP, she had that same look at 2010 Nationals SP scores.

[RD]

Again, the freeskate will be the test for Nagasu's confidence.

[smarts1]

OMG wth was Adelina wearing?!?!?!

[icellist]

OMG wth was Adelina wearing?!?!?!

ITA but this is the US ladies thread. Not the fugly costume or russian babies thread. OTOH, do we have a fugly costume thread yet?

[Jammers]

Weird place to post Mirai stuff without her name in the thread title, but anyway here it goes.

Wow it is nice to see the Spirited away Mirai decide to come back with a vengeance!

- Mirai Confidence *checked*
- No more rubbish mistakes *checked*
- Mirai sassiness and swagger back *checked*
- Remember to perform to the Audience / Judges *checked*
- Most importantly: Listen to music and fit the choreography to it *checked*

What a difference a week makes!

It is still no quite a tango, but it is as close to Latin spirit from an US lady with some nice touches responding to the mood change in the music well.

Overall, an encouraging result with a so so program. Mirai did not do a 3:3, otherwise she'd easily beat Carolina. She need to upgrade her jump element if she want to be one of the leaders in this sport!

So excited but exasperated at the same time! Wonder how's she's going to do in her LP! Dreading it actually!

Mirai won't be doing a 3-3 combo until she gets in better shape. She's not in the best shape that she could be. She has to want to be the best and not going through the motions like she does sometimes on the ice. She also needs to sell her programs more she gets so intent on landing her jumps she sort of skates through the music not to the music.

[smarts1]

Congrats to Mirai for her 2nd Grand Prix medal! (Although I still don't like that LP.)

And btw has anyone seen this? (http://www.isuresults.com/events/cat00007543.htm) Is it a typo or does Carolina have three GP assignments?

[Sylvia]

It's not a typo. Top 6 skaters/teams from Worlds can choose to compete in 3 GPs if they want. Alissa choose not to do 3, for example.

Caroline Zhang won in Graz, Austria today (152.72 total, 99.90 2nd in FS), skating her best FS in many years - jumps I saw on the live stream: 3F+2T, 3Lz (e) step out, 2A, 3Lo+2T, 3F, 3Lo+2T+2Lo, 2A.

[Polymer Bob]

I saw her freeskate live.

It looked like she cut her hand on her blade. She needed a band-aid in the K&C. Photographers were taking her pictures.

[MikiAndoFan#1]

Congrats, Caroline!

[smarts1]

It's not a typo. Top 6 skaters/teams from Worlds can choose to compete in 3 GPs if they want. Alissa choose not to do 3, for example.

Caroline Zhang won in Graz, Austria today (152.72 total, 99.90 2nd in FS), skating her best FS in many years - jumps I saw on the live stream: 3F+2T, 3Lz (e) step out, 2A, 3Lo+2T, 3F, 3Lo+2T+2Lo, 2A.

What? Really? I thought they got rid of that rule a long time ago. Who else recently had 3 GPs assigned to them (if anyone else)?

Anyways, congrats to Caroline! She has really improved a lot over the off season as well. Her jumps are much higher and she's gotten into better shape.

I'm hoping that Mirai still changes her LP. When the judges gave her over a 29 for PCS in the short, that meant they would have easily given her 59 or 60 for PCS in the LP had the program itself been good. But the program sucks and she was marked down accordingly. Hopefully, that still rings some bells and whistles in their heads... But I doubt it...

[Sylvia]

What? Really? I thought they got rid of that rule a long time ago. Who else recently had 3 GPs assigned to them (if anyone else)?

Scroll to posts #91 & 92 in this GSD thread: 2011/2012 Grand Prix Athlete Selection (can we keep our focus on US ladies in this thread please, thanks)

With her medal in Graz, Caroline will be elevated from the Reserve Team envelope to Team C and receive funding for the rest of this season. Samantha Cesario (2 JGP bronzes) and Gracie Gold (JGP gold in Estonia) are the other 2 US ladies who moved from the Reserve team up to Team C this fall.

BTW, Mary Beth Marley is in Team C for singles this season based on her 5th place finish in Junior Ladies at 2011 Nationals, and I think that is why she is listed in the Senior Ladies event at this month's Pacific Coast Sectional Championships -- she probably had to register for U.S. qualifying season in order to receive her Team C singles funding. I don't expect Marley to compete at Coasts, though (AFAIK she hasn't competed in singles at all this season). Caroline Zhang, Leah Keiser and Angela Wang look to be the leading Senior ladies at Coasts.

[olympic]

Why isn't Caroline doing a 3T or 3S. Even at her worst, those were more dependable jumps for her. If it's because she plans on doing a 3-3, I think she should be a bit less ambitious and just get some good LPs out there with more solid jumps.

[Sylvia]

CURRENT TOP TEN U.S. INTERNATIONAL SENIOR/JUNIOR LADIES SCORES
177.48 Alissa Czisny - Skate America, 1st (SR)
173.22 Mirai Nagasu - Cup of China, 2nd (SR) (167.46 - Nebelhorn, 1st; 151.72 - Skate Canada, 5th)
172.69 Gracie Gold - JGP Estonia, 1st (JR in US this season)
165.48 Ashley Wagner - Skate Canada, 3rd (SR)
156.58 Vanessa Lam - JGP Austria, 1st (SR)
153.84 Samantha Cesario - JGP Poland, 3rd (SR)
152.72 Caroline Zhang - Ice Challenge Sr B, 1st (SR) (140.70 - Skate America, 6th)
152.48 Christina Gao - Cup of China, 5th (SR)
151.91 Courtney Hicks - JGP Australia, 1st (SR) - out for the season due to injury
146.74 Hannah Miller - JGP Italy, 3rd (JR)

This coming week: Agnes Zawadzki makes her season debut at NHK Trophy, and Ashley Wagner skates her 2nd GP there.

[smarts1]

Scroll to posts #91 & 92 in this GSD thread: 2011/2012 Grand Prix Athlete Selection (can we keep our focus on US ladies in this thread please, thanks)

With her medal in Graz, Caroline will be elevated from the Reserve Team envelope to Team C and receive funding for the rest of this season. Samantha Cesario (2 JGP bronzes) and Gracie Gold (JGP gold in Estonia) are the other 2 US ladies who moved from the Reserve team up to Team C this fall.

BTW, Mary Beth Marley is in Team C for singles this season based on her 5th place finish in Junior Ladies at 2011 Nationals, and I think that is why she is listed in the Senior Ladies event at this month's Pacific Coast Sectional Championships -- she probably had to register for U.S. qualifying season in order to receive her Team C singles funding. I don't expect Marley to compete at Coasts, though (AFAIK she hasn't competed in singles at all this season). Caroline Zhang, Leah Keiser and Angela Wang look to be the leading Senior ladies at Coasts.

So then how does GPF selections work? Is it still a points system for Carolina and Alena (meaning they'll most definitely be at the final)? Or are only the two highest placements counted? Ugh, I want Ashley to get to the GPF again.

[Sylvia]

Or are only the two highest placements counted?

Yes.

Why isn't Caroline doing a 3T or 3S. Even at her worst, those were more dependable jumps for her. If it's because she plans on doing a 3-3, I think she should be a bit less ambitious and just get some good LPs out there with more solid jumps.

I don't recall Caroline doing a solo 3T in her programs in recent years? 3S is not a jump she has landed consistently in the past.

Caroline was quoted as saying at Skate America in an IN article that the 3Lo+3Lo combination she's been practicing is "probably something I'm aiming for later in the season" -- here's another excerpt from the same article:

Zhang, who trains under coaches Peter Oppegard and his wife, Karen Kwan-Oppegard, plans three different triples -- Lutz, flip and loop -- in her free skate to a Dvorak cello concerto. That limits her options, something she aspires to change by the time the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships roll around in January.

"Later in the season I hope to have triple flip-triple toe back in the program," she said. "One of the problems with doing triple loop-triple loop in the long is in my jumping passes. I'm currently doing two loops by themselves, and one of them is a three-jump combo, so I don't have the [slot] for it. Later in the season, when I have everything together, hopefully it will be there."

[smarts1]

^ Yeah, the last time Caroline ever did a solo triple toe was in juniors in 2007.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

For some reason, I thought Caroline left Peter Oppegard and Karen Kwan. Well, nice to see that she's back.