U.S. Ice Dance 2017/18 season news & updates

2018 Worlds results:

SILVER Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 196.64 2 2
5 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA 187.28 5 5
10 Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 165.28 15 10

Free Dance:
2 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 116.22 59.68 56.54 9.43 9.25 9.50 9.50 9.43 0.00 #20
5 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA 111.62 56.29 55.33 9.18 9.07 9.36 9.25 9.25 0.00 #17
10 Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 101.80 53.26 48.54 8.11 7.86 8.21 8.07 8.21 0.00 #8

Short Dance:
2 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 80.42 43.11 37.31 9.29 9.14 9.43 9.36 9.43 0.00 #28
5 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA 75.66 39.81 35.85 8.89 8.71 9.04 9.04 9.14 0.00 #27
15 Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 63.48 32.50 31.98 8.04 7.82 8.00 8.04 8.07 1.00 #24
 
So now all top 3 U.S. teams are national champions and world medalists, and U.S. #4 made top 10 in their worlds debut with a fall in the SD and lower than usual FD score :respec:

It’s quite amazing considering that all three teams not only had to deal with immense competition and pressure internationally, but domestically as well. It never let up for 3-4 seasons. They basically had to watch their backs no matter where they were.
 
Teams in the Top 24 SB after Worlds:
  • 3-Hubbell/Donohue (also 2nd at Worlds :cheer2:)
  • 4-Shibutani/Shibutani
  • 7-Chock/Bates (also 5th at Worlds)
  • 15-Hawayek/Baker (also 10th at Worlds)
  • 22-Parsons/Parsons
Next in line are: McNamara/Carpenter (26), Pogrebinsky/Benoit (33, :wuzrobbed), Carreira/Ponomarkenko (35).
 
Teams in the Top 24 SB after Worlds:
  • 3-Hubbell/Donohue (also 2nd at Worlds :cheer2:)
  • 4-Shibutani/Shibutani
  • 7-Chock/Bates (also 5th at Worlds)
  • 15-Hawayek/Baker (also 10th at Worlds)
  • 22-Parsons/Parsons
Next in line are: McNamara/Carpenter (26), Pogrebinsky/Benoit (33, :wuzrobbed), Carreira/Ponomarkenko (35).
P&B have retired.


BTW H&D won the EDI award from PSA for ice dance program on the 17/18 season.
 
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BTW H&D won the EDI award from PSA for ice dance program on the 17/18 season.
These annual awards for performance at Nationals were just announced recently by the Professional Skaters Association -- here's the full info published for H/D:

Best Performance Ice Dance
Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue - Championship Dance Free Dance Program
PSA Coaches – Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer
Choreographers – Marie-France Dubreuil, Samuel Chouinard
Music Selection – “Across the Sky” Instrumental by Rag N’Bone Man, “Caught Out In the Rain” by Beth Hart
Costume Designers – Susan Hubbell and Mathieu Carron
 
Interesting that in the past four Nationals, four different ice dance teams won this award. In 2014-2015, Hawayek/Baker won for their "Romeo and Juliet" FD. In 2015-2016, the Shibs won for their "Fix You" FD. In 2016-2017, Chock/Bates won for their "Under Pressure" FD. And now Hubbell/Donohue for "Across the sky/Caught Out in the Rain" FD. I think all these wins are fitting especially considering the depth of our U.S. team.
 
Sarah Brannen spoke to Alex Benoit about his decision to retire to pursue acting in her 3/30/18 "The Inside Edge" blog -- scroll down to The play's the thing: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/03/30/270124096
Excerpts:
"I was in love with skating and I was in love with acting, and the two kind of helped feed each other," Benoit said by phone. "I kept my focus singular when I was doing each thing. At the end of the Olympic season, you have a moment where you can step back and evaluate what to do next. Now I can evaluate what my dreams and goals are."
Benoit said there wasn't any one specific moment when he decided to devote himself entirely to acting.
"With the opportunities at the end of this season, it became clear to me that while I love skating, when I dream and think with my heart, the place where I feel I need to be is in the theater, either on stage or in front of a camera," Benoit said. "I have these two loves, and both needed more commitment to get to the next level, the next step. It wouldn't be fair to Elliana to stay on the ice if my heart was elsewhere."
Despite stepping away from competitive skating, Benoit plans to stay involved in the sport. He is already certified as a judge and has started training as a technical specialist.
Pogrebinsky said she wants to continue competing.
"I accomplished a lot with Alex, but I still have goals and ambitions, so I'd like to stay with Igor [Shpilband] in Michigan and look for another partner," she said. "I have a couple of tryouts set. The goal would be to find someone as quick as possible so I can get back on the scene and not miss any opportunities that might open up."
If she can't find the right partner, Pogrebinsky plans to move back to her home state of California and study kinesiology and nutrition.
"I would stay connected with athletes and the skating scene, possibly as a trainer," she said.
 
Re. Biechler/Dodge: I've been reliably informed that they have split. :(

Julia is concentrating on her singles (she was competitive at the junior level last season), while Damian's plans are not definite at this time.

Selfishly, I'm sad to hear this. I loved their unison and ability to create a mood. One of their best performances: 2017 Nationals LP.
 
Jeffrey Chen is on IPS (2018 Novice silver medalist with Gianna Buckley). He will be 16 in July.
 
I'm surprised at the news that Chock/Bates are going to train in Gadbois (discussed in Ice Dance thread in Trash), while WeavPo were turned down again by M-F/Patch. Maybe C/B aren't planning to continue for a full quad?

And now, with Camerlengo joining Shpilband, there's talk that W/P might go to them if in fact W/P decide to continue competing.

The fact that 3 top U.S. ice dance teams are all with the same coaches in Canada (with the Shibs not competing this season), is interesting to say the least.
 
I'm surprised at the news that Chock/Bates are going to train in Gadbois (discussed in Ice Dance thread in Trash), while WeavPo were turned down again by M-F/Patch. Maybe C/B aren't planning to continue for a full quad?

And now, with Camerlengo joining Shpilband, there's talk that W/P might go to them if in fact W/P decide to continue competing.

The fact that 3 top U.S. ice dance teams are all with the same coaches in Canada (with the Shibs not competing this season), is interesting to say the least.
Chock/Bates have maintained repeatedly, at least in public, that they want to go to 2022. Obviously I don't know what they're thinking and saying in private, but they've been more vocally committed to continuing than W/P have.

It's been awhile since the entire world team trained in one camp, and for the first time they'll all be abroad. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
 
Wrong thread... (taking W/P discussion to 'Off Our Rockers' thread in Trash Can).
 
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Chock/Bates officially announce the move to Gadbois
http://www.usfigureskating.org/story?id=91522&type=media

It'll be an interesting dynamic to have the top 3 US senior teams in one training base with the Shibs sitting out the year. I know that they are all friendly/friends and would never say anything, but I wonder how Hubbell/Donohue feel about it.
Madi and Zach are excited and hapy that their friends are going to be training with them. Madi has known Evan since they were kids and she and Zach hung around with them though out the Olympics.
 
I was planning to start the 2018-19 news thread for U.S. Ice Dance after the Chesapeake Open dance entries are published online, but I noticed a few lower level teams competed at the Ann Arbor Springtime Invitational club comp. last weekend and so here are the Juvenile-Novice level results/scores copied out (no TES/PCS or protocols are published for this comp.):

Novice Pattern Dance:
1 Anna Nicklas, Ann Arbor FSC / Max Ryan, All Year FSC 35.43 1 1 (5th in Novice at Midwestern Sectionals; 1st alternates to Nationals from Mids)
2 Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal, both Skokie Valley SC 34.92 2 2 (won the Intermediate title at 2018 Nationals)
3 Gloria Young, IceWorks SC / Ethan Alday, All Year FSC 24.28 3 3 (new team; he was Int11 at Nationals)

Novice Free Dance:
1 Anna Nicklas, Ann Arbor FSC / Max Ryan, All Year FSC 55.75
2 Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal, both Skokie Valley SC 52.94

Intermediate (1 team competed):
Kristina Bland / Gabriel Francis, both Detroit SC 24.76 1 1 (U.S. Juvenile bronze medalists)
Free Dance score: 26.94

Juvenile:
Michelle Deych / Ethan Sun, both Detroit SC 31.68 1 1 (won Pattern Dances) ; 2nd in FD 24.86
Sophia Cristescu / Wiles Middlekauff, both Arctic FSC 23.59 2 2 (2nd in PD) ; 3rd in FD 22.57
Clara Fugate / Warren Fugate, both Arctic FSC 18.09 3 3 (3rd in PD) ; 1st in FD 26.07
 
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