U.S. Women [#3]: Skating Clean

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kittyjake5 said:
Alysa Liu just announced her retirement on Instagram
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Link to the news thread that was started about an hour later in GSD yesterday:

Alysa Liu retired in 2022 and is coming back in 2024

I just read on her instagram that she announced her retirement. She says she's given skating 11 years, that's she's happy with what she accomplished, and is moving on with her life. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcIvaQlvpZd/
www.fsuniverse.net

Mariah Bell had a fun chat with Kelly Rippon last night (Alysa's retirement came up briefly after the 35-minute mark and they both had praise for her): https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcJtLdslBZ-/
 
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Stephanie said:
Junior: Hannah Herrera (Really happy for her! She had a very rough short at nationals but skated great in the free. This will be her second international after 2020 Challenge Cup)
Novice: Stein (I think this may be Luana Stein from the Glacier Falls FSC who competed in intermediate this year and I believe trains with Chris Pottenger)
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Stephanie said:
A couple additions for Egna Spring Trophy per the USFS website:
Sofia Bezkorovainaya (competed juvenile this season!) in advanced novice
Sarah Everhardt (J11) in junior
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Sylvia said:
I’m glad that Everhardt gets to make her Team USA debut in Egna! She trains with Jill Heiner (I’m :( that Jill can’t compete there too).
11-year-old Bezkorovainaya had the highest Juvenile Girls’ FS score (65.00) in USFS’ Championship Series qualifying series of 8 competitions this past fall, leading to quite a few Washington, D.C. local TV news stories about her - link to her YT channel (with a video of her Juvenile FS program in Alpharetta, Georgia, as well as her many local news appearances, including a clip from The Kelly Clarkson Show where she got to “meet” and talk to Tara Lipinski): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-571FcC7KhaM0N_mvgeL8Q/videos
Sofia B. won Juvenile Girls group D in Alpharetta, GA - she landed 3Fq, 2F, 2A+2T+2Lo, 2A, 2Lz+2Lo.
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Egna Spring Trophy results from this weekend - Team USA debuts for all but Herrera (placed 4th in her junior international debut at 2020 Challenge Cup in The Hague):

Junior Women (22 competed):
SILVER to Hannah HERRERA USA 154.28 2 3 (54.60 SP, 99.68 FS) - redeemed herself with a much better SP here (3Lz+3Tq, 2A with arms folded in front on takeoff & during jump, 3F)
7 Sarah EVERHARDT USA 139.94 12 4 (42.90 SP, 97.04 FS) - debuted 2 programs for the new season here, including a SP to "Call me Cruella"

Adv. Novice Girls (field of 21):
5 Luana STEIN USA 117.92 6 3 (41.90 SP, 76.02 FS)
7 Sofia BEZKOROVAINAYA USA 109.71 5 8 (42.74 SP, 66.97 FS)
Both attempted two 3Lz and two 3F in their free skates. Luana opened with a 3Lzb+2Ab seq. that received 2 bonus points (her second half 3Lz & 3F+2T were called clean) while Sofia's were all called < so received no bonus points except for her first 2A (Sofia's 3Lz+2T and 3F were called 'q' in her SP).
 
With Alysa Liu's retirement at the age of 16 (in her senior debut season) that means that of the Class of 2018 (the 2018 US Junior National Championships), perhaps only one is still skating.

Liu (gold medalist) has retired. Has there been any official word on Pooja Kalyan (silver medalist) or Ting Cui (bronze medalist)? I no longer see them on any USFSA team envelopes. That leaves only Hannah Harrel (pewter medalist) from the Class of 2018.

If this does not prove my point (that Women's Figure Skating is brutal and that the women don't stay in the sport long enough to really develop their artistry) then nothing else will.
 
Earlier today (April 10), Bradie Tennell posted links to her 2021-22 programs as skated in practice last year (Brig, Switzerland in May 2021) - her FS to "Nuvole Bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcK5FW0g8Hk/
I was going through my Dropbox files yesterday and came across these videos of my programs from this past year. They were shot by @belinda.films the day after @benoitrichaud and I finished choreographing them. Over the course of the last year, these programs have come to mean something special to me for a number of reasons. So, I want to share them because of how hard I fought all year to perform them in competition. I want to share them because of how much thought and effort Benoit and I put into creating them. But mostly, I want to share them because I loved training these programs and skating them made me feel happy and hopeful.
I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed skating them every day.
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Her SP to "Restrictus" by Mario Batkovic: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcK4olwgAds/
 
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Sylvia said:
Earlier today (April 10), Bradie Tennell posted links to her 2021-22 programs as skated in practice last year (Brig, Switzerland in May 2021) - her FS to "Nuvole Bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcK5FW0g8Hk/

Her SP to "Restrictus" by Mario Batkovic: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcK4olwgAds/
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What beautiful programs, and even though she didn't jump her movement has improved so incredibly. I'm even sorrier now that she wasn't able to show these programs, and I hope that somehow she finally heals enough that she can put them out in competition. At her best, she might have given Kaori a run for her money this year.
 
I'm trying to understand why Bradie posted these videos. Is she not planning to compete next season? Or, is she planning to compete but with other programs? These programs clearly have potential, but I would think she would want to debut them when they were more complete and perfected.
 
layman said:
Has there been any official word on Pooja Kalyan (2018 silver medalist) or Ting Cui (bronze medalist)? I no longer see them on any USFSA team envelopes.
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Pooja Kalyan was listed originally in USFS' International Selection Pool (not team envelopes) at the beginning of the season (IIRC, she competed a Senior SP at the Broadmoor Open in June 2021). She started college at Brown University this past fall and registered for, but did not compete in, any Championship Series qualifying season competitions last year.
Ting Cui was not in the ISP this past season but did compete in 2 CS competitions, though she did not qualify for 2022 Nationals. She started college at Middlebury in Vermont earlier this year and has participated in intercollegiate team competition(s).
We'll have to wait and see if either one shows up at a club competition in the coming months.

There are 40 women currently listed in USFS' ISP (39 after Alysa Liu's name is removed) -- the list has been updated since 2022 Nationals and I've reordered the names by level and 2022 Nationals placement below:

Competed Senior in 2021-22:
Alysa Liu S-wd from Nationals/Olympics 7th/Worlds 3rd
Mariah Bell S1/Olympics 10th/Worlds 4th
Karen Chen S2/Olympics 16th/Worlds 8th
Isabeau Levito S3/Junior Worlds this week
Gabriella Izzo S4/4CC 8th
Lindsay Thorngren S5/Challenge Cup S2/Junior Worlds this week
Audrey Shin S6/4CC 4th
Kate Wang S7
Hanna Harrell S8
Starr Andrews S9/4CC 9th
Gracie Gold S10
Jill Heiner S11 (new addition to ISP after 2022 Nationals)
Rena Ikenishi S13
Wren Warne-Jacobsen S14 (new addition to ISP after 2022 Nationals)
Bradie Tennell S-wd
Amber Glenn S-wd
Finley Hawk S-wd
Alena Budko (Nationals Sr. alternate from PC section)
Maryn Pierce
Paige Rydberg

Competed Junior in 2021-22:
Clare Seo J1 at Nationals/Junior Worlds this week
Ava Ziegler J2
Josephine Lee J3
Katie Shen CS-N1/J4/Challenge Cup J8 (new addition to ISP after 2022 Nationals)
Elyce Lin-Gracey CS-N2/J5/Challenge Cup J5
Mia Kalin J6
Adele Zheng J7
Elsa Cheng J8
Hannah Herrera J9/Egna J2 (returned to ISP after Nationals)
Abigail Ross J10 (new addition to ISP)
Sarah Everhardt J11/Egna J7
Gwen Bloesch J12 (new addition to ISP)
Sonia Baram CS-N3/J13 (new addition to ISP) - she's also in the Pairs ISP with Daniel Tioumentsev (2022 U.S. Junior Pairs gold)
Katie Krafchik J14 (new addition to ISP)
Hannah Lofton J15 (returned to ISP after Nationals)
Hazel Collier J17 (new addition to ISP)

Competed Novice in 2021-22 (all new additions to ISP):
Giselle Graves
Tia Hilbelink
Ellie Kam (she also competes in Junior Pairs with Ian Meyh - they WD after the Junior SP at 2022 Nationals)
Phoebe Stubblefield
 
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Allskate said:
I'm trying to understand why Bradie posted these videos. Is she not planning to compete next season? Or, is she planning to compete but with other programs? These programs clearly have potential, but I would think she would want to debut them when they were more complete and perfected.
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She’s never repeated a program… maybe she’s getting new ones for next season. Some skaters like to train new material each year.
 
Jayar said:
Does this mean that Sierra Venetta has retired? She is the only one not in the ISP from 2022 Nats.
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I checked Sierra's Instagram account but saw nothing there about her plans -- hopefully she will post an update in the near future (ETA: I've heard she plans to continue skating but likely not competing to qualify for Nationals next year, for example, but we'll see.).

Venetta, Kate Wang and Polina Edmunds are among those scheduled to perform in the Skating Club of San Francisco's 90th anniversary celebration gala on May 7: https://scsf.org/2022-gala-tickets/

Fan Zone article on Clare Seo (doesn't mention she won the 2020 South Korean Junior national title before returning to the country of her birth) who is making her Junior Worlds debut this week in Tallinn:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com

U.S. Junior Champion Clare Seo Sets Sights on Clean Routines at World Junior Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

The United States has long been known as a melting pot. People move from all over the globe in pursuit of the American dream. This is especially true in figure skating.
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com
 
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I am very proud of what the US women achieved at Junior Worlds.

Isabeau Levito (Gold Medal) has some lovely qualities in her skating. She was the only skater that I saw here who really listened to her music and used the music to make choreographic points. I think her artistry saved her and she was able to eke out the win just like she eked out her jumps. I do think that she has a lot to work on though. Her jump technique scares me. The way she wrenches with her arms and back to gain lift in the jumps (and then drops her back in the landings) reminds me of Medvedeva's technique. It's not strong technique. It won't last past puberty (as we saw from Medvedeva, Lipnitskaya and countless others with this technique). I thought South Korea's Jia Shin had (much) stronger jump technique and I agree with the judges giving her 1st in the free over Levito (even though Levito took the overall based on the strength of her artistry and her short program).

I was very impressed by the fight that Lindsay Thorngren (Bronze medal) showed in her free skate at Junior worlds. She has such beautiful, natural spring in her jumps and she jumps with her legs (rather than with her upper body). She has jump technique that will last. I also felt like she did better with the artistic elements of her skating than I have ever seen from her before. I am really proud of both of the American women.
 
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So proud and happy for Isabeau and Lindsey. Great job by both….and Clare too. All three have super bright futures if they are willing to buckle down and work hard to keep improving. Exciting!!!! Maybe I won’t miss Alysa as much as I was thinking.

Obviously Isabeau skated very conservatively in the free. Hopefully this will give her experience when she is in the lead to not hold back and to go for it. I’m so happy to see a skater with great artistry coming up the ranks again. Can’t wait to see how she grows and improves. I’ve sure missed my gal Sasha Cohen!!

Lindsey also gets better all the time. She performed better than I’ve seen her to date. Love her skating too. She has so much promise as well.

Congrats to both making the podium in a stacked field!
 
2022 Junior Worlds final day recap:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Team USA Earns Three Medals on Final Day of World Junior Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Team USA brought home three medals, including two golds, on the final day of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia.
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com

GOLD Isabeau LEVITO USA 206.55 1 2 (72.50 SP, 134.05 FS)

BRONZE Lindsay THORNGREN USA 199.42 (new ISU PB) 4 3 (66.14 SP, 133.28 FS new PB)

6 Clare SEO USA 182.81 (new ISU PB) 10 5 (60.61 SP, 122.20 FS new ISU PB)

Isabeau Levito's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxVu3uVMeI
Levito's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDKFflMxH4g

Lindsay Thorngren's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7JHX7SJHA

Clare Seo's 5th place FS (#15 of 24) starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfSFX68smOk&t=8690s
 
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Sylvia said:
2022 Junior Worlds final day recap:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Team USA Earns Three Medals on Final Day of World Junior Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Team USA brought home three medals, including two golds, on the final day of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia.
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com

GOLD Isabeau LEVITO USA 206.55 1 2 (72.50 SP, 134.05 FS)

BRONZE Lindsay THORNGREN USA 199.42 (new ISU PB) 4 3 (66.14 SP, 133.28 FS new PB)

6 Clare SEO USA 182.81 (new ISU PB) 10 5 (60.61 SP, 122.20 FS new ISU PB)

Isabeau Levito's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxVu3uVMeI
Levito's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDKFflMxH4g

Lindsay Thorngren's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7JHX7SJHA

Clare Seo's 5th place FS (#15 of 24) starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfSFX68smOk&t=8690s
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I love watching Seo skate but she reminds me so much of Karen Chen. Beautiful to watch, but her jumps need re-working...
 
Sylvia said:
2022 Junior Worlds final day recap:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Team USA Earns Three Medals on Final Day of World Junior Championships - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Team USA brought home three medals, including two golds, on the final day of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia.
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com

GOLD Isabeau LEVITO USA 206.55 1 2 (72.50 SP, 134.05 FS)

BRONZE Lindsay THORNGREN USA 199.42 (new ISU PB) 4 3 (66.14 SP, 133.28 FS new PB)

6 Clare SEO USA 182.81 (new ISU PB) 10 5 (60.61 SP, 122.20 FS new ISU PB)

Isabeau Levito's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxVu3uVMeI
Levito's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDKFflMxH4g

Lindsay Thorngren's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7JHX7SJHA

Clare Seo's 5th place FS (#15 of 24) starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfSFX68smOk&t=8690s
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Nice summary article on NBC Sports
olympics.nbcsports.com

Isabeau Levito digs out final piece of U.S. gold rush at World Junior skating - OlympicTalk | NBC Sports

Joined by brother-sister ice dance team Oona and Gage Brown and Ilia Malinin, Levito's performance gave Team USA three titles for the first time since 2008.
olympics.nbcsports.com olympics.nbcsports.com
 
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Isabeau is a lovely skater but I wish she wasn't packaged like an Eteri girl. The USFSA needs to send her to a jump specialist stat. Now that she's JWC, the hype train will leave the station. It would be very typical of the USFSA to hype her but not address her flaws.

Lindsey has potential. Her jumps look more sustainable. She just needs a bit more polish.
 
coppertop1 said:
Isabeau is a lovely skater but I wish she wasn't packaged like an Eteri girl. The USFSA needs to send her to a jump specialist stat. Now that she's JWC, the hype train will leave the station. It would be very typical of the USFSA to hype her but not address her flaws.

Lindsey has potential. Her jumps look more sustainable. She just needs a bit more polish.
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I was going to say that Isabeau muscles her difficult jumps a bit like an Eteri pupil, but her overall packaging is much better. She still understands movement / choreo much more than the average Eteri pupil
 
Yeah, I don’t really see anything in Isabeau’s packaging that screams Eteri. So much to like about her skating, and already some world class qualities. I like her spunk, too. She does soft and pretty very well and I love watching her programs like that, but I think she’s got some sass to her and I’d love to see something that shows it off next year.

But those jumps….would love to be wrong, but I don’t see the technique getting fixed. The time to do so would have been three years ago. Now, as was mentioned, the hype machine has left the station and rarely does anyone stop at this point long enough to truly breakdown and rebuild technique.

I know she can do the jumps better than she demonstrated at junior worlds, but long term, I’m not sure how far she can stretch the current technique.
 
olympic said:
I was going to say that Isabeau muscles her difficult jumps a bit like an Eteri pupil, but her overall packaging is much better. She still understands movement / choreo much more than the average Eteri pupil
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Agreed. Isabeau has such a sensitivity to the music and really has such great phrasing which I’ve never seen from an Eteri skater. But yeah, her jumps are a big problem and I can see her having problems with her back in the future if she doesn’t get that technique fixed.
 
coppertop1 said:
Isabeau is a lovely skater but I wish she wasn't packaged like an Eteri girl. The USFSA needs to send her to a jump specialist stat. Now that she's JWC, the hype train will leave the station. It would be very typical of the USFSA to hype her but not address her flaws.

Lindsey has potential. Her jumps look more sustainable. She just needs a bit more polish.
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Lindsey has a lot more power to her skating and jumps in comparison to Isabeau for sure. I do like how Isabeau appears to be connecting with the judges though.
 
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