U.S. Ladies [#5]: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

[Marco]

I said regarding Zhang was that she looked more in shape last season around Nationals compared to now, and at that time, she looked to be in peak form, while still having a different body type from a lot of the other top skaters. That's it.

Not to mention much more confident.

[victoriaheidi]

Honestly, I still consider Christina the underdog and I'd love to see her in the GPF.

[pinky166]

Not to mention much more confident.

I would agree. I think it was probably easier to be in the underdog position last season, no one really expected much from her, then she came out and was fit, confident, and skating really well and took everyone by surprise. Now she's back to having 2 GPs and people have expectations and all of a sudden it's like she's gone back to the very self-conscious and visibly frustrated skater we saw in 2010-2011 and the beginning part of last season too. I think she must be injured, it would explain her spins being worse than usual, the pained expressions during her skates, the slowness and cautiousness, and obviously that can affect one's training. I don't think she's ever going to be a world beater, but it would be nice if she could show last winter wasn't a fluke and get back up to that level of skating and confidence.

[olympic]

I would agree. I think it was probably easier to be in the underdog position last season, no one really expected much from her, then she came out and was fit, confident, and skating really well and took everyone by surprise. Now she's back to having 2 GPs and people have expectations and all of a sudden it's like she's gone back to the very self-conscious and visibly frustrated skater we saw in 2010-2011 and the beginning part of last season too. I think she must be injured, it would explain her spins being worse than usual, the pained expressions during her skates, the slowness and cautiousness, and obviously that can affect one's training. I don't think she's ever going to be a world beater, but it would be nice if she could show last winter wasn't a fluke and get back up to that level of skating and confidence.

I think it has been noted in other threads that CZ is dealing w/ some sort of back problem although it hasn't been confirmed by Team Zhang that this is the cause for her early season woes, AFAIK. Maybe she can rest now and get ready for Nationals.

[kwanatic]

Okay, sorry to gush but I just fell in love!

I've seen Haley Dunne's name mentioned a few times but I'd never seen her skate. I'm watching sectionals on Icenetwork and I just saw Haley's SP...ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Just wow...so elegant and graceful, gorgeous presentation, her program was so well done, she connected to the music and the judges, and her jumps have a lightness about them that is so beautiful!

I couldn't find her performance from sectionals but here's her SP from Liberty earlier this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNXEdqmRUAY

Sorry to gush but I wasn't expecting to see that kind of skating at sectionals! Okay, I'm done.

[Sylvia]

Haley Dunne's 1st place Easterns SP (58.20) is up on IceNetwork for subscribers (maybe it will turn up on YouTube later) and was a really great performance! She didn't fare as well in the FS yesterday but she qualified for Nationals again at the Senior level.

SENIOR LADIES Qualifiers to 2013 Nationals so far:
Easterns 1-4: Samantha Cesario 163.53, Yasmin Siraj 151.35, Haley Dunne 139.69, Joelle Forte 136.47 [5th: Lauren Dinh 135.68];
Mids 1-4: Ashley Cain 161.49, Becky Bereswill 149.44, Kiri Baga 141.42, Morgan Bell 133.06 [5th-6th: Carly Gold 124.28, Nina Jiang 118.42];
Pacs Ladies 1-7 (after SP; FS is later today): Vanessa Lam 59.43 (highest SP score of all Sr. Ladies at Sectionals), Courtney Hicks 57.80, Sophia Adams 46.33, Amanda Hofmann 44.36, Carolyn-Ann Alba 42.24, Anna Malkova 41.53, Laney Diggs 40.01

ETA final results:
Pacs Ladies 1-4: Vanessa Lam 177.73, Courtney Hicks 161.72, Sophia Adams 131.49, Amanda Hofmann 122.29 [5th Laney Diggs 120.78]

[missing]

Okay, sorry to gush but I just fell in love!

I've seen Haley Dunne's name mentioned a few times but I'd never seen her skate. I'm watching sectionals on Icenetwork and I just saw Haley's SP...ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Just wow...so elegant and graceful, gorgeous presentation, her program was so well done, she connected to the music and the judges, and her jumps have a lightness about them that is so beautiful!

I couldn't find her performance from sectionals but here's her SP from Liberty earlier this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNXEdqmRUAY

Sorry to gush but I wasn't expecting to see that kind of skating at sectionals! Okay, I'm done.

I had the exact same reaction. In particular, I thought her layback was one of the best (possibly the best) I've ever seen.

IceNetwork didn't show her freeskate, but I guess it wasn't as successful as her short program. But I'm eager to see how she does at Nationals.

[kwanatic]

Haley Dunne's 1st place Easterns SP (58.20) is up on IceNetwork for subscribers (maybe it will turn up on YouTube later) and was a really great performance! She didn't fare as well in the FS yesterday but she qualified for Nationals again at the Senior level.

SENIOR LADIES Qualifiers to 2013 Nationals so far:
Easterns 1-4: Samantha Cesario 163.53, Yasmin Siraj 151.35, Haley Dunne 139.69, Joelle Forte 136.47 [5th: Lauren Dinh 135.68];
Mids 1-4: Ashley Cain 161.49, Becky Bereswill 149.44, Kiri Baga 141.42, Morgan Bell 133.06 [5th-6th: Carly Gold 124.28, Nina Jiang 118.42];
Pacs Ladies 1-7 (after SP; FS is later today): Vanessa Lam 59.43 (highest SP score of all Sr. Ladies at Sectionals), Courtney Hicks 57.80, Sophia Adams 46.33, Amanda Hofmann 44.36, Carolyn-Ann Alba 42.24, Anna Malkova 41.53, Laney Diggs 40.01

Good to know she made it to nationals! She's such a lovely skater! Samantha was wonderful in the SP as well (very saucy and mature!) and I'm glad to see Yasmin recovered. Her SP was beautiful but she popped her lutz.

Wow! Vanessa nearly got 60pts? Does that mean her jumps are doing better? At the beginning of the JGP she wasn't looking too hot... I need to go back and see that as well. If Courtney isn't leading that probably means she made a mistake.

Yep, I'll probably be watching sectionals all day long...

[olympic]

Good to know she made it to nationals! She's such a lovely skater! Samantha was wonderful in the SP as well (very saucy and mature!) and I'm glad to see Yasmin recovered. Her SP was beautiful but she popped her lutz.

Wow! Vanessa nearly got 60pts? Does that mean her jumps are doing better? At the beginning of the JGP she wasn't looking too hot... I need to go back and see that as well. If Courtney isn't leading that probably means she made a mistake.


Yep, I'll probably be watching sectionals all day long...

Vanessa has a pattern of doing really well in smaller competitions, but then really underperforming on the bigger stage

[kwanatic]

Vanessa has a pattern of doing really well in smaller competitions, but then really underperforming on the bigger stage

Well this season it seems like she's teeter-tottering...

She did really well at Glacier Falls (I think that was the competition) and then not so well at her one JGP event...now she appears to be doing well at sectionals....

Has she competed since JGP Courchevel? I believe that was the first JGP event of the season...

[TheGirlCanSkate]

Well this season it seems like she's teeter-tottering...

She did really well at Glacier Falls (I think that was the competition) and then not so well at her one JGP event...now she appears to be doing well at sectionals....

Has she competed since JGP Courchevel? I believe that was the first JGP event of the season...

That was her only JGP this season.

[pinky166]

Vanessa has a pattern of doing really well in smaller competitions, but then really underperforming on the bigger stage

Yes, but the domestic judges also don't ding her for her obvious flutz and her PCS are quite a bit higher compared to the JGP. This combined with her tendency to make mistakes at internationals explains why her scores don't match up.

Also guess we don't need to consider Jiang and Zhao into the JW discussion as neither made it to Nationals too bad.

[sk9tingfan]

Okay, sorry to gush but I just fell in love!

I've seen Haley Dunne's name mentioned a few times but I'd never seen her skate. I'm watching sectionals on Icenetwork and I just saw Haley's SP...ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Just wow...so elegant and graceful, gorgeous presentation, her program was so well done, she connected to the music and the judges, and her jumps have a lightness about them that is so beautiful!

I couldn't find her performance from sectionals but here's her SP from Liberty earlier this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNXEdqmRUAY

Sorry to gush but I wasn't expecting to see that kind of skating at sectionals! Okay, I'm done.

I know what you mean. I had the same impression of her skating when I saw her last year at Nationals. I also have a soft spot in my heart for her because she is a tall skater (5'7"). There was a very opinionated woman sitting next to me who supposedly has entre into most of the skating rinks in the greater LA area. She made disparaging remarks about Haley, her height and her size and was totally unsupportive. I who am over six feet tall just glared at her and at the end of Haley's performance, gave her a standing ovation because I thought that she had done a great job and should be appropriately recognized

[smarts1]

I thought Laney Diggs retired...

[olympic]

Yes, but the domestic judges also don't ding her for her obvious flutz and her PCS are quite a bit higher compared to the JGP. This combined with her tendency to make mistakes at internationals explains why her scores don't match up.

Also guess we don't need to consider Jiang and Zhao into the JW discussion as neither made it to Nationals too bad.

Nina Jiang is my biggest sad. She has so much raw talent and is such a pleasure to watch when she is on. Well, I hope she can put this season behind her and focus on her future. She has a lot to offer the skating world!

[kwanatic]

Nina Jiang is my biggest sad. She has so much raw talent and is such a pleasure to watch when she is on. Well, I hope she can put this season behind her and focus on her future. She has a lot to offer the skating world!

Agreed. I've been watching her for the past few years and it breaks my heart she can't get those jumps consistent. Her SP from nationals last season was one of my favorites.

[smarts1]

Does anyone know what happened to Nina this season? She just seemed so off all season at competitions.

[pinky166]

Does anyone know what happened to Nina this season? She just seemed so off all season at competitions.

Well, she got the harder triples last season, but they've never been that consistent. My guess is probably puberty/growing pains. Last season she did well but for a couple seasons before that she was skating more like the way she has been this season. She looked quite tall in the videos from JGP Turkey, certainly taller than the 5'2" listed as her height on icenetwork, so if she grew a couple inches and filled out a bit since last season, it's not that surprising she's struggling with the harder triples, considering she only really started trying and landing them in competitions last year. It's easy to forget how young she is. Gracie was the same age when she didn't make it out of Mids as a junior and posted similar scores, and then improved hugely the next season. It seems like every season, someone good gets left home after sectionals, and a lot of the time, they come back the next season much improved. I hope Nina does not quit.

[Marco]

At least both Cesario and Baga made Nationals!

[Sylvia]

She [Lam] did really well at Glacier Falls (I think that was the competition) and then not so well at her one JGP event...now she appears to be doing well at sectionals....

Has she competed since JGP Courchevel? I believe that was the first JGP event of the season...

Vanessa Lam skated very well at the Hidden Valley Open club competition in early July (video of her FS was posted here and many people commented favorably on her improvements), and not quite as well at the Glacier Falls Summer Classic in early August before her JGP in France. Then she had pretty good performances at SWP Regionals in October before her excellent showing at Pacific Coasts, landing her 6 planned triples in her FS (though she did get an edge call on her second 3Lz).

I thought Laney Diggs retired...

It was mentioned in the U.S. Sectionals thread in Kiss and Cry that Diggs is currently in her Junior year at the University of California-Berkeley and doesn't train full-time, so her 5th place finish at Pacific Coasts is a commendable result for her.

From what I hear, Nina Jiang plans to be back competing next year and I believe this season's setback will not deter her from trying to attain her skating goals.

Alissa Czisny has withdrawn from NHK Trophy - link to USFS' press release today: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=48647&type=media
ETA tweets by Phil Hersh (‏@olyphil) today:

After withdrawing from NHK, Alissa Czisny just texted me: "I have no doubts whatsoever I will be ready and prepared for nationals"

"Withdrawal mostly a matter of not being able/wanting to push hip to prepare in time. Absolutely can't risk any setbacks"

"We are looking for a competition before nationals (even something local would be helpful)"