U.S. Pairs 2018 - News & Updates, Part VIII

[haribobo]

For what its worth...

SP TES

Knierims - 35.72 @ NHK, 28.69 @SA (coachless)
Timlen/Highgate-Brutman - 31.95 @ Easterns
Kayne/O'Shea 30.69 @ NHK
Stellato/Bartholomay 30.43 @ FIN GP, 25 @ COR (very sick)
Cain/LeDuc 30.11 @ RC, 28.92 @SA
Denney/Frazier 29.76 @SC
Lu/Mitrofanov 27.76 @ NHK
Digerness/Neudecker 27.22 @ SA

FS TES

Knierims - 64.78 @ NHK, 56.86 @ SA (coachless)
Denney/Frazier 57.47 @ SC
Cain/LeDuc 55.58 @ SA, 54.34 @ RC
Timlen/Highgate-Brutman - 52.55 @ Easterns
Kayne/O'Shea 51.29 @ NHK
Digerness/Neudecker 50.25 @ SA
Lu/Mitrofanov 49.77 @ NHK
Stellato/Bartholomay 47.74 @ FIN GP

 

[Ena Grins]

I think this would be a great year to wait until after 4CCs to decide who goes to Worlds. Even if one team dominates Nationals, results have been fairly inconsistent and I'd rather USFSA have as much data as possible.

 

[shan]

I really enjoyed Timlen/Highgate-Brutman's FS. Nice performance quality.

 

[Jammers]

As dreadful as US Pairs are right now this would be the year to get that 2nd spot back. With retirements and injuries there is very little depth in Pairs right and if S/K can get it together i think they can finish high enough to secure two spots.

 

[haribobo]

Yep, and Savchenko/Massot, Astakhova/Rogonov, Marchei/Hotarek, and Duskova/Bidar have retired or split since last year's Worlds. Also Duhamel/Radford and Seguin/Bilodeau are gone, and Hocke/Blommaert seem to have hit slid backwards, I think due to an injury? Also Sui/Han and Yu/Zhang have been out with injury, but China has only 2 Worlds spots.

Projecting by SB score, except placing Sui/Han at the top, it looks this way...

1-5 S/H CHN, J/C FRA, T/M RUS, Z/E RUS, P/J CHN
6-10 DMG ITA, MTM CAN, B/K RUS, SK/K USA, Z/K AUT
11-15 R/K PRK, W/M CAN, A/W AUS, H/S GER, B/M ESP
16-20 G/A ITA, S/K JPN, H/B GER, P/S-K CRO, Ha/St FRA

This would result in spots for 2020 going this way
3 spots - RUS, CHN
2 spots- FRA, ITA, CAN, USA, AUT

 

[pairskatingfan]

For what its worth...

SP TES

Knierims - 35.72 @ NHK, 28.69 @SA (coachless)
Timlen/Highgate-Brutman - 31.95 @ Easterns
Kayne/O'Shea 30.69 @ NHK
Stellato/Bartholomay 30.43 @ FIN GP, 25 @ COR (very sick)
Cain/LeDuc 30.11 @ RC, 28.92 @SA
Denney/Frazier 29.76 @SC
Lu/Mitrofanov 27.76 @ NHK
Digerness/Neudecker 27.22 @ SA

FS TES

Knierims - 64.78 @ NHK, 56.86 @ SA (coachless)
Denney/Frazier 57.47 @ SC
Cain/LeDuc 55.58 @ SA, 54.34 @ RC
Timlen/Highgate-Brutman - 52.55 @ Easterns
Kayne/O'Shea 51.29 @ NHK
Digerness/Neudecker 50.25 @ SA
Lu/Mitrofanov 49.77 @ NHK
Stellato/Bartholomay 47.74 @ FIN GP

You definitely can’t compare Sectional results with international scores

 

[haribobo]

You can't compare anything with anything. Everything is meaningless.

Please elaborate on what elements T/H-B were judged more favorably (TES-wise since that's what I posted) than an international panel might have.

I say this as a big Kayne/O'Shea, Cain/LeDuc, and Denney/Frazier fan. I can't deny T/H-B are looking better in the SP at the moment. They will need to add more jump difficulty in the FS to contend for a national medal, but IMO they should at least be granted an opportunity at Talinn or Zagreb to gain a seasons' best. I'd have to say they are at least as good as the German or Spanish teams...

 

[Skittl1321]

I think this would be a great year to wait until after 4CCs to decide who goes to Worlds. Even if one team dominates Nationals, results have been fairly inconsistent and I'd rather USFSA have as much data as possible.

Is there any precedent to doing this though?

 

[VGThuy]

I would think the USFS would be more likely to provide notice that they were going to change their Worlds selection procedures in that way.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I think this would be a great year to wait until after 4CCs to decide who goes to Worlds. Even if one team dominates Nationals, results have been fairly inconsistent and I'd rather USFSA have as much data as possible.

I would think the USFS would be more likely to provide notice that they were going to change their Worlds selection procedures in that way.

Who knows how anything the USFSA decides will pan out? Given how a silver medalist who skated extremely well in the men's event last year, was bumped for the pewter medalist who didn't.

I see selection coming down to the two teams who won medals on the Grand Prix Series circuit, Scimeca-Knierim / Knierim and Cain / LeDuc. The three other teams in contention, Stellato / Bartholomay, Denney / Frazier / and Kayne / O'Shea, seem to be carrying injuries at the moment.

If all cards are on Alexa and Chris, I hope that they can put it all together in Detroit, and make it clear in everyone's minds they are the right choice to be sent to Saitama. They are the only U.S. team (so far this season under the revised IJS) to break 125 points in the free skate at the international level. That score combined with a solid short program at the World Championships, might be enough to squeeze them into the top ten in Japan.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Yep, and Savchenko/Massot, Astakhova/Rogonov, Marchei/Hotarek, and Duskova/Bidar have retired or split since last year's Worlds.

But it seems like a whole truckload of new Russians have taken all those places....

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

But it seems like a whole truckload of new Russians have taken all those places....

I know.

Zabiiako & Enbert seem to have come into their own this season as well. If they keep skating this well, they could really challenge Tarasova & Morosov at the GPF, Nationals, Europeans, and Worlds.

I really like Boikova & Kozlovskii, and think they have a great shot at the European & World Team.

I'm not really a fan of either Pavliuchenko / Khodykin, or Efimova / Korovin, but boy, they do know how to compete.

 

[Sylvia]

I really enjoyed Timlen/Highgate-Brutman's FS. Nice performance quality.

I really enjoyed watching their Easterns SP (eta: to Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down") as well. Their FS music is "Experience" by Ludovico Einaudi.

 

[VGThuy]

Who knows how anything the USFSA decides will pan out? Given how a silver medalist who skated extremely well in the men's event last year, was bumped for the pewter medalist who didn't.

I see selection coming down to the two teams who won medals on the Grand Prix Series circuit, Scimeca-Knierim / Knierim and Cain / LeDuc. The three other teams in contention, Stellato / Bartholomay, Denney / Frazier / and Kayne / O'Shea, seem to be carrying injuries at the moment.

If all cards are on Alexa and Chris, I hope that they can put it all together in Detroit, and make it clear in everyone's minds they are the right choice to be sent to Saitama. They are the only U.S. team (so far this season under the revised IJS) to break 125 points in the free skate at the international level. That score combined with a solid short program at the World Championships, might be enough to squeeze them into the top ten in Japan.

Well, all the skaters had notice that the body of work would be taken into account well before 2018 Nationals. So announcing that there will be a skate off for the World team at 4CC would need to be known before they decide to do it that way. I’m sure there is also a procedure that had to be passed through the members of the governing body if they wanted to make 4CC after nationals a deciding comp for the Worlds team.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Well, all the skaters had notice that the body of work would be taken into account well before 2018 Nationals. So announcing that there will be a skate off for the World team at 4CC would need to be known before they decide to do it that way. I’m sure there is also a procedure that had to be passed through the members of the governing body if they wanted to make 4CC after nationals a deciding comp for the Worlds team.

Yes, I remember how heavily that was discussed. It still baffled me that the USFSA chose a skater who wasn't ready over a skater who was.

If the Body of Work ruling is applied this season, I do think it will come down to AS-K / CK and AC / TL, and how they end up placing in Detroit. Here's hoping for a well skated competition.

 

[VGThuy]

Yes, I remember how heavily that was discussed. It still baffled me that the USFSA chose a skater who wasn't ready over a skater who was.

I have a feeling this is a different skater than your previous example of a skater who won silver who was bypassed by another skater who won the pewter.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I have a feeling this is a different skater than your previous example of a skater who won silver who was bypassed by another skater who won the pewter.

As I mentioned that it was the men's event. So, Ross Miner and Adam Rippon, just to confirm.

 

[Sylvia]

I’m sure there is also a procedure that had to be passed through the members of the governing body if they wanted to make 4CC after nationals a deciding comp for the Worlds team.

Correct. As I understand it, the Worlds/4CC/Junior Worlds selection guidelines are made known to all coaches and skaters at the start of each competition season.

 

[VGThuy]

As I mentioned that it was the men's event. So, Ross Miner and Adam Rippon, just to confirm.

I'm wondering if that was the same example when you said they by-passed a "ready" skater for one who wasn't "ready" considering that Adam performed as well as he could have and as expected at the Olympics.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I'm wondering if that was the same example when you said they by-passed a "ready" skater for one who wasn't "ready" considering that Adam performed as well as he could have and as expected at the Olympics.

We'll never know how Ross could have performed, either.

But expanding on that conversation is not relevant to this thread. I was just using it as an example of the USFSA's strange selection process.

 

[VGThuy]

Is it strange? Look at Adam's body of work. He won two silvers in both of his GP events and made it to the GPF.

 

[Dobre]

There was nothing strange about it when you looked at the results prior to the competition. Pretty much everyone prior to the competition had already determined that the only guys who had an argument based on their larger season should they finish well at Nationals were Jason, Adam, Vincent, Nathan, & Max. If one goes back and reads the U.S. men's thread leading up to Nationals, I'm pretty sure that's the discussion and those are the names you'll see.

But all of that is history. What is the criteria for Worlds this season?

 

[Cleo1782]

Who knows how anything the USFSA decides will pan out? Given how a silver medalist who skated extremely well in the men's event last year, was bumped for the pewter medalist who didn't.

I see selection coming down to the two teams who won medals on the Grand Prix Series circuit, Scimeca-Knierim / Knierim and Cain / LeDuc. The three other teams in contention, Stellato / Bartholomay, Denney / Frazier / and Kayne / O'Shea, seem to be carrying injuries at the moment.

If all cards are on Alexa and Chris, I hope that they can put it all together in Detroit, and make it clear in everyone's minds they are the right choice to be sent to Saitama. They are the only U.S. team (so far this season under the revised IJS) to break 125 points in the free skate at the international level. That score combined with a solid short program at the World Championships, might be enough to squeeze them into the top ten in Japan.

Anyway back to US pairs since this thread is adrift...Deanna/Nate don't have an injury. She was just very sick in Russia...She will be back on the ice soon

 

[HeatherC]

FWIW, Tarah and Danny aren't injured either (they debuted a new SP in Russia which I expect to look better this week now that they'll have more mileage on it).

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

FWIW, Tarah and Danny aren't injured either (they debuted a new SP in Russia which I expect to look better this week now that they'll have more mileage on it).

Anyway back to US pairs since this thread is adrift...Deanna/Nate don't have an injury. She was just very sick in Russia...She will be back on the ice soon

I am so relieved to hear that they're not injured. Thank you for the update.

 

[Ena Grins]

Is there any precedent to doing this though?

I don't think so, and others have pointed out that USFSA would have needed to notify the skaters/coaches ahead of time if they were doing that. I do wish they'd consider it in situations like this - when the spots are limited and there's no one clear frontrunner, like I said, I'm all for having more data.

 

[Carolla5501]

Speaking of injuries. Anyone got a clue what’s going on with Denny/Frazier

 

[chachacha]

Speaking of injuries. Anyone got a clue what’s going on with Denny/Frazier

Based on my adult skating friend and it’s heresay but Denney has been struggling with a foot injury but again it’s coming from my friend who is an adult skater who trains out of the same rink. She has seen Frazier on the ice skating, but not Denney since before they went to Skate Canada. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

 

[Erin]

Based on my adult skating friend and it’s heresay but Denney has been struggling with a foot injury but again it’s coming from my friend who is an adult skater who trains out of the same rink. She has seen Frazier on the ice skating, but not Denney since before they went to Skate Canada. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

I suppose that would explain why they withdrew from their second GP event.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

US Pairs back in business y'all.. Have we EVER had 3 US teams that medaled on GP circuit before???

cant wait for The Spin Of Golden!!!!!!