So, Euros has concluded, and it looks like U.S. ladies might actually be competitive for a bronze if Trusova is to continue to have jump issues that have dogged her since Russian Nationals. She is still rail thin, but I feel like she might be starting to fill out the tiniest bit, and it's starting to affect her rotation. She was very under-rotated on her second 4T today, a half a turn or more short. Scherbakova is also extremely pubescent, so it remains to be seen how well she can retain her jump arsenal. But she has more PCS to fall back on than Trusova. Kostornaia is out of reach for now, and her jump techniques are really impressive. Of course, if all the ladies skate clean, U.S. ladies can only hope for 5th or 6th (after Kihira and/or You). But the 3A's are not looking as invincible at the moment as they used to. Well, of course it all depends on PCS as well, and international judges have not been generous with PCS when it comes to US ladies (and very generous with Russian ladies). But I've gotta hope that if US ladies can keep on working on their transitions and artistry, and keep on putting out clean programs, that international judges will give them higher PCS... Also Worlds is in Montreal this year, so maybe that'll help.
I wonder how many TES points Mariah Bell is losing by not including a second 3-3 (and thus having 7 triples + 1 2A when the other top ladies without a quad/3A are doing 7 triples + 2A). Perhaps repeating 3Lz and 3F instead of one of those plus 3T actually doesn't put her at too much disadvantage? For example, in the FS protocols, Mariah has a BV of 60.34 and Tennell has a BV of 60.19, where Mariah under-rotated a 3Lz while Tennell under-rotated a 3F (so it hurts Bell's BV slightly more than Tennell's), and Mariah had a level 3 spin, while Tennell didn't manage to get a 3-jump combo in, so missing out on either a 2T or 2Lp. In any case, their BV's are very comparable! I'm actually amazed at how high Bell's BV is, and of course her program is a lot less risky than another one that has two 3-3's. In fact, Mariah's FS last year, which had no 3-3 at all, but just a 2A+3T, still had the same BV as what she has now. But maybe not having any 3-3 makes judges want to hand out lower PCS (though it shouldn't).
