2017-18 State of U.S. Ladies Skating
- Thread starter R.D.
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
Not when Eteri has all of those amazing juniors alongside Zhenya, Polina, and Alina!!
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
I don't think it matters. Unless something drastic changes, none of our women will go into Nationals and be able to make the team without a top 3 finish. Not one has an impressive body of work when factoring in both good and bad finishes.
Well... Eteri girls are different. They’re have nerves made of steel. And they know if they don’t perform they will be replaced in a second.
I mostly agree that a top 3 finish at Nationals is pretty much required for the ladies. If one of them pulls out a medal at the GPF, then that could outweigh a top 3 finish at Nationals potentially. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.
...unless someone like Caroline Zhang sneaks in there, then I can see the "exception" rule being invoked for one of the others with more recent international experience.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
...unless someone like Caroline Zhang sneaks in there, then I can see the "exception" rule being invoked for one of the others with more recent international experience.
Caroline has skated well a few times at Nationals in recent years and couldn't get on the podium, so it would have to be a very poorly skated event for that to happen. It's not out of the question, but she gets really low PCS and hardly any GOE for her clean jumps. The top contenders would have to each have several falls to be caught by Caroline.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
I agree and it's a sad commentary on our Ladies. It's not just the placements, it's the bad execution of their programs. Especially Mariah.. IMO, she kept the wrong program. Maybe if we get a chance to see her skate it perfectly, I'll change my mind. At this point, I miss East Of Eden. Angela Wang, Bradie Tennel, and Starr are all very talented and if they skate well at Nats, I hope the USFSA will let the scores stand and not send a skater who doesn't bring it on the night.
- Joined
- May 20, 2015
I am probably in the minority here, but I'm in the camp that thinks that U.S. Nationals should be treated as the "Olympic Trials" like swimming and track & field does and you either make the team with that performance or you don't. I think that's one of the reasons why the U.S. does so well in swimming and track & field at the Olympics/worlds (plus that both sports are so popular and the talent pool is insane).
See what I responded to jimini above. But being that USFS has said they are considering "the body of work" - no way will Wang, Tennel, and Starr go to the Olympics unless they finish at least 2nd at U.S. Nationals AND those below them have some BAD skates. Basically, it has to be what Polina did in 2014 - and Polina even did well in the JGP that fall.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
I doubt that Starr or Angela will be sent to the Olympics, but if bradie does well at SA and at nationals she might get a ticket. Maybe. I’m not a bradie fan, but oh well. Are there any other wildcards who could make the team? Nope.
Mariah’s program is a mess and a half, and she seems pleased with herself even when she just does a mostly clean performance .....
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
I doubt that Starr or Angela will be sent to the Olympics, but if bradie does well at SA and at nationals she might get a ticket. Maybe. I’m not a bradie fan, but oh well. Are there any other wildcards who could make the team? Nope.
Mariah’s program is a mess and a half, and she seems pleased with herself even when she just does a mostly clean performance .....
The only other wildcard I can think of is Courtney Hicks. In the past I had hopes for Vivian Le but she seems to be fading. No other skaters come to mind.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
US ladies will be lucky to make the GPF, let alone medal. A GPF medal would be incredible, and can and should result in an Olympic spot. GP series is wayyyyyy deeper than it was 4 years ago when Ashley made it and medaled.
But I doubt anyone will have a good enough body of work this season to override Nationals results.
If Bradie skates well at Skate America, she could position herself favorably going into Nationals. Judges will be more inclined to be generous with PCS if she's shown that it isn't a fluke when she skates clean.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
Do any of you think that Polina and Gracie will be prepared when Nationals rolls around? Other than Ashley and Mirai, they're the only ones who have any real international experience.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
Definitely not Gracie. Maybe Polina. Mariah will also have some international experience (and her LP isn't great, but it's way better than it was the last time we saw it). Bradie will have Skate America and some senior Bs. Courtney Hicks and Angela Wang are potential dark horses with plenty of international experience.
It'd be nice to see a semi-nobody really deliver at Nationals and then send that semi-nobody to the Olympics like we did with Polina last time around, but there's really no one on who comes to mind. Polina had an impressive resume at the junior level - no one does now, really. Starr gets hype, but she's not technically or artistically at the level of a senior lady, and isn't a top junior internationally, either.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
Nope. I don't. I think the top contenders going into nationals are Ashley (if she fixes her UR issues) Mirai (if she fixes her URs and her PCS improvements) Mariah (if she can clean up her performances) Karen (if she fixes her consistency and UR issues) and Bradie (if she gains some momentum at SA). Those are all big if questions and things that aren't providing much hope to me right now. (My honorable mentions: Angela Wang and Caroline Zhang) The US needs a miracle right now, and nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
This season is kind of like 2008. We had no truly competitive ladies that year and our top finisher was Kimmie Meissner who placed 9th in the SP and 12th in the LP. Other skaters bombed and she ended up in 7th. It was a bad year for her considering that was 1st in 06 and 4th in 07. The next US Lady in 08 was Bibi Liang who finished in 10th. Ashley Wagner there and placed a distant 16th. We lost our 3 spots that year and if things don't change, I think we might be heading for a repeat of that dismal year.
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2017
Oh for sure, I think we'll lose our three spots. It's sad but it's also merited...
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
I'm inclined to agree with this. We lucked out last year - Karen rose to the occasion, and other favorites (Anna, Maria, Carolina) really underperformed. In the end, the US kept three spots and Japan lost one. Meanwhile, Japan has at least three (maybe four) ladies who are serious Olympic medal threats - Mai, Wakaba, Marin, and Satoko, whose form is still unknown - and the US has.....an outside shot of Ashley or Karen winning bronze if enough other skaters bomb.
On the other hand, spots happen at Worlds, not the Olympics. It's definitely possible that enough top contenders could skip Worlds and/or be completely exhausted by then. But the US ladies will be exhausted by then, too.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
If that happens, I hope it serves as a wake up call for the USFSA. We're a strong and wealthy country and there's simply no reason that we haven't had a World Champion since Kimmie in 2006!!!! Even then, most people thought it was a fluke.
