2022-23 US Pairs Discussion - Second to None!

[ice coverage]

SENIOR PAIR

SP
Baram/Tioumentsev 63.66
Chan/Howe 59.19
Wessenberg/Eisenach 53.01
McBeath/Bartholomay 52.89
Mokhova/Mokhov 51.70
Plazas/Fernandez 48.60
Kam/Meyh 45.32
Fitzpatrick/Bearinger 40.88 ...

Plazas/Fernandez SP scored 55.03 in May in Ann Arbor.

38th Annual Margaret Faulkner Springtime Invitatio

Event Results for 38th Annual Margaret Faulkner Springtime Invitatio

ijs.usfigureskating.org

(Five components b/c the event took place before the ISU Congress, but I think still worth a mention.

And lest anyone wonder: Ann Arbor was non-NQS, but haribobo's list includes scores from Broadmoor, which was non-NQS as well.)

 

[ice coverage]

Anyone knows if the cranberry cup/open has pairs this year? I don’t see it on the schedule. They can’t find enough pairs?

Cranberry Open (non-international) tentative schedule (as of Jul 18) does show senior pairs and novice pairs on Thu and Fri.

https://scboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-Cranberry-Open-Tentative-Schedule-7.18.2022-Updated.pdf

Mini-update: Cranberry Open (non-international) also will have junior pair event, per start orders that have been published.

Senior pairs: Hanns/Neudecker; Kam/Meyh; Mokhova/Mokhov; Ouellette/Newby-Estrella
Junior: Smith/Deng (only entry)
Novice: Tyler VanWagner/Patrick VanWagner (only entry)

 

[Sylvia]

I was happy to see that 3 Senior pairs were added to the ISP after Cactus Classic/Skate Detroit (first 2 NQS comps for pairs):
Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez
Maria Mokhova/Ivan Mokhov
Megan Wessenberg/Blake Eisenach

Nica Digerness/Mark Sadusky (teamed up last year but did not enter qualifying season) and Grace Hanns/Danny Neudecker (new this season) are scheduled to make their respective debuts in competition this weekend at the Cup of Colorado (same info is posted in the Kiss & Cry): https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1555224899672834052

ETA:

Kam/Meyh will compete for the second time in Senior this season at Cup of Colorado and their coach/choreographer Drew Meekins has shared this FS practice clip to Ghost: The Musical: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cg2nOo6v78d/

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks for the heads up!

Mini-update: Cranberry Open (non-international) also will have junior pair event, per start orders that have been published.
...
Junior: Smith/Deng (only entry)

Cayla Smith/Andy Deng (Cranberry may be their season debut?) recently were assigned to their first Team USA assignment (JGP #2 in Ostrava CZE), along with Sonia Baram/Daniel Tioumentsev (also their international debut).

Brandon Frazier shared a series of photos from a clinic in which he helped "to introduce pair skating to all these incredible kids" on Sunday, July 31 in Arvada, CO: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgwnENyLs6E/

Great Park Ice hosted a Pair Camp this past weekend.
On-ice pics (with Meno/Sand, Binder, Chris Knierim): https://www.instagram.com/p/CgzLLqgrmOy/
& https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgvda5POcLR/
Off-ice pics: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgx8YPjL8oq/
This young skater got to have her photo taken with Alexa & Brandon at GPI: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgvRmiDJnuq/

 

[Karen-W]

Mini-update: Cranberry Open (non-international) also will have junior pair event, per start orders that have been published.

Senior pairs: Hanns/Neudecker; Kam/Meyh; Mokhova/Mokhov; Ouellette/Newby-Estrella
Junior: Smith/Deng (only entry)
Novice: Tyler VanWagner/Patrick VanWagner (only entry)

Hanns/Neudecker are now listed as WD :-(

Adding in the scores from Cup of Colorado over the weekend:

SENIOR PAIR

OVERALL
Baram/Tioumentsev 179.64
Plazas/Fernandez 151.08
Mokhova/Mokhov 151.02
Wessenberg/Eisenach 147.26
Hanns/Neudecker 147.12
Digerness/Sadusky 145.34
Kam/Meyh 137.06
Fitzpatrick/Bearinger 109.21

JUNIOR PAIR
OVERALL
Baram/Tioumentsev 158.34
Korytek/Chapman 142.63
Rivers/Rensing 114.80
Black/Black 94.99
Murray/Gillette 94.83
Flores/Wang 93.86
Delis/Schwab 93.04
Church/Church 88.44

It won't surprise me if Hanns/Neudecker and Digerness/Sadusky are added to the ISP based on their scores from this weekend.

 

[ice coverage]

Mini-update: Cranberry Open (non-international) also will have junior pair event, per start orders that have been published.

Senior pairs: Hanns/Neudecker; Kam/Meyh; Mokhova/Mokhov; Ouellette/Newby-Estrella
Junior: Smith/Deng (only entry)
Novice: Tyler VanWagner/Patrick VanWagner (only entry)

Hanns/Neudecker are now listed as WD :-( ...

Cranberry Open also has Intermediate pairs competition (two entries) -- which I finally mention now for the sake of completeness.
Sorry that I previously overlooked Intermediate.

 

[Sylvia]

Simon Shnapir's update on the new pair of Collier/Mitrofanov (IDC's article is linked in the U.S. Dance news thread):

In addition to his work with the dance teams, Shnapir is still coaching pairs and working with the single skaters at the Skating Club of Boston. His singles skater, Hazel Collier, who competed at the junior level at the 2020 and 2022 U.S. Championships, is now pursuing pairs with Misha Mitrofanov. Mitrofanov was the 2022 Four Continents Champion with his former partner, Audrey Lu.
“They (Hazel and Misha) are working through a couple little injuries right now, but they’ve made a lot of enormous progress in a short amount of time,” Shnapir described of the new partnership. “Credit to Misha for his experience, but a lot of credit goes to Hazel for her fierceness and just her willingness to learn and want to be thrown and want to be lifted, and want to compete and be successful in this discipline.”

 

[ice coverage]

Speaking of Simon Shnapir ... he is scheduled to perform with Marissa Castelli at this year's Scott Hamilton and Friends fundraiser in November in Nashville.

Scott Hamilton & Friends — Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation

www.scottcares.org

The revival of Marissa/Simon's partnership for last year's SCOB gala, which Scott hosted, evidently whetted everyone's appetite for more.

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ Link to the GSD thread created for the Scott Hamilton & Friends show in November, with Knierim/Frazier listed as performing:

Scott Hamilton & Friends show in Nashville, Sun Nov 19, 2023 (updated)

Thanks to @ice coverage for the heads up that the (initial) skating cast is announced! https://www.scottcares.org/scotthamiltonandfriends MUSICAL GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED FIGURE SKATING STARS Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue, Double Olympic Medalists, 4-time World Medalists Alexa Knierim &...

www.fsuniverse.net

Re-posting here from the Programs/Choreographers thread... today Brandon announced his and Alexa's program music and choreographers: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR08pjrzj9/

With a later start to the season than usual we are excited to have finished creating our new free skate with John and Sinead Kerr to Sign of the Times by Harry Styles.
Our short program is to Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) from the latest season of Stranger Things. The brilliant Shae Lynn Bourne choreographed it. Let the fun begin!

John Kerr's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR8W_NrkD5/

I had a grand old time choreographing with @sineadskate for the 2022 World Pairs Champions- Alexa Scimeca-Knierim&Brandon Frazier. Such great people and I can’t wait to see them in action this season.

Adding in the NQS scores from Cranberry Open over the weekend:

SENIOR PAIRS
Baram/Tioumentsev 179.64
Plazas/Fernandez 151.08
Mokhova/Mokhov 151.02 --> 160.48 (110.03 in FS at Cranberry)
Wessenberg/Eisenach 147.26
Hanns/Neudecker (new) 147.12
Digerness/Sadusky (new) 145.34
Kam/Meyh 137.06
Ouellette/Newby-Estrella (new) 115.29 at Cranberry
Fitzpatrick/Bearinger (new) 109.21

JUNIOR PAIRS current top 3 teams:
Baram/Tioumentsev 158.34
E. Korytek/Chapman (new) 142.63
Cayla Smith/Andy Deng 137.66 (87.48 in FS at Cranberry) - will make their JGP debut in #2 Ostrava, followed by #3 Riga the week after

 

[flyingsit]

I am so thrilled to see K/F branching out with different choreographers!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Re-posting here from the Programs/Choreographers thread... today Brandon announced his and Alexa's program music and choreographers: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR08pjrzj9/
John Kerr's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR8W_NrkD5/

Love to see them trying different choreographers. And who knew John was so delicious?

 

[love skating]

Just hope the music rights are secured this time!!!

 

[Alilou]

Love to see them trying different choreographers. And who knew John was so delicious?

OMG ANL where have you been all these years. You didn't get the fax? Everyone knew John was so delicious!

 

[firstflight]

OMG ANL where have you been all these years. You didn't get the fax? Everyone knew John was so delicious!

I’ve never been able to watch this program without being fixated on what’s going on under the kilt:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=eZFupPQrc5o

 

[angi]

^^^ Link to the GSD thread created for the Scott Hamilton & Friends show in November, with Knierim/Frazier listed as performing:

Scott Hamilton & Friends show in Nashville, Sun Nov 19, 2023 (updated)

Thanks to @ice coverage for the heads up that the (initial) skating cast is announced! https://www.scottcares.org/scotthamiltonandfriends MUSICAL GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED FIGURE SKATING STARS Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue, Double Olympic Medalists, 4-time World Medalists Alexa Knierim &...

www.fsuniverse.net

Re-posting here from the Programs/Choreographers thread... today Brandon announced his and Alexa's program music and choreographers: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR08pjrzj9/

John Kerr's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChR8W_NrkD5/

John Kerr actually choreographed two of my favorite skating programs in the 2016/17 season - "Lighthouse" for Savchenko/Massot and "Sound of Silence" for James/Cipres. I always wondered why he is not utilized by more pairs teams when he choreographs such beautiful (and successful) pairs programs and I'm glad to see he is choreographing for pairs again.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

OMG ANL where have you been all these years. You didn't get the fax? Everyone knew John was so delicious!

I mean he’s going to give Paul a run for the money. He is fine

 

[Karen-W]

I mean he’s going to give Paul a run for the money. He is fine

He's been fine for decades now. Really, really yummy. Search the archives for these discussions, lol.

 

[skatfan]

John Kerr actually choreographed two of my favorite skating programs in the 2016/17 season - "Lighthouse" for Savchenko/Massot and "Sound of Silence" for James/Cipres. I always wondered why he is not utilized by more pairs teams when he choreographs such beautiful (and successful) pairs programs and I'm glad to see he is choreographing for pairs again.

I agree. I’m looking forward to Kerr’s program for the Americans.

 

[clairecloutier]

John Kerr actually choreographed two of my favorite skating programs in the 2016/17 season - "Lighthouse" for Savchenko/Massot and "Sound of Silence" for James/Cipres. I always wondered why he is not utilized by more pairs teams when he choreographs such beautiful (and successful) pairs programs and I'm glad to see he is choreographing for pairs again.

I think he also did Duhamel/Radford's "With or Without You" SP, which was one of their best programs.

 

[Karen-W]

Plazas/Fernandez 151.08
Mokhova/Mokhov 151.02 --> 160.48 (110.03 in FS at Cranberry)
Wessenberg/Eisenach 147.26

These three teams have been entered, along with Chan/Howe, to compete at the US Int'l FS Classic in Lake Placid - the first Challenger Series event of the season! Seems fair to say that whichever comes out on top is likely to be assigned the SkAm TBD spot.

 

[Sylvia]

These three teams have been entered, along with Chan/Howe, to compete at the US Int'l FS Classic in Lake Placid - the first Challenger Series event of the season! Seems fair to say that whichever comes out on top is likely to be assigned the SkAm TBD spot.

I'm hearing that the 2nd annual John Nicks Pairs Challenge (Senior B) in New York City, September 8-9, may be a deciding factor.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm hearing that the 2nd annual John Nicks Pairs Challenge (Senior B) in New York City, September 8-9, may be a deciding factor.

Is there an entry list available for that competition yet? I remember last season it seemed like information about that one was hard to come by (and no livestream,).

 

[Sylvia]

Is there an entry list available for that competition yet?

Not yet (entry deadline was Aug. 15). I'll start a competition thread in Kiss & Cry when info becomes available.

Emily Chan/Spencer Howe scored 59.19 in their first outing of their SP yesterday at Skate Detroit and I'm thrilled that they brought back & adapted their 2019-20 debut season FS music to the lovely "Je crois entendre encore" (violin version) from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers! (I never got to see the program in person at 2020 Nationals because they WD.)

Well, at least I got to see this SP once before they switched back to last season's "Nyah" (a good program for them); their new FS is to selections from the Ghost musical, according to their updated ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00110454.htm

Plazas/Fernandez's brand new ISU bio for their international debut season : http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00114473.htm
ETA that I never knew that Valentina was born in Bogota, Colombia.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

These three teams have been entered, along with Chan/Howe, to compete at the US Int'l FS Classic in Lake Placid - the first Challenger Series event of the season! Seems fair to say that whichever comes out on top is likely to be assigned the SkAm TBD spot.

Wouldn’t Misha Mitrofanov and his new partner also be a possibility?

 

[Sylvia]

Wouldn’t Misha Mitrofanov and his new partner also be a possibility?

It doesn't sound like they're going to be ready for an early season debut based on the article excerpt (Shnapir's quote) in post #37 above.

 

[ice coverage]

... Plazas/Fernandez's brand new ISU bio for their international debut season : http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00114473.htm
ETA that I never knew that Valentina was born in Bogota, Colombia.

I'm so happy that Plazas/Fernandez are on the entry list for U.S. Classic.

A little throwback re Valentina, if anyone would be interested:

She gave an approx. three-minute interview in Spanish in September 2020, when her switch to pairs and partnership with Max were new.

Deportes 360 on Instagram: "Hoy @valentina455 y la caravana ecológica del Tour de Francia con @maobernal27 . . . . . . #Jueves#CaracolInternacional"

Deportes 360 shared a post on Instagram: "Hoy @valentina455 y la caravana ecológica del Tour de Francia con @maobernal27 . . . . . . #Jueves#CaracolInternacional". Follow their account to see 450 posts.

www.instagram.com

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Polina Edmunds' latest podcast interview is with Tarah Kayne:

The Iron Butterfly: Everything Pairs! (ft. Tarah Kayne)

I sit down with 2016 National Pairs Champion Tarah Kayne to chat about everything pairs skating! We talk about going from singles to pairs, finding the right partner - what qualities to look for, her timeline of success in pairs, comfort level and fearful elements in pair skating, mental...

bleav.com

 

[Sylvia]

Polina Edmunds' latest podcast interview is with Tarah Kayne:

Thanks - I also created a separate thread in GSD:

Everything Pairs! Tarah Kayne on Polina Edmunds' podcast; discussing post-retirement transition challenges with Dylan Moscovitch

EVERYTHING PAIRS! Polina Edmunds chats with Tarah Kayne on her latest podcast episode (August 23, 2022): https://bleav.com/shows/bleav-in-figure-skating/episodes/everything-pairs-ft-tarah-kayne/ I sit down with 2016 National Pairs Champion Tarah Kayne to chat about everything pairs skating! We...

www.fsuniverse.net

Cross-posting here - a relevant quote from Audrey Lu in the article: "As of right now, I want to focus on academics. I definitely want to keep skating. I guess if any opportunity comes up, I'd take it, but for now I am just going to focus on school," she said of the possibility of finding a new pairs partner.":

An update on Audrey Lu as she starts college at UCLA:

Audrey Lu Ready for Her Next Chapter at UCLA - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

After dedicating herself to pairs skating for the past six years, Audrey Lu made a triumphant return to the singles skating scene with a second-place finish at the

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Nebelhorn Trophy entries were published today - Katie McBeath & Nate Bartholomay and Anastasiia Smirnova/Danil Siianytsia (Challenger Series debut for the latter) are the 2 U.S. pairs listed.

Best wishes to Sonia Baram/Daniel Tioumentsev and Cayla Smith/Andy Deng in their respective JGP debuts in Ostrava this week!
Sonia's Instagram story clip today shows her and Daniel landing 3S+2A+2A in their final practice before they left (ETA that they were invited to participate in this year's "Emerging Athletes" program at Champs Camp last week): https://www.instagram.com/stories/sonia_baram/2915693216318645583/

 

[clairecloutier]

Nice start to the JGP season today for U.S. pairs, as Baram/Tioumentsev and Smith/Deng went 1-2 in the short program in Ostrava.

Here's a new story about Baram/Tioumentsev, by Christie Sausa, from FanZone:

Baram and Tioumentsev Set to Make Junior Grand Prix Debut, Working Toward Senior Debut at U.S. Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Sonia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev became the 2022 U.S. junior champions in their first season together.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Next up is the Junior Grand Prix in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Aug. 31 - Sept. 3.

"In the short program, I hope to score 63 or above, and in the long program, just to execute my triple throw," Baram said.

Sonia met goal #1 today in the short program, with a score of 63.77. Hopefully she can accomplish goal #2 (triple throw) in the long program!

 

[Sylvia]

As Claire posted above, Sonia & Daniel achieved their SP score goal today! Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOI5kqMGf6o

Re-posting what I wrote in the JGP Ostrava competition thread in Kiss & Cry:

She [Baram] won't be old enough (17) for the 2025-26 Olympic season because her birthday is after July 1.

So I'm just going to enjoy them this season and hope they get the best results they can and enjoy themselves along the way.

Cayla Smith & Andy Deng skated well in their JGP debut and are in 2nd (54.39).

ETA:

Hopefully she can accomplish goal #2 (triple throw) in the long program!

Sonia has only just started to land throw 3Lo in practice (only triple attempted in competition so far) - triple throws apparently have not come as easily to her as the other pair elements.