Not for me in this case. The other USA teams? K&O, no. D&F and S&B couldn't finish their grand prixs. I'm just curious as to Sarah Feng and her partner.
Knierims non jump elements are so so much stronger than everyone else's.
I agree that a 15th place wouldn't be an automatic qualifier, lol but I have seen what's played out this season, child......
And thats all she wrote!!
ITA that the Knierims' non-jump elements are stronger than the rest of U.S. pairs teams; their 3-twist is particularly explosive and competitive with a lot of international teams (as we saw when they recently won bronze at NHK). I hope things are working out for them with Meno/Sand. At least their confidence appears to be back on the rise. The programs they developed with Aliona are showing a a new side of their skating, so they simply need to hone their confidence, and continue working with their choreographer Benoit Richaud. And I hope they find stability with Meno/Sand that will enable thm to reach their goals.
It pays to not generalize about any team. I think the U.S. has some wonderful pairs teams with huge potential, but the improving and moving up process is full of fits and starts, with injuries too often cramping momentum. And as we know, U.S. teams have experienced more than their fare share of injuries/illnesses.
To be honest, D/F might be at a higher level of competitiveness now, if not for Haven's knee injury and rehab. I think Brandon has worked hard at improving aesthetically over the past few years. Interestingly, Brooke Castile noted something about D/F at Nationals in January: D/F have speed, but for some reason, their speed is not smooth and forward flowing. Brooke observed that they seem to be fighting with allowing their speed to break free more fully. I hope their new coaches are taking note of this factor too and helping them work on correcting it. Meanwhile, D/F have great lifts that are top-notch competitive, and they generally have a good, consistent 3-twist that will get good marks. The problem is whether or not Haven has or will be able to work through a mental blockage re landing her jumps, if in fact her knee is fully healed physically. That issue needs to be confronted head-on, rather than tiptoed around. Haven surely can't have confidence competing if she's mentally hesitant when going into her jumps. I wonder if this is being addressed? If D/F can solve the sbs and become consistent with the jump elements, they can concentrate more on refining and improving their speed, their style, and continuing to upgrade their difficulty.
I hope that Cain/LeDuc do not allow their misfortune at Rostelecom to get them down. Russia is a very difficult country to compete in when you're not Russian, unless you're Hanyu.
I think Ashley and Timothy have overall done well this season. They have grown as a team, and they just need to continue working on their confidence, and increasing their difficulty in a smart way. The judges should be giving them more credit for their lines and for their superb expressiveness and performance abilities. They need to gain consistency on their tech elements. They have strong jumps, but they have to eliminate the mistakes under pressure.
Tarah and Danny are very strong and reliable, but they are adjusting to a new training environment. Plus, Tarah is still rehabbing her injuries. T&D need to continue refining and polishing their style, increasing their speed and difficulty, and working on standing out from the crowd. They are generally consistent when healthy, so I'm hopeful for them having a chance to break through, but right now, I think the judges' perception of them varies. Clearly, they can take advantage at competitions when other teams at or below their level make mistakes. Kudos to them. Right now, their reworked 3-twist is still a work-in-progress because it often takes time perfecting the 3-twist according to what I've heard from pairs such as Duhamel/Radford and James/Cipres.
It seems as if Stellato/Bartholomay may have injuries, which is complicating their ability to make more of a statement in international competition. They are a team unafraid of going for it, but they need to catch some breaks which are few and far between in figure skating.
Now that the landscape in pairs has changed, it's crucial for the U.S. to try and make some strides to get back at least two spots for Worlds. The only way to be able to get better is to have the chance to compete at major competitions.
The problem is overcoming bad habits, and increasing belief in their ability to land jumps consistently in competition. That's a huge hurdle for more teams than we fully realize. Those who are consistent are simply making something hugely difficult look easy. See what happened to Vanessa James at IDF? She can land 3-salchows in her sleep, but maybe she was nervous or something happened in the takeoff or in the air that caused her to very uncharacteristically botch that jump. J/C are one of the more consistent teams, and they've been on all season, except in their home country, eh! I would mark it down to nerves associated with competing at home to make their first GPF. Plus, they had four weeks in between their last competition.
