U.S. Ladies [#28]: Achieving 2020 Vision

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Dobre said:
I love Alysa, Karen, & Ting.:rollin:
I like Mariah's & Starr's personalities on the ice also.
I think Bradie's SP is the best program she has ever had.
I wish them all the best!

Am sad Ting will not be there this season. And I'm happy to see last year's medalists having good seasons this year.

I'm thrilled Alysa has broken through on the junior circuit & won events, qualified for the JGPF, and medaled! She has personality. She has technical difficulty. She is a joy.

I am impressed that Bradie has been so solid on the senior circuit and defeated several of the top athletes of her junior generation this season by staying dialed in through two programs. She met my highest expectations for her each time out this season.

I was happy to see Mariah dial herself back in after the fall in Russia and move forward. Feels like a good step for her competitively as well. Her confidence seems to have really grown.

I think Karen has two beautiful programs this season--the free skate the best she has ever had; and while the new rotation rules + that second lutz have really not been working for her, I think she is just exquisite to watch and I am so happy she is healthy and skating this season.

I'm glad Starr is working her way through adolescence on the skating circuit. I've always liked when she has a program with pizzazz in her presentation so I don't particularly love these programs; but it's such a tough battle coming through this stage on the ladies' circuit. I'm glad to see her undertaking the challenge. While that free skate has been a work in progress all season, I do hope she conquers it and makes a real fight out of the battle for Junior Worlds/4CCs.
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A cool overview.

Team USA really has some talented and expressive ladies. All very different who bring their own unique perspective to the ice. I am hoping Amber Glenn hands in two solid skates as well.
 
Article by Jeff Mills in North Carolina (Greensboro News & Record):
www.journalnow.com

Teenager Alysa Liu set to defend title U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro

The 14-year-old from California has already changed the sport as the first American woman to land a quad Lutz jump.
www.journalnow.com www.journalnow.com
Excerpts:
“I don’t think anyone should be worried about me,” Liu said. “I can’t say that for others. But I’ve been doing a lot of off-ice training and conditioning so I’m strong enough to attempt these hard jumps on the ice, and all these flexibility skills. I don’t go above my limit.
“Obviously, I’ll keep pushing that limit. But before I push the limit, I always train off ice and do everything I can so I won’t get hurt. I do a lot of off-ice stretching and stuff. I don’t think it affects my health in a bad way. Everything I’ve learned has made me stronger, mentally and physically, so the more I keep going, the stronger I’ll get.”
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She plans just one quad Lutz in her Greensboro programs.
“We decided to take out one quad Lutz,” she said, “but I’m still going to do a quad Lutz in my programs. But things can change unexpectedly going into nationals. … For now, everything is going pretty well and I’m doing two (triple) axels and a quad Lutz as my difficult elements in the long (free skate program).”
Liu did leave the door open for a second quad jump, perhaps if she’s trailing after the short program.
“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. If something happens, I might take (the quad) out, or if something else happens, I might add two in.”
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Skibean said:
How did this suddenly become about TSL? Nobody cares if you like TSL it don’t like TSL. Most are here to read about US skaters. Wow.
I like Bradie and Mariah. Bradie has the difficulty that judges are rewarding,so of course she could score higher if she does the maximum. This is why the Russian girls are dominating. It’s not about an “it” factor anymore. I see no personality in many performances that are winning gold. It’s about doing the difficult jumps.
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Totally agree about what the judges are rewarding.

I think Mariah is cute and adoreable....but IMO there is no IT there. "IT" you are born with. The Canadian Jr. Champion, Kaiya Ruiter oozes IT. So does Alysa.
 
essence_of_soy said:
A cool overview.

Team USA really has some talented and expressive ladies. All very different who bring their own unique perspective to the ice. I am hoping Amber Glenn hands in two solid skates as well.
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That’s what I’m enjoying about this crop too. For the first time in a long time, I’ve felt the skaters at nationals are distinctive outside Ashley v. Gracie and the rest with Mirai or Agnes in there from time to time.
 
Skibean said:
I like Bradie and Mariah. Bradie has the difficulty that judges are rewarding,so of course she could score higher if she does the maximum. This is why the Russian girls are dominating. It’s not about an “it” factor anymore. I see no personality in many performances that are winning gold. It’s about doing the difficult jumps.
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"It" factor is subjective, means different things to different people.
"It" factor is not a "unit of measure" that is EVER used in a sport. Figure skating is a SPORT.
The skating scores were never about "it factor", ever.
"Russians are dominating" because they have highest scores, which combines Tech and PCS... and they certainly have the "It" factor for the judges.. ;)
 
Mariah Bell article by Hiro Yoshida:
europeonice.com

Mariah Bell: Staying In The Moment

By Hiro Yoshida With her first victory on the international circuit and a duo of Grand Prix medals, 2019- 2020 has arguably been Mariah Bell’s most successful season so far in her career. As the Un…
europeonice.com europeonice.com
Excerpt:
“Alysa is super young and doing these really hard things,” Bell said. “I think it’s awesome and I have a ton of respect for what she is doing. She is really helping push forward U.S. figure skating too. She’s making us work and that’s what we need to do.”
Given her good form this season, Bell is being talked about as one of the favourites to do well in Greensboro. She is taking things in her stride and viewing the situation as a privilege.
“The thing that I’ve found with pressure and expectation is that maybe it’s uncomfortable, but it’s what I want,” Bell said. I don’t want to be in a position where people aren’t expecting anything from me because then I’m not at a high level. I’m trying to get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable.
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AngieNikodinovLove said:
I think she’s a great skater but I wouldn’t say she is equal to Bradie yet. And especially now that I hear that Bradie already has the 3 axle in her repertoire

Mariah doesn't have much in technical content as Bradie does in Free. I think Bradie has 2 3lutzes / 3 toes combos ... and Mariah only has a 2 axel/3 toe?


I agree with you that Mariah doesn’t have Bradie’s technical content, but she has upped the ante this year. She stopped trying to fully rotate a triple lutz/triple toe in the short and replaced it with a triple flip/triple toe which she’s had much better success with. She put the flip/toe in the long program too. She didn’t have much credibility with me until this year because how does a lady make the podium without a triple/triple? Now she’s got one in the short and long which I’m sure helped her earn two bronze medals on the GP.
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Mariah and Bradie are essentially tied in BV in the short, and Bradie does one more 2axel in the free. Both have been quite successful with rotations this season. I guess it will all come down to execution and quality between them. I much prefer Mariah this season. She is just overall stronger and more confident than before. Bradie's programs fit her too but her expression just doesn't quite touch me the same way.

I guess the title is Alisa's to lose and it is difficult to lose as long as she does some of the 3 3axels and 1 4lutz planned in the competition. The competition is going to be in her head.

My prediction:

1. Alisa
2. Mariah
3. Bradie

The pewter will come down to Amber and Starr, with an outside shot from Karen. I think Amber will probably take it with a clean short and 5 big triples in the free, with Starr losing out on PCS and GOE and Karen only doing 3/2s.

P.S. Wishing Gracie the very best. Regardless of how she skates or places, I hope she regains the fun and magic she once had while competing.
 
Marco said:
Mariah and Bradie are essentially tied in BV in the short, and Bradie does one more 2axel in the free. Both have been quite successful with rotations this season. I guess it will all come down to execution and quality between them. I much prefer Mariah this season. She is just overall stronger and more confident than before. Bradie's programs fit her too but her expression just doesn't quite touch me the same way.

I guess the title is Alisa's to lose and it is difficult to lose as long as she does some of the 3 3axels and 1 4lutz planned in the competition. The competition is going to be in her head.

My prediction:

1. Alisa
2. Mariah
3. Bradie

The pewter will come down to Amber and Starr, with an outside shot from Karen. I think Amber will probably take it with a clean short and 5 big triples in the free, with Starr losing out on PCS and GOE and Karen only doing 3/2s.

P.S. Wishing Gracie the very best. Regardless of how she skates or places, I hope she regains the fun and magic she once had while competing.
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I used to agree with you so much in the past but squat these days. lol

Mariah aint ever beat Bradie, not saying that it cant or wont happen but I dont see it happening here.

Bradie has more power and flow out in her jumps and more transitions. Mariah's jumps still come to a stand still.

I see them more equal in PCS. They both really feel their music and perform with their heart.

The matchup for me is Alysa and Bradie... I mean if they can take down Amber.......

SP ... Bradie
Free... Alysa
Overall.. Alysa

Addendum: Bradie also got her tooshie to the GPF so I think judges will reward her well here.
 
These withdrawals by some of our most promising ladies brings me back to the '99-'02 quad and promising skaters like Stellato and Nam who seemed to disappear without a trace over night. I hope the same isn't the case here, but it's a more common phenomenon than not.
 
Maximillian said:
These withdrawals by some of our most promising ladies brings me back to the '99-'02 quad and promising skaters like Stellato and Nam who seemed to disappear without a trace over night. I hope the same isn't the case here, but it's a more common phenomenon than not.
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But if it is the case, at least there's a reasonable chance that they'll all return as Pairs skaters. ;)
 
This year there's a clear separation between the top 3 and the rest of the field. You have the A Group (Alysa, Bradie and Mariah) at the top and everyone else is battling for pewter.

Alysa has been solid this year. She's improved in areas of her skating but next to the likes of Bradie and Mariah (both of whom have strong skating skills) she's going to lose some ground. However, if she can knock down a quad lutz and a couple of triple axels she's going to give herself a pretty hefty TES lead which could give her the title.

I love-love Bradie's SP; the FS is lovely but less impactful. Warsaw is probably the only black mark on her record this year. If she rocks the SP she'll lead going into the FS. UR issues tend to hurt her in the second half and that could open the door. If she's clean in both programs her chances at another title are strong.

Mariah has had a breakout year. I like her SP but her FS is a real thing of beauty. Mariah has the least room for error. She needs a clean SP (w/ a 3-3) to stay close. I think she could bring the house down and score huge with a clean FS a la her performance at IDF. Skating cleanly is her key to possibly overtaking Bradie or even possibly edging out Alysa.

With the B Group (Hanna and Ting) out with injuries, 4th place is a battle of the C Group: Amber, Starr, Karen and Courtney. Amber and Starr tend to do well in the SP but lose focus in the FS. Karen has been meh-blah this season but can have a breakout performance at any moment--and nationals is where they tend to happen. Courtney, bless her, can't seem to get through a SP cleanly. I'm kinda surprised she's back to be honest...but the SP will be her challenge.

For this group it will come down to who can hold it together and manage two clean/semi-clean skates.

As for Gracie, I'd consider anywhere in the top 10 a victory. However, I have no expectations for her coming in. I'm just hoping she can deliver two respectable skates she can be proud of.
 
Maximillian said:
These withdrawals by some of our most promising ladies brings me back to the '99-'02 quad and promising skaters like Stellato and Nam who seemed to disappear without a trace over night. I hope the same isn't the case here, but it's a more common phenomenon than not.
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The irony being that they both went into pair skating, which puts even more wear and tear on the body than singles skating.

Nam and her partner, Themistocles Leftheris, skated what I thought was the best short program at the 2006 US National Championships that year, too.

www.youtube.com

Nam/Leftheris 2006 Nationals SP

Naomi Nari Nam & Themistocles Leftheris with their short program from the 2006 US National Championships.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
essence_of_soy said:
The irony being that they both went into pair skating, which puts even more wear and tear on the body than singles skating.

Nam and her partner, Themistocles Leftheris, skated what I thought was the best short program at the 2006 US National Championships that year, too.

www.youtube.com

Nam/Leftheris 2006 Nationals SP

Naomi Nari Nam & Themistocles Leftheris with their short program from the 2006 US National Championships.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
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I had totally forgot that NNN (remember that shorthand from Adrian's board?) came back and skated pairs.
 
Lovely piece on Amber Glenn over at TeamUSA.org:


“There has a been a lot doubt and being afraid of what people were going to say or think,” Glenn said. “I saw this article as a little stepping-stone to feel like I’m not lying about a part of myself anymore. I knew it was a going to go out before the U.S. championships [this week in Greensboro, North Carolina] and I was going to express myself in a true way.”
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Calista Choi’s skating skills are superb for her division and her edge work is spectacular. Although she landed her 3Lz+3T, the Toe was deemed under. Isabeau was lovely and skated with high spirits and executed a clean program. I hope she can work on her skating skills and speed so that her jumps will become bigger and stronger. Lindsay Thorngren’s 3Lz+3T was under but everything else seems to have improved. Isabeau and Lindsay have competed against one another for a very long time and it’s been amazing to see their growth. Isabelle had a weird “fall” (no deductions) on the 2A. Our junior ladies were simply superb and a 3-3 alone did not guarantee a spot in the Top 5. Cannot wait for the free.
 
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