2018 US Championships Sr. Pairs SP

[el henry]

My gal Deanna! My homie Nate! :agree:

 

[gold12345]

Great skate from Deanna & Nate, but again, I find that TES too high relative to the Knierims. You have to differentiate between outstanding triple twists and mediocre ones, as well as big throws vs small throws.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Oh please with the settling for mediocre. And saying 'that's all they needed to do." Not in my book. Knierims are over-scored obviously. They would not get near that high score internationally for that sp effort. The only thing that makes them better is being favored with a top coach, and being around long enough to improve on some polishing and fine-tuning. Their biggest weapon is their quad-twist, triple twist elements, thanks to Delilah coming from a high flying trapeze circus family, and knowing how to train pairs lifts and throw twist elements for maximum quality.



Of course the Knierims are favored. It's nice for them going in to know the stakes aren't that high for them at Nationals. I wish some other teams would throw down and at least make this more interesting. K/O were decent in their comeback from her injury. K/O's throw twist is not strong though, and they performed a less difficult throw. The judges have kept K/O back far enough

But please neither Knierims nor Kayne/O'Shea are locks for beating #2 and #3 Canadian teams (no matter whether M-T/M, S/B or I/M). Sure they can be competitive with those three teams, but I don't see K/O necessarily beating any of them, and Knierims possibly might, but they wouldn't necessarily beat I/M and S/B at their absolute best. Knierims did not beat I/M at Worlds in 2017, and that's a fact. And Knierims only just got ahead of injury comeback S/B by four points. Plus, Knierims were behind the yukky Marchei/Hotarek. The second Italian team are much improved and could be highly competitive. The boring third Russians are often given gift points. All 3 Chinese teams are highly competitive and could be in front of Knierims or if not at least 2 Chinese are bound to be in front of the Knierims. The French team J/C have great programs and have performed consistently well this season. The top two Russian teams for sure will top Knierims unless S/K have serious issues.

Knierims will be lucky to improve on their Worlds 10th place. If they get back a solid quad-twist (which is their main weapon), it would help them. There's no reason right now to think any of our teams are going to be very competitive in the deep international pairs field. It's going to take awhile, because U.S. pairs do not have good rep internationally. Rep wasn't high to begin with, but it's taken a greater hit over the last couple of years, with our teams' injuries and struggling for form while the pairs division is moving ahead at a rapid pace.

I think this is pretty spot on. And the audience is really making these pairs seem better than they are.

Competent is competent is competent.

Let's keep a sense of perspective here. I'm glad, for instance, for Deanna and Nate but that was a competent program.

 

[Lissy]

Amanda Evora gets even prettier every year. It's not fair.

 

[gold12345]

I thought Stellato/Bartholomay were stronger than Kayne and O'Shea. Kayne and O'Shea's twist isn't clean, and is even lower/more poorly rotated. And while Stellato/Bartholomay's throw wasn't great, it is better than doing a throw salchow, which is just weak at this level of competition.

 

[Mathman]

Amanda Evora gets even prettier every year. It's not fair.

Is she coaching someone?

 

[TCAngel18]

Is she coaching someone?

I think she’s part of Jim Petersen’s team.

 

[SnowWhite]

It was nice to see Deanna and Nate have a good skate. They seemed very happy, and I enjoyed that.

 

[BravesSkateFan]

Is she coaching someone?

She works with Jim Petersen. So Stellato/Bartholmay etc.

 

[gold12345]

But please neither Knierims nor Kayne/O'Shea are locks for beating #2 and #3 Canadian teams

The Knierims have been very competitive with the #2-#4 Canadian pairs in recent years. Kayne/O'Shea aren't competitive with them at all at this point unless perhaps they really bomb. But even if someone like Lubov/Dylan skated poorly, they'd still be likely to generate enough points to beat K/O.

 

[skylark]

Deanna and Nate really Created a Moment. You know ... when the audience gives a standing ovation ... that they were feeling what I was feeling, watching from thousands of miles distant.

Deanna looked on the verge of tears of joy at several points during the program. After they've struggled all through the season, what a fabulous experience for them. They nailed everything, got all green lights throughout. I do wish they'd work on their throw jumps. But that lift is one of my favorites in the whole pairs disciplines ... and with more variations, it's even better in the FS!

 

[el henry]

I don’t care if Deanna and Nate can’t beat the Outer Mongolian Junior Silver team. They did great here, they are so happy, Deanna was gracious to me when I spoke with her (ETA: at a summer comp, not here, I wish!) and Nate hails from Newtown, PA, where my sister has lived for 30 plus years.

They rock:gclap:

 

[WeakAnkles]

Is it just cynical me or are other people just turned off by "inspriational" music? Don't raise me up. Go away.

Nothing personal Jessica and Joshua. That was uhm competent.

 

[labgoat]

Pfund & Santillan have caught my eye as a pair to watch. I hope they score high enough to get assigned internationally for the experience.

 

[skylark]

Joshua Santillan.:luv17: He has such charisma and beautiful carriage. I love to see that kind of commitment to form and presence from a pairs man!

 

[SarahSynchro]

Lubov and Dylan calling from Canada, they want their Phil Colins music back.

 

[bobbob]

Perhaps the judges were sending SK/K a message...get those SBS jumps together...because we have other quality teams nipping on your heels?... And yes there are more major elements in a pairs program than a SBS jump OR gorgeous twist. The twist and jumps likely evened out the tech score.

The fact is we do not have other quality teams nipping at SK/K, so why send a false message? MAYBE if Denney and Fraizer were clean they could score similarly to a very messy SK/K. And even if the twist and jumps balanced out (though I think the difference in twist is greater than the difference in SBS), all of SK/K's other elements were stronger.

Deanna and Nate were also VERY overscored. Even if the judges have NO ability to tell quality of skating...did they see the kinds of scores Deanna and Nate got at Skate America for a clean skate that was at least as strong....a 57....what is going on???

 

[Button's Niece]

Where's the Miami Vice pastel costuming for "In the Air Tonight" ?
Okay, maybe not.

 

[charmblade]

It's so good to see Max Settlage again! And that was pretty impressive for a new pair where she's never done this discipline.

 

[labgoat]

Lubov and Dylan calling from Canada, they want their Phil Colins music back.

Perhaps the Americans were inspired by Lubov & Dylan, they should be flattered.