2018-19 U.S. Pairs' Figure Skating | Golden Skate

2018-19 U.S. Pairs' Figure Skating

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Country
United-States
I'm interested in talking about U.S. Pairs,:luv17: and I'm hoping that this will find some others who are also interested.

I guess taking into account the season so far, most people would consider the top three contenders going into Nationals to be Alexa Scimeca Knierim/ Chris Knierim, Ashley Cain/ Timothy Leduc, and Tarah Kayne/ Danny O'Shea.

What are your predictions or preferences for who will medal, skate clean, skate their best, or unexpectedly make a splash at Nationals? And why? Whose programs do you really love, regardless of whether you think they'll be competing them at their top form? Which new pairs are you most interested in seeing

Will Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier surprise everyone and make a good run for it? The judges seem to be unwilling to give them their due in PCS, in my opinion ... they're such beautiful skaters; do you think US judges will give them some help this way? And under what conditions?

Will Deanna Stellato /Nathan Bartholomay come on strong after their season of struggle? They seem to do very well and be motivated at Nationals.

What do you think of Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov? I'm really impressed by them. They seem to have opposite strengths at the moment; Audrey strikes me as being very focused on the technical side; while Misha seems to pay more attention to performance quality than Audrey does, at present at least. I love that Russian pairs' man feel/look that Misha has; I love his smile and I really like how he pays attention to presenting her while upholding his expression and performance.

Jessica Calalang / Brian Johnson? Do you think they're a better fit together than they were with their previous partners?

Winter Deardorff / Max Settlage? (I haven't seen them skate & can't seem to come up with a question about them)

Olivia Serafini / Mervin Tran? Could they make a strong Brand New Pair showing?

Chelsea Liu / Ian Meyh? Nica Digerness / Danny Neudecker?

Please talk about these or any other pairs that you want to talk about.

ETA: Help! How can I get a US Flag into the title of this thread, I ask rather belatedly? :bed:
 

Nathan13

Medalist
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
I'm still holding out hope for Smith/Reiss. They have such great potential and I would love for them to get some international assignments.
 

Shani

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Lu and Mitrofanov are young and have time to develop and get experience. They have longterm promise as a team. For the rest they need to land their jumps.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
I hope Feng/Nyman are in good health for Nats. :yay:

Curious whether Jacob Simon will be back at next year's Nats?
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
I don't mean any disrespect, but I think Haven and Denney have been sort of "ho hum" the last couple of seasons. I realize she was injured but their programs didn't inspire any "wows" to me. Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea have the goods but need to be more consistent. I still really, really like the Knierems and hope that the coaching change will give them the goose they need to compete successfully internationally (assuming they get past Nats) Alexa is fearless and Chris presents her beautifully. But then there's those pesky triples neither of them seem to be able to land. Stellato and Bartholomay have the "wouldn't that be nice" feelings but again - not very thrilling. Basically we have a lot of new pairings - yet again - with no history together and an uphill battle. Welcome to US Pairs.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
I love, love, love Chris and Alexa. That quad twist! (which I know they aren't doing this year, but still). Alexa is my spirit animal and they interact so beautifully together. Those pesky SBS, though, ugh. They seem to have improved substantially between their GP assignments even. I'm no expert on judging pairs, I can tell simple things like when a twist is executed well or not. But I love them. I love their story. I love that she came back from almost dying to skate again. I love that she gets so excited and emotional. I loved them at the Olympics. I also like Haven & Denney but a far bit behind Chris and Alexa. Sorry, I just tend to become fans of whoever grabs me. I've never even seen Deardorff /Settlage unless they skated at Nationals in KC, where I watched everyone, but if I did see them it made no impression. The only thing I've heard about him is he sometimes does drawings for people instead of autographs. I love Deanna Stellato's backstory, but their skating so far does not impress.

I'd say lets send them all to John Nicks (who coached our last World Championship team in 1979!!!) but isn't he like 1,000 years old now?
 

s_parks

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Looks like Szolkowy is moving to the US to work with Meno and Sands' team. Curious to see if he and the Knierims will be a good match- next season should be interesting.
 

Metis

Shepherdess of the Teal Deer
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Welcome to US Pairs.

:laugh2:

It’s all true! I think the Knierems are the only team that have the potential to finish in the top 10 at Worlds this season, even higher in later seasons. The rest of our senior teams... are either not ready for the final or even second to last flight or just not going to improve to the point of being internationally competitive. I admit I am not familiar with the younger and/or newer teams, only the seniors.
 

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
I hope it's okay to contribute even though I'm not a US citizen and hail from The Netherlands. I don't know exactly why but Tarah and Dany's second GP skate just gripped me. I suppose it was because of their connection and seeing them so pleased with each other at what they achieved. I also like the Knierims a lot, while Ashley and Tim are great as well, also in the way they connect. I hope Ashley and Tim will be okay next week as their last outing was horrifying for both. It's a real shame there's only one placement at Worlds.
 

Metis

Shepherdess of the Teal Deer
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
I hope it's okay to contribute even though I'm not a US citizen and hail from The Netherlands. I don't know exactly why but Tarah and Dany's second GP skate just gripped me. I suppose it was because of their connection and seeing them so pleased with each other at what they achieved. I also like the Knierims a lot, while Ashley and Tim are great as well, also in the way they connect. I hope Ashley and Tim will be okay next week as their last outing was horrifying for both. It's a real shame there's only one placement at Worlds.

Of course you can contribute! Welcome! :ghug:

I’ve also warmed up to Kayne and O’Shea. (Honestly, I blame autocorrect trying to turn “Kayne” into “Kanye,” and Kanye: World’s Most Selfish Paris Skater will always amuse me.) To be honest, I cannot enjoy Ashley and Tim at all due to how much their lifts scare me, and the fall at Golden Spin... I just can’t, and I honestly feel like a coach or USFSA official or some responsible entity needs to have the “come to Jesus” conversation with them about safety, their technical ceiling, etc.
 

Joubabe

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Country
United-States
I was a fan of Alexa's even before she teamed with Chris. It started when I watched her at 2012 Nationals where she skated great, but her partner made about 3 big errors. She looked so mad in the Kiss N Cry, but just when Peter Carruthers said "Alexa needs to smile now," she lit up the screen with her huge smile. I've loved her ever since and I've grown to love Chris as well. So I'm completely emotionally invested in them. Objectively, I also believe they are our best pair and most likely to place well at Worlds. I hope they've been with their coaching team long enough to skate with confidence at Nationals because I think that's all it will take for them to win because they have the best elements of all our teams.

For me, our next tier would be Kayne & O'Shea and Denney & Frazier. I think Kayne & O’Shea have really improved. I'm most worried about them beating Alexa & Chris because they tend to do well at Nationals. If they win, I think they'll be named to Worlds, which may not be the case for our other teams (except maybe Cain & Leduc.) I think Denney & Frazier are world class, but her injuries plus resulting confidence issues have led to some poor performances these past two seasons. I'd love to see them earn silver this year, but I know it's a stretch.

I like Cain & Leduc, but I haven't become emotionally invested in them, at least not yet. I fear that Ashley's recent injury and presumed loss of training time is going to affect their performance at Nationals.

I really like our new teams of Liu & Mitrofanov and Digerness & Nudecker, but I think both teams need time to develop.

One new team I'm excited to see at Nationals is Calalang & Johnson. They seem to have good skills, and I think they're much better together than they were with their previous partners.
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
Ashley and Tim were fine in terms of safety before her accident. No the lifts weren’t the highest in the world, but they weren’t unsafe either, and that fluke could have happened to anyone:scratch2:

I love that they see themselves as a partnership of equals. And words cannot express how much I adore that SP.

Adore adore adore:love:

But I actually adore almost all the US pairs, for varied and different reasons. I love that they bring something different to the table, stylistically and technically. Looking forward to Nats; a shame only one can go to Worlds.
 

Crossover

All Hail the Queen
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
Whoever will win the Nationals has a mission to take two spots at Worlds back. The Knierims are still the team to be able to do the job. Not that I consider K/O or C/L can't do, but their consistency is relatively unreliable.
 

sheskates

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
What are the chances the Worlds selection isn't announced until after 4 Continents? With no clear front runner (IMO) it would be good to see who can rise to the occasion.
 

SorrySkater

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Regarding Alexa/Chris sbs jump issues: maybe they can work with Arutyunyan, who is now at their rink? That was my first thought when I saw that his team is now at the same rink as Meno/Sand.
 

elbkup

Power without conscience is a savage weapon
Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Country
United-States
Very taken by Digerness and Neudecker and look forward to their performances whatever their placement.. they have a certain something... Of course the Knierims are the absolute best and are my very favorite team :)
 

Eloise14

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
I love the Knierims! My Gordeeva and Grinkov loving heart makes me love any pair that is a couple. That being said, I would still love Alexa and Chris even if they weren't a couple. They just shine. They could be a top world pair if not for their SBS jumps. Their throws are huge. I dream that now since they are in the new rink in Irvine CA, they get Katia Gordeeva to help them with their jumps. I think she lives somewhere near LA and Raf is or was her younger daughters coach. But her and her late husband did beat their new coaches in the 94' Olympics so I dont know if they'd call her lol.

I haven't connected to any other US pair. I'm curious to see Denney and Frasier's new programs since Charlie White choreographed them. Do they no longer work with Marina Zoueva?
 

happycamper2554

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 15, 2018
Regarding Alexa/Chris sbs jump issues: maybe they can work with Arutyunyan, who is now at their rink? That was my first thought when I saw that his team is now at the same rink as Meno/Sand.

Raf is known for having super weird technique. I feel like especially when they have to do it SBS messing with the technique to much is risky. Also it also apparently takes two years to learn Raf's technique which they don't have time for.
 
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