2016 US Nationals Senior Ladies FP

[badknees]

Gracie scalping poor Polina like: http://data.whicdn.com/images/90030908/large.jpg

She needed this for Boston. Now she just needs to not psych herself out.

Ashley seemed pretty cool and collected but also a little complacent which bums me out because ilh and want her to podium at wrolds before she retires.

Yes, I agree with this. Raf's reaction didn't help. She was ok when she got off the ice and he then took the wind out of her sails and brought her right down. I'm not sure about Raf as a coach. That kinda pissed me off.
Get mad at her behind the scenes but not in kiss and cry.

 

[topaz emerald]

I know right? Figure skating is so political and in many ways unfair, but then again. I question whether I would enjoy watching it as much if the politics were nonexistent. Ironic, huh?

Yup....for any sport that depends on judging, it's hard to be objective. Everyone is biased. I will admit, even though the russian pair elena berenzhaya and anton sikarulidze messed up on their combo jump in the beginning of their program, if I were a judge, I still would have given them the gold medal because I enjoyed watching their programs more than the Canadian team of Sale and Pelletier. This judging is what it is

 

[shiroKJ]

Yes, I agree with this. Raf's reaction didn't help. She was ok when she got off the ice and he then took the wind out of her sails and brought her right down. I'm not sure about Raf as a coach. That kinda pissed me off.
Get mad at her behind the scenes but not in kiss and cry.

Raf's reaction threw me off tbh, it was so awkward for everyone all around. But who knows, some people need that tough love while others prefer softer coaches. Its hard for anyone outside their team to say what dynamic works for them.

 

[frida80]

My thoughts on tonight.

1. Mirai's nearly perfect program!

It's a hard job being the Mirai Fan. After seeing her boot issues on Thursday I just knew this is going to be a disaster today. But she did it! she did a fantastic program with a huge smile on her face! I loved every minute of it. I've never been so happy to be so wrong.

2. Bradie and Tyler

Our future in skating is safe. Both girls did a fantastic job tonight. I'm really proud of their performance.

3. Hannah holds it together.

If you're going watching the season you seen poor Hannah fall apart in her competitions. Tonight she did a great job. Yes she said some under rotations. But at least she's making some progress.

4. Gracie's come back

That was a great competition. All of us just knew that Polina had won and Gracie was going to bomb this long program. We know that Gracie did not have competitive nerves and gets into her head. Boy were we wrong. I see this is a step in the right direction. Gracie's going to focus her energy into delivering programs. Because she clearly is a fantastic skater but just needs to focus and believe it. I was practically jumping up-and-down and excitement. She really did a great long tonight. I hope she can carry that energy into worlds.

 

[NAOTMAA]

Raphael almost at times seems over Ashley if that makes any sense. He's fed up with her for making mistakes over and over in competition despite practicing well. But unless Ashley dumps him he'll probably hold on until she retires simply because she's still his top student.

Although objectively you could argue Mirai should have beaten her in all three phases. Its just the USFSA love that kept her on top.

 

[Bumdid]

Slightly OT: But can someone tell Gracie to stop doing that bow where she's flapping her arms behind her back after she finished skating? It kinda look silly tbh

 

[auser]

Tennell was fun to watch. She seemed to really enjoy her free skate.

 

[Mathman]

To West Coasters: I don't want to spoil anything, but have you got a treat ahead of you!

I want to jet to the West Coast so I can see it all again. :yes:

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Tennell was fun to watch. She seemed to really enjoy her free skate.

I haven't seen any footage yet but her programs the last few years were packed with interesting content like back to back Walleys in both direction, unique spins, and unusual entrances. When she's on she's a little spark plug and usually smiling almost to a fault. I watched her closely at Skate Detroit.

Hopefully she does better on the JGP next year as I'm assuming that's where she'll be.

 

[KwanIsALegend]

I see people on Twitter saying 'what a great night of figure skating!' Honestly, I'm not feeling it. I am happy Gracie won even though I wanted Ashley to win but at least she is in thrid.
I just didn't get all that excited about anyone's skate tonight. For Ashley I was on pins and needles for every jump and I could tell she was tight and tense. It took away from her performance. She id not match her FS from last years Nationals at all.
Polina, sorry but to me, IMHO she doesn't really skate to the music, the music is in the background and she is skating but the two never meet.
Gracie, was ok, I am not a fan of Firebird. She doesn't pull me in and her choreography seems awkward at times.
Mirai was better and seemed into her music though the music cuts were kind of annoying.

I don't know, is it all just landing the jumps now? Do a few spins and skate around and then do another jump? ? Is that all it is to win now? It seems that way to me.
I wasn't feeling this magical night of skating that everyone is describing. :noshake:

 

[Sophia_D]

To West Coasters: I don't want to spoil anything, but have you got a treat ahead of you!

I want to jet to the West Coast so I can see it all again. :yes:

Thanks, Mathman. I spoiled it for myself, because if the winner wasn't someone I like, I wasn't going to stay up. But I will be mum.

Hannah Miller skated very well, although "La Boheme" should also be banned. Loved her dress. Tennell is a lot of fun, too, and I also loved her dress. Great costumes thus far.

 

[jersey1302]

Super good to watch the final few ladies of the US Nationals. What a comeback for Gracie. Well deserved win there. Ashley skated fantastic too. My heart just almost stopped when she missed her last jump. But still really good stuff..her determination was so good. Polina also had another record skate for her self so good for her too. Nothing wrong with a national silver medal.

 

[Crossover]

I see people on Twitter saying 'what a great night of figure skating!' Honestly, I'm not feeling it. I am happy Gracie won even though I wanted Ashley to win but at least she is in thrid.
I just didn't get all that excited about anyone's skate tonight. For Ashley I was on pins and needles for every jump and I could tell she was tight and tense. It took away from her performance. She id not match her FS from last years Nationals at all.
Polina, sorry but to me, IMHO she doesn't really skate to the music, the music is in the background and she is skating but the two never meet.
Gracie, was ok, I am not a fan of Firebird. She doesn't pull me in and her choreography seems awkward at times.
Mirai was better and seemed into her music though the music cuts were kind of annoying.

I don't know, is it all just landing the jumps now? Do a few spins and skate around and then do another jump? ? Is that all it is to win now? It seems that way to me.
I wasn't feeling this magical night of skating that everyone is describing. :noshake:

Honestly, the poor SP competition really lowered my or anyone's expectation in general, so the FS competition looked dramatic.

 

[Krislite]

I see people on Twitter saying 'what a great night of figure skating!' Honestly, I'm not feeling it. I am happy Gracie won even though I wanted Ashley to win but at least she is in thrid.
I just didn't get all that excited about anyone's skate tonight. For Ashley I was on pins and needles for every jump and I could tell she was tight and tense. It took away from her performance. She id not match her FS from last years Nationals at all.
Polina, sorry but to me, IMHO she doesn't really skate to the music, the music is in the background and she is skating but the two never meet.
Gracie, was ok, I am not a fan of Firebird. She doesn't pull me in and her choreography seems awkward at times.
Mirai was better and seemed into her music though the music cuts were kind of annoying.

I don't know, is it all just landing the jumps now? Do a few spins and skate around and then do another jump? ? Is that all it is to win now? It seems that way to me.
I wasn't feeling this magical night of skating that everyone is describing. :noshake:

The bar has been set very low. It's no lights-out Michelle-Kwan-skates-clean type of US Nationals back in the 90's, but in this day and age this is probably the best it gets.

 

[semosk8tfan]

After the awful short programs, I was scared going into the free and some of the early ladies didn't exactly inspire confidence but the final flight really brought their "a" games and it was a delight. Still in shock that 1) Gracie skated a clean program because I expected her to bomb and 2) she overcame Polina, because I thought if Polina skated clean she had it in the bag. Just goes to show what I know!!

It is mean, but I am kind of glad Polina didn't win because I really don't like her Gone with the Wind program and I didn't want to see that costume on the USFS banner for the next year. In the short she is a beautiful young woman and in the free she looks like a little girl playing dress up. Her team really needs to work on her packaging.

Ashley: all I can say is LUTZ and please do two clean programs in Boston

Marai: What a performance, especially as John Coughlin put it, she did it skating in 1 1/2 boots!

 

[Ruffles78]

Wow. What a great night.

I am proud of Mirai! Aaaah. I was upset because I felt they held her down in the short, but I'm just really happy she skated so well. I wanted her to be at her best, and she delivered....and to do all that with a wonky boot? Very gutsy. She looked beautiful tonight, too. She is just so adorable. I hope she gets to go to Four Continents.

I was impressed with Ashley even with the pop on the lutz. Once I saw her hit the first combo, I knew she would nail it. That's a very inspiring program for her and I bet she'll nail it at Worlds, too. I'm very concerned about the short program, though.

Polina's short was really good and I was impressed even as a non-fan. I really didn't enjoy the long program in any way. I give her credit for being able to pull a great championship and really improve, though.

Gracie was awesome, and I'm really glad she finally pulled off a clean program. It's been a long time coming for her. A clean short and long should beat everyone else at the World Championships. (unless Mao absolutely skates a blinder in both programs.) Gracie is a better skater overall than the Russian girls. (Of course, I'm talking clean programs.)

If Gracie and Ashley both skated to the best of their ability in both segments, they could both podium with the American crowd on their side. I don't think Polina can. The international judges will be harsher on her technically, and the support in PCS wont be there.

I hope Ashley and Gracie both forgo Four Continents and build back up for Worlds. The only one who could really use the mileage is Polina. If she skates lights out there, it could give her more credit internatinally, and she might get a PCS bump.

Gracie and Ashley should get together and skate their short programs back to back in competition with eachother every day. Maybe they'd both get over their mental issues.

 

[hippomoomin]

I noticed Mirai's body change early this season too. And for that very reason, her movements look much sharper and her overall presence is more lovely. I think lots of girls gain unnecessary weight around 15-17 and then get back to normal. Liza is an example, and even Zijun Li looked a little bulky when she turned 16, and then get trimmer later. Tyler also looked trimmer this season.

I don't get the music edit to Mirai skated, but she looked so cute in the costume with the theme (love her hairband). I think she lost a large amount of weight, so her movements looked much lighter than before this season. It was good to see her stand on the podium.

 

[NaVi]

Gracie's flip this year, Evgenia Lutz's at Russian Nationals,

These are not equivalent. Evgenia's Lutz at Russian nationals was not a definitive e(and I saw a fancam of it looking right at it) and at full speed(which is what the tech panel uses) it's very easy to give her the benefit of the doubt. She also does only one of them. Gracie on the other hand does two of them, does them slowly, and usually does not even get on an inside edge to ever pretend that it was even good.

 

[auser]

To West Coasters: I don't want to spoil anything, but have you got a treat ahead of you!

I want to jet to the West Coast so I can see it all again. :yes:

Thanks for the West Coast support . The good thing about the broadcast delay is that I don't have to worry about jinxing the skater's performances .

 

[withwings]

Raf's reaction threw me off tbh, it was so awkward for everyone all around. But who knows, some people need that tough love while others prefer softer coaches. Its hard for anyone outside their team to say what dynamic works for them.

It seems to me that Raphael is not able to give any psychological help to his skaters. If he would be able to uplift Ashley's spirit, to address her psychological issues, then Ashley would not have faltered her short neither in this competition, nor in any outer competition. Nicks was perfect for her. A girl does everything she can, but there are psychological issues, which coach has to know how to address. My English is bad so I do not if expressed myself clearly- sorry. Yes, I have noticed Raphael's helplessness to feel Ashley ( on TV of course) few years ago, when he called her a chicken, when all what she needed was an encouragement and understanding. It seems that there is no one her team who would be able to address her mental/psychological issues (she, for example, sounds so overly defensive before competitions and waste a lot energy in this). Her determination, independence though are unbelievable. By the way, Tatiana Tarasova loves Ashley skating.