2019 US Nationals Ladies Podium Poll

[haribobo]

The offseason is getting to me...I will leave Mirai and Ashley out for now...

For what its worth, SB scores...
1. Bradie Tennell 204
2. Mirai Nagasu 194
33. Mariah Bell 188
35. Karen Chen 185
38. Ashley Wagner 184
39. Angela Wang 183
41. Courtney Hicks 182
43. Ting Cui 180
52. Starr Andrews 172
53. Emmy Ma 172
57. Caroline Zhang 170
67. Kaitlyn Nguyen 161
68. Ashley Lin 161
75. Polina Edmunds 157
-79. Pooja Kalyan 156 (Bavarian Open not official ISU score)
89. Hanna Harrell 152
90. Amber Glenn 151
94. Hannah Miller 149
96. Tessa Hong 149
-----

Gracie Gold PB score is 211, would put her 10th on SB list.
Alysa Liu's Nationals score of 184 would put her 38th on SB list. Her one novice ISU comp only scored 129 but her summer comp high this year of 198 would put her 19th...

Top 5 summer comp scores so far, thanks Sylvia unseen-

1. Alysa Liu 198 (would be 19th on SB list)
2. Amber Glenn 193 (this score would be 26th on SB list)
3. Hanna Harrell 170 (would be 57th on SB list)
4. Ashley Lin 166
5. Megan Wessenberg 165

 

[aftershocks]

Obviously, ultimately who knows? Figure skating is endlessly fascinating and what we think on paper generally always has a switch-up of some sort during nail-biting competitions.

As far as U.S. ladies, the on-paper top picks are clearly the known quantities who are current and former U.S. champions: Tennell, Chen, Gold. There could be wildcards who end up competing who are not on this list.

Also, Wang, Bell, Liu, and Starr Andrews (who for whatever reason is not on your list) have the talent to make a podium impact. As does Amber Glenn if she has her competitive act together.

It pays to keep in mind that no matter who podiums, only two U.S. ladies can go to Worlds in 2019. So hopefully the best two will be sent who can perform consistently well enough to bring back three spots again.

 

[Wyliefan]

No Starr?

 

[haribobo]

Only 10 spots are allowed per poll...
Top 3 summer scores- Alysa, Amber, Hanna
Top 40 SB scores- Bradie, Mariah, Karen, Angela
Gracie no explanation needed.

The only 2 "wildcards" were Pooja and Ting who IMO are on par with Starr. But we shall see how this all goes...

 

[SamuraiK]

Yikes, reading that potential roster is almost safe to say USladies has entered its Crapova sisters years.

 

[Wyliefan]

With Ting, Alysa, and Pooja coming up? I'm not worried. I'm sure it'll take them some time to adjust and bloom on the senior scene, but there's a lot of promise there. And there's hope for Starr and Bradie, too, if they can work on consistency and artistry, respectively.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Assuming the BTB actually rig the judging so they get what they want...............I would say Bradie is a shoo in. Can't know about Gracie............Second skate in two years............I know they will want her, but will they trust her to be at Worlds? Same with Karen. She is so not dependable.

I love Lui, and would like to see Wang. Should be

 

[aftershocks]

Yikes, reading that potential roster is almost safe to say USladies has entered its Crapova sisters years.

Japanese ladies must be your faves then, unless you are an Eteri-factory fan.

All the dissing of U.S. ladies will not change the fact that there's still a lot of talent and depth in the U.S. ladies discipline. Get back to me when Russia and/ or Japan break U.S. ladies' historically dominant record of total Olympics and Worlds medals wins. Even matching the U.S. ladies historical record is going to take other countries some time. And that's true even with the U.S. ladies having been off the Worlds podium for 10 straight years from 2006 to 2016, and off the Olympics podium for the last 3 cycles.

Talent and depth continues to exist among the U.S. ladies field. It's just a matter of U.S. ladies getting their act together competitively on a consistent basis. And also unsurprisingly, receiving a lot more support and respect from their fans and their federation. Right now and for quite awhile, there's been a lot of uncalled for dissing and disrespect going on toward U.S. ladies, much of it uncalled for. Also, partly as a result, not much political rep or cache exists for U.S. ladies. The post-MichelleKwan era international backlash and domestic over-expectations doldrums continues. Plus, a number of U.S. fans and fans around the world seem to find a fun pastime in using U.S. ladies as a punching bag.

But what else is new(s).

 

[SamuraiK]

Japanese ladies must be your faves then, unless you are an Eteri-factory fan.

All the dissing of U.S. ladies will not change the fact that there's still a lot of talent and depth in the U.S. ladies discipline. Get back to me when Russia and/ or Japan break U.S. ladies' historically dominant record of total Olympics and Worlds medals wins. Even matching the U.S. ladies historical record is going to take other countries some time. And that's true even with the U.S. ladies having been off the Worlds podium for 10 straight years from 2006 to 2016, and off the Olympics podium for the last 3 cycles.

Talent and depth continues to exist among the U.S. ladies field. It's just a matter of U.S. ladies getting their act together competitively on a consistent basis. And also unsurprisingly, receiving a lot more support and respect from their fans and their federation. Right now and for quite awhile, there's been a lot of uncalled for dissing and disrespect going on toward U.S. ladies, much of it uncalled for. Also, partly as a result, not much political rep or cache exists for U.S. ladies. The post-MichelleKwan era international backlash and domestic over-expectations doldrums continues. Plus, a number of U.S. fans and fans around the world seem to find a fun pastime in using U.S. ladies as a punching bag.

But what else is new(s).

Actually, great skaters are my faves, regardless of their nationality, FS is not a collective sport to become a silly nationally biased fan. I just don't see any interesting lady on the current roster in this thread. (To give credit when due Chen is hit and miss and Cui has the potential to be one but we'll see , as for the others.. )

As for historical dominance, I couldnt care less which country has the record or which doesnt, there's youtube videos to enjoy those awesome skaters from the past but no amount of past records bragging will also change the fact US ladies current field is in a dark age. I do hope they get their act together soon as you say, because we all benefit from an abundance of good skaters but I've also been reading that since 2007-2008 so again, we'll see.

 

[aftershocks]

Eh, that's your opinion @SamuraiK, and there's always going to be plenty of opinions, especially on fs forums.

Thanks for breaking down why your first reaction was to turn up your nose and look down on U.S. ladies athletes. That you are continuing to be dismissive in your remarks is at the least, consistent.

Citing U.S. ladies' record-breaking achievements is not bragging. Those amazing and long-standing results are just part of figure skating history, just as Russian pairs' dominance since the revolutionary advent of Belousova/Protopov in the 1960s, is part of figure skating history. In both cases, U.S. ladies and Russian pairs changed their respective disciplines and those long years of dominant influence still impacts both disciplines.

U.S. ladies are not in a dark age IMO, just because they haven't been appearing regularly on international podiums, and don't have a legendary goddess leading the way, taking names, busting a$$ and rocking the world.

Ah, but you can continue to think these are 'dark days' only for U.S. ladies, as you will. So much for you not being a 'silly, nationally-biased fan.'

 

[Vagabond]

I see the OP has decided that Ashley Wagner is either not going to compete or not going to be competitive.

 

[Coco]

Are all of these ladies competing seniors at US Nationals?

 

[rfisher]

I see the OP has decided that Ashley Wagner is either not going to compete or not going to be competitive.

Who?

 

[Wyliefan]

I see the OP has decided that Ashley Wagner is either not going to compete or not going to be competitive.

The OP specifically said she was leaving Ashley and Mirai out for now. At the moment it's difficult to know what their future plans are.

 

[Wyliefan]

Who?

Oh, you know -- the only American woman to win a World medal in the past twelve years.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

This season is pretty exciting for a lot of countries with so many new names on the scene.

 

[Sylvia]

Are all of these ladies competing seniors at US Nationals?

The top 4 juniors from 2018 U.S. Nationals -- Alysa Liu, Pooja Kalyan, Ting Cui and Hanna Harrell -- are competing senior at summer clubs comps, so it appears they are planning to move up (take their USFS Senior FS test, if they haven't already done so).

(I'll continue to post about notable performances/results at summer club comps in the U.S. Ladies thread in GSD, such as this update from last month: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/u-s-ladies-22-no-more-carrots.103716/page-19#post-5378128 )

 

[alchemy void]

I don't want to get into fall into the trap of building up junior skaters before they even skate at the senior level, but for me, Ting Cui is easily the best American ladies prospect since Gracie. Immense potential, big jumps, good speed, I'm already dangerously close to ubering her.

I'm hoping she can break through the senior ranks this season and make an impact not only at nationals, but internationally as well.

Needless to say, I voted for her and Gracie.

 

[savchenkoboss]

I am a bit surprised at the optimism about Gracie Gold medaling. A comeback like this isnt easy, especialy with how bad she looked when she last competed. I think she could put it together to medal, but it is probably more unlikely than likely.

 

[RoseRed]

I am a bit surprised at the optimism about Gracie Gold medaling. A comeback like this isnt easy, especialy with how bad she looked when she last competed. I think she could put it together to medal, but it is probably more unlikely than likely.

I don't think it's so unlikely. Remember that medalling at US Nationals just means placing 4th or above. Last time she competed, she came 6th. Obviously the field has changed since then, but still, 4th would be a possibility even if she isn't back to where she was a couple seasons ago. She needs to be better than when we last saw her, sure.

I mean, I certainly don't think it's a lock that she'd be on the podium. And we don't know what her goals are in terms of that either. But I can see why people are voting for her.

 

[savchenkoboss]

I dont think it is that far fetched but I will be a bit surprised if she finishes even as high as 3rd or 4th, let alone better. I dont know, these comebacks just arent easy for anyone, and Gracie wasnt the strongest competitor even before her breakdown and hiatus from the sport. Then again the U.S women still arent exactly murderors row so anything is possible, but it was strong enough a well skating Wagner was kept off the Olympic Team, so they arent exactly weak either. I wish her the best in her comeback, which I am not sure exactly what she would consider a personal success for her, I just hope she is happy and more at peace then when she left. And the media isnt crazy enough to hoist any expectations on her initially, they wrecked her by doing that back when it was semi realistic, let alone now when it isnt.

I think someone like Karen Chen is more likely to medal. Barring a resounding comeback from Gold her PCS will probably be higher, and while she has jump issues of her own she is probably more likely to stand up more triples than Gold is right now. Yet she has fewer votes on the poll which surprises me a lot.

 

[Cleo1782]

Honestly, if Gracie is serious enough to show up at Nationals, she would be a serious medal threat. She doesn't have an automatic bye, so she would either have to compete at Rostelecom or go through qualifying comps. If she has an awful showing at RC or doesn't compete then she might re-think her comeback, but by Nationals she should have a clear view of where she is at. She doesn't strike me as someone who would go in and just skate for the joy. I think she wants to be back on top. Just my speculation but I would think if she had no possible chance at a medal she wouldn't compete.

 

[savchenkoboss]

Honestly, if Gracie is serious enough to show up at Nationals, she would be a serious medal threat. She doesn't have an automatic bye, so she would either have to compete at Rostelecom or go through qualifying comps. If she has an awful showing at RC or doesn't compete then she might re-think her comeback, but by Nationals she should have a clear view of where she is at. She doesn't strike me as someone who would go in and just skate for the joy. I think she wants to be back on top. Just my speculation but I would think if she had no possible chance at a medal she wouldn't compete.

Yeah that is true. I myself am not sure if her comeback will really play out. I could see it being something like Trenary's comeback in the 91-92 seasons. I wish her the best luck though, but IMO it wont be easy.

 

[GullyGirl84]

While I’ve always admired Gracie’s ambition and not accepting any less than what she defined as “her best” (also, I think it should be mentioned that even when she disappointed herself with a performance, I don’t ever remember seeing her fall apart in the kiss and cry), I do hope that she has healed enough to the point that she would still skate at nationals even if she thought she’s might not get 1-3. A comeback has to start somewhere, and it’s difficult enough under the best of circumstances. The last time we saw Gracie skate, she seemed physically unable to do much more than double jumps in show numbers. I don’t think it can be emphasized enough that Gracie went to hell and back this past year, and the pressure that must have been on her in terms of sponsors, etc., for all of this to happen during an Olympic year. The sheer will that she must have to make a comeback is a very powerful thing, and I’ll be excited to see her no matter what happens.