U.S. Ice Dance 2020-21 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

There are currently 13 ice dance teams listed in USFS' ISP (2020 Nationals/Novice Dance Final placements & the team envelope skaters are noted):

The International Selection Pool (ISP) includes junior- and senior-level athletes and teams who meet criteria approved by the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee. These athletes and teams are eligible to be considered for assignment to international competitions.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates S1 (Team A)
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue S2 (Team A)
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker S3 (Team B)
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko S4 (Team B)
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons S5 (Team B)
Eva Pate and Logan Bye S7 (Team C)
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen J2 (Team C)
Oona Brown and Gage Brown J3 (Team C)
Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov J4 (Team D)
Katarina DelCamp and Ian Somerville J5 (Team D)
Angela Ling and Caleb Wein J6 (Team D)
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov J7
Layla Karnes and Kenan Slevira J9

Team C (not currently in ISP):
Livvy Shilling & Alexander Petrov S8

Team D (not in ISP but likely in Athlete High Performance Development Pool):
Ethan & Elliana Peal N1
Helena Carhart & Volodymyr Horovyi N2
Juliette & Lucas Shadid N3

 

[Ka3sha]

Lorraine McNamara found a partner - Anton Spiridonov (have no idea who he is)

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[dancing_on_ice]

I checked his ISU profile, and he was born in the United States, so there should be no problems on the citizenship side, so they are also contenders for the third spot at the 2022 Olympics.

Biography

 

[Sylvia]

Lorraine McNamara found a partner - Anton Spiridonov (have no idea who he is)

Spiridonov will be 22 in August and most recently skated with Polina Pankova for RUS in 2018-19: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00106733.htm

 

[Ka3sha]

He’s a son of Elena Garanina and Valery Spiridonov, half-brother of Maxim Zavozin

 

[Sylvia]

Pj Kwong had a relaxed, fun chat with Carreira/Ponomarenko on June 30th (bringing this over from their cheer thread):

Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko chat with @SkatingPj

This is going to be amazing! A chat with the USA's two-time World Junior ice dance medallists Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko tomorrow (Tuesday) a...

www.youtube.com

Christina says she broke her foot in quarantine! I don't think she mentioned that on social media before. But it's healed now and they're back on the ice.

I had to laugh when Christina said she had to remind Anthony to breathe when they're skating. I tend to stop breathing when I'm concentrating, too!

 

[Lara111]

Lorraine McNamara found a partner - Anton Spiridonov (have no idea who he is)

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Another professional ice dancer.

 

[ninalovesskating]

Lorraine McNamara found a partner - Anton Spiridonov (have no idea who he is)

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Curious to see what this partnership holds. It seems like they are a good match (height) based on Lorraine's post!

 

[Lara111]

Curious to see what this partnership holds. It seems like they are a good match (height) based on Lorraine's post!

They are a great match physically but not at the same skills level. MacNamara will be skating with a new partner for the first time in her life. It is going to be tough. I am worried that they will start losing significantly to G/P and C/P. It will not let this partnership to last probably.

 

[ninalovesskating]

They are a great match physically but not at the same skills level. MacNamara will be skating with a new partner for the first time in her life. It is going to be tough. I am worried that they will start losing significantly to G/P and C/P. It will not let this partnership to last probably.

I agree. It doesn't seem like he has much experience... But Khudaiberdieva got an unknown partner and won both JGPs so there could be a little hope there. US ice dance field is packed though!

 

[dancing_on_ice]

Anton competed this past season in junior dance with Gianna Buckley at sectionals. Here are his results.

2020 Pacific Coast Sectional Ice Dance Challenge

Event Results for 2020 Pacific Coast Sectional Ice Dance Challenge

ijs.usfigureskating.org

 

[rinkside]

Lorraine is 10 times better than him.. He's had a bunch of partners and they've never done well. I don't know about every partner but when he was in Novi he lived with his partner and they paid I think the bulk of his expenses. I am in shock.

 

[emilieh]

Spiridonov started(?) out with Arina Ushakova in Russia and also skated with Marjorie Lajoie, briefly, in summer 2015. Not sure if Lajoie & Spiridonov ever made it to a competition (they were registered for some for sure), she ended up re-teaming with Lagha in time to register for 2015-16 qualifying competitions.

 

[rinkside]

Spiridonov started(?) out with Arina Ushakova in Russia and also skated with Marjorie Lajoie, briefly, in summer 2015. Not sure if Lajoie & Spiridonov ever made it to a competition (they were registered for some for sure), she ended up re-teaming with Lagha in time to register for 2015-16 qualifying competitions.

She was only with him for 2 or 3 weeks. Don't know about now but he was difficult then. He competed with Polina Pankova last season and with Tish Marsh 16/17. Seems like he was in Florida after Tish.

 

[Dobre]

Lorraine is 10 times better than him.

100 times, I think.

 

[rinkside]

100 times, I think.

I agree

 

[georgiana08]

I'm glad Lorraine was able to find a new partner relatively quickly, I'll be very curious to see how they turn out. Does anyone know if they plan to train at WISA? The video she posted was taken in Virginia.

 

[azcalder]

The WISA teams are now training at the ION International Training Center in Leesburg, VA

 

[Ka3sha]

Here are the most recent videos of Anton with Polina Pankova that I was able to find on YouTube (from Russian Cup series)

Полина Панькова / Антон Спиридонов

youtube.com

And from 2019 Junior Nats

Первенство России среди юниоров 2019 Тaнцы нa льду Ритмический танец 14# П ПАНЬКОВА А СПИРИДОНОВ

youtube.com

 

[thvu]

Yeah, after seeing that, they’re aiming for 2026... or 2030...

 

[heartyxo]

To be fair, even if he was someone more spectacular I'd still be surprised if they managed to get up to US #3 in less than 2 years for Beijing, especially with the current situation. After that, I wouldn't count them out.

The 3rd 2022 spot is down to H/B and G/P. After that? Who knows.

 

[layman]

100 times, I think.

That talent ratio did not hurt the partnership of Fusar-Poli/Margalio at all! On a serious note, I think Anton has much better posture and body-line than Lorraine does, although she skates much faster and seems to be more skilled with footwork, spins (and lifts). I hope that they can teach each other and find balance as a team.

 

[aftershocks]

More videos of Anton Spiridonov with another former partner, Leticia Marsh of GBR, in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU0xVkts9pE

2016 ISU Junior Grand Prix - Ljubljana - Short Dance - Leticia MARSH / Anton SPIRIDONOV GBR

Subscribe now to the ISU YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/1moLURT Follow the ISU: http://twitter.com/ISU_FIGURE Like the ISU: http://facebook.com/isufigureskat...

www.youtube.com

The 2019 videos posted earlier show improvement, but Anton still has a lot of work to do. Otherwise, he seems fairly tall and he has a nice build.

 

[Bigbird]

Yeah, after seeing that, they’re aiming for 2026... or 2030...

Maybe he's just an opportunity until a better pairing comes along

 

[aftershocks]

she skates much faster and seems to be more skilled with footwork, spins (and lifts).

There's no question that Lorraine has superior speed, footwork, spins, lift technique and experience. The line and posture considerations I concur with you on, as well as your hope that they both can learn from each other. As well, with the good coaches available to them, let's see what might happen. It will definitely be an adventure. The dearth of partners available to choose from is obvious.

 

[MacMadame]

Maybe he's just an opportunity until a better pairing comes along

I suspect that's exactly it. It's not unheard of and it keeps her in the mix for Team USA.

 

[PinkRose]

Layla Karnes and Kenan Slevira have been removed from the ISP.

Oona Brown and Gage Brown
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko
Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Katarina DelCamp and Ian Somerville
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons
Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue
Angela Ling and Caleb Wein
Eva Pate and Logan Bye
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen

Qualify for Team USA | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

 

[Dobre]

Layla Karnes and Kenan Slevira have been removed from the ISP.

That's a shame. They had a nice start & seemed like a well-balanced pairing.

 

[Sylvia]

The WISA teams are now training at the ION International Training Center in Leesburg, VA

Article published on USFS' website:

Top Wheaton Ice Skating Academy teams move to Ion training facility | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

The Ion ITC features two NHL-sized rinks, a ballet room, full-service gym, restaurant and pro shop. One of the rinks is encircled by stadium seating, with 3,500 seats providing people a venue to enjoy a wide variety of activities and events.
Plans are to add two more sheets of ice, including one of Olympic size that would be for figure skaters. The facility is located less than one hour from the academy’s rinks in Rockville and Wheaton.
...
The other level teams at Wheaton Ice Skating Academy are training at Ion ITC during July and August. They are scheduled to return to the Maryland-based rinks in September.

WISA's updated skater list: https://www.wisa.us/academy-skaters/

Claire Cain, 14, is still listed on IPS and is looking for a Junior level partner.

 

[PinkRose]

That's a shame. They had a nice start & seemed like a well-balanced pairing.

I agree. They really had a great start to their first season together last year!