2019-20 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating | Page 21 | Golden Skate

2019-20 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

el henry

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Nate is making a career of helping ladies singles' skaters transition to pairs:clap:

So cute to see all the off-ice training vids.:hap85:
 

skylark

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I can't decide if this post belongs in this thread or in Canadian Skaters thread, but I found it interesting and have some thoughts ... and the "Charlie Bilodeau retires" thread that it came from is now closed.

posted by slider11 at 5:47 pm EDT on 4/23/20

"I know that Mervin Tran is Canadian and has been skating with Olivia Serafini, a US girl, for the last year. I am not into the break-up game but Mervin will struggle to get US citizenship by the next Olympics. Granted, the US will be lucky if they keep 2 pair teams at the Olympics so his chances of getting to the Olympics are slim. But right now, Kirsten M-T and Mike M are the only strong pair in Canada. Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud are promising juniors who had a strong Nationals and 4CCs. But who knows how that will go. Mervin might be a good match for Lubov who worked so hard to attain her Canadian citizenship. Maybe Mervin and Olivia are just skating for the international experience and know the Olympics are a long shot. But Mervin and Luba?"

I've been watching Mervin in his partnership with Olivia. If Mervin's main motivation is to compete in the 2022 Olympics, he might arguably have had a better chance at that with Marissa Castelli, if for no other reason than that he'd already accomplished the necessary green card step, and at any rate, IIRC he did this in 2018, so getting in the necessary 5 years permanent residency requirement for citizenship would have been impossible -- unless he qualified on "extraordinary talent" by US Congressional Act, like Tanith Belbin did in 2006. Having skated with Castelli for what would have been 8 years at that point might well have worked in his favor or at least eased his way. If the US political climate changes drastically, that could happen again.

I like Mervin's care and attitude toward Olivia (of course, she's brand new to pairs, so this would come naturally to him). Olivia's got jumps, so could he have switched partners just because he was fed up with (both he and Marissa) missing their jumps? At US Nationals after their FS, Olivia said to Mervin, "I'm sorry," and he said, "You shouldn't be." (this one time, I could read lips!)

So he might have thought starting with Olivia from scratch would ultimately be better than continuing on the same path with Marissa. Or, he simply loves skating and wanted to be happier in his skating, and he felt he'd be happier skating with Olivia. If he had a chance to try out with Lubov, though, who knows? If they had similar potential as he had with Marissa, the sbs jumps would still be the kicker.

I admire Mervin's up-front behavior with Marissa, but it was still a huge shock to her, and I had the impression she felt blind-sided. He simply told her that he was traveling to California for try-out(s) with other skater(s). That talk was essentially the end of the C/T partnership. It was a real blow to Marissa (although no more so than when she broke up with Simon Shnapir, who had stated at the time he was gung ho about making another Olympics). But Marissa said nothing and even secretly flew to Colorado, not telling family or friends, to participate in a week-long seminar about how to make the decision to retire or not. Months later, she announced moving on to the next thing -- she didn't like the word "retirement" for a 28-year-old woman! She's said she's very very happy coaching now and living a more balanced life.

I watched some of labgoat's links in her thread on the 1993 Worlds. In the pairs event, Underhill and Martini were the commentary team in some, and Sandra Bezic commented other skates. It tickled me to hear even Bezic raving about the several new high-level partnerships in that event, and saying things like, sometimes "the right partner" makes all the difference. Now at least since 2014, Bezic has been all about remarks encouraging pairs to stay together.

One of the brand-new (less than one year) partnerships in that event was Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. They practically stormed the podium, and were a possible threat to. They came in 5th at that Worlds. One thought that occurred to me was, Meno and Sand will have no trouble instilling the belief in Alexa and Brandon that a new team can make the Olympics in less than 2 years. That's exactly what they did, in 1994, Lillehammer. In 1992, they'd fallen in love at Albertville Olympics while competing against each other with their previous partners.

PS: After reading this before posting it, maybe it belongs in the "Random Thoughts" thread! :laugh: :dbana:
 

labgoat

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I watched some of labgoat's links in her thread on the 1993 Worlds. In the pairs event, Underhill and Martini were the commentary team in some, and Sandra Bezic commented other skates. It tickled me to hear even Bezic raving about the several new high-level partnerships in that event, and saying things like, sometimes "the right partner" makes all the difference. Now at least since 2014, Bezic has been all about remarks encouraging pairs to stay together.

One of the brand-new (less than one year) partnerships in that event was Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. They practically stormed the podium, and were a possible threat to. They came in 5th at that Worlds. One thought that occurred to me was, Meno and Sand will have no trouble instilling the belief in Alexa and Brandon that a new team can make the Olympics in less than 2 years. That's exactly what they did, in 1994, Lillehammer. In 1992, they'd fallen in love at Albertville Olympics while competing against each other with their previous partners.

PS: After reading this before posting it, maybe it belongs in the "Random Thoughts" thread! :laugh: :dbana:

I think Sandra's comments were in regards to the fact that a number of the teams in the pair event were new pairings and many seemed to be more promising than previous partnerships. Kovarikova was quite the find for Novotny, Menzies & Bombadier clicked right away as did Meno & Sand (although I felt for Scott Wendland & Natasha Kuchiki who were both very good). In fact Novotny & Ingo Steuer and Lloyd Eisler had had several partners as did Calla Urbanski - the most recent pairings in all cases where the most promising. One partnership in the event that would not last was Kazakova & Sukhanov- can you imagine if Oksana did not skate with Artur Dmitriev??
 

skylark

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I think Sandra's comments were in regards to the fact that a number of the teams in the pair event were new pairings and many seemed to be more promising than previous partnerships. Kovarikova was quite the find for Novotny, Menzies & Bombadier clicked right away as did Meno & Sand (although I felt for Scott Wendland & Natasha Kuchiki who were both very good). In fact Novotny & Ingo Steuer and Lloyd Eisler had had several partners as did Calla Urbanski - the most recent pairings in all cases where the most promising. One partnership in the event that would not last was Kazakova & Sukhanov- can you imagine if Oksana did not skate with Artur Dmitriev??

I mean, so many! Another of Sandra's comments that stands out to me was in regard to Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval. Someone had mentioned that their relationship was very conflict-ridden. Sandra said, "It takes more than hard work to make a pair." Words for the Ages!

According to Wiki, Scott Wendland became a coach after Jenni ended their partnership. Natasha Kuchiki went through difficult times -- in July 1992, soon after Todd ended the partnership, Natasha had a tryout with Rocky Marval, but then Calla and Rocky decided to reunite. The next year, they broke up again, and Rocky and Natasha skated together for a year or less. When they didn't make the Olympic team, Rocky reunited with Calla and they turned pro.

Yikes. I didn't know any of this at the time, but retroactively I feel for Natasha. The really happy ending, though, is that she had a long and (as it sounded) happy career in various shows, among them Disney where she played the leads: Belle, Jasmine and Mulan. She finally retired from touring in 2015.

It just shows how long the USA, at least, has had a history of partner switches. It's hard to argue with Meno/Sand's success, but Ouch! I'd never seen the 1993 pairs World event. I liked M/S better then, and in the Olympic year, better than I did once they started focusing more on romantic/married themes. Hm! Sounds familiar.
 

TontoK

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I say the following without an ounce of snark or ill feeling, so don't assume anything other than genuine curiosity.

I'm not sure what Mervin's international situation is.

How many countries has he represented? Three? Do all of them have to release him before he can find another partner? Does he want another partner?

Considering he's a talented male, and they're in short supply, why has he changed up so much?
 

NanaPat

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I say the following without an ounce of snark or ill feeling, so don't assume anything other than genuine curiosity.

I'm not sure what Mervin's international situation is.

How many countries has he represented? Three? Do all of them have to release him before he can find another partner? Does he want another partner?

Considering he's a talented male, and they're in short supply, why has he changed up so much?

This is just from memory (of secondary sources, at that), so it could be incorrect.

Mervyn Tran, a Canadian, was recruited by the Montreal coaches to skate with Takahashi for Japan. Takahashi had been training in Montreal, and they continued to train there. I believe the Japanese fed paid their expenses.

Takahashi dumped Tran because she wanted to go to the Olympics, and needed a Japanese partner. There was no question of Tran getting Japanese citzenship; it's very difficult, and they/he didn't even live in Japan.

He was released by Japan to then skate with Natasha Purych for Canada. It was a very brief partnership that didn't work out.

He then teamed up with his good friend Marissa Castelli to skate for the US. He was released by Canada. Their main training base was in Montreal, and I believe he didn't even apply for a green card for several years. I was surprised when he announced he was applying for a green card, as he didn't seem to realize that to get US citizenship he not only required a green card, but had to actually LIVE IN THE US for many years, which would mean leaving his long-term coaches.

I was a surprised as anyone when he left his old friend/partner and his old supporters/coaches to skate with Olivia. No change of country this time, but a change of coaches, partner, and residence all at once. In many ways, it was the biggest change of his career.

So three countries represented, four partners, two? sets of coaches, two countries of residence.
 

ice coverage

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... Does he want another partner? ...

AFAIK, Mervin has shown no sign of wanting any new partner at this point.

FWIW: Based on their social media, Serafini and Tran appear to be quarantining together, doing off-ice training together, etc.

One further detail re Marissa Castelli and Mervin:
Before they formed their partnership, Marissa had made clear to Mervin that skating for the U.S. was a non-negotiable condition for her. Mervin's non-negotiable condition was keeping his longtime Canadian coaches as their primary coaches.​

... Do all of them have to release him before he can find another partner? ...

Serafini/Tran did represent the U.S. internationally in the 2019-20 season, so hypothetically speaking, I believe that the U.S. would have to release him before he could represent another country?


Calalang/Johnson's FS at Nationals will be included in NBC’s “U.S. Figure Skating: A Season’s Best” show this Sunday.

Other [ETA (on Apr 25): U.S.] skaters featured in the one-hour special: Nathan, Alysa, Chock/Bates, Mariah.

2 pm ET, Sun April 26.


ETA:

And seems that USFS will have all seven [ETA (on Apr 25): U.S.] skaters on Insta Live starting at 1:30 pm ET on Sunday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_YXCFUjkeO/ (per Mariah, Apr 24)​


Photo of Lu/Mitrofanov training off ice:


(Worth posting especially because they were not included in Ashley's video compilation, for whatever reason.)
 

okokok1777

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This is just from memory (of secondary sources, at that), so it could be incorrect.

Mervyn Tran, a Canadian, was recruited by the Montreal coaches to skate with Takahashi for Japan. Takahashi had been training in Montreal, and they continued to train there. I believe the Japanese fed paid their expenses.

Takahashi dumped Tran because she wanted to go to the Olympics, and needed a Japanese partner. There was no question of Tran getting Japanese citzenship; it's very difficult, and they/he didn't even live in Japan.

He was released by Japan to then skate with Natasha Purych for Canada. It was a very brief partnership that didn't work out.

He then teamed up with his good friend Marissa Castelli to skate for the US. He was released by Canada. Their main training base was in Montreal, and I believe he didn't even apply for a green card for several years. I was surprised when he announced he was applying for a green card, as he didn't seem to realize that to get US citizenship he not only required a green card, but had to actually LIVE IN THE US for many years, which would mean leaving his long-term coaches.

I was a surprised as anyone when he left his old friend/partner and his old supporters/coaches to skate with Olivia. No change of country this time, but a change of coaches, partner, and residence all at once. In many ways, it was the biggest change of his career.

So three countries represented, four partners, two? sets of coaches, two countries of residence.

Very impressive memory! IIRC Mervin & Olivia moved their training base from Montreal to Monsey, New York in 2019. I believe he has his green card - meaning that he should be eligible to apply to be a US Citizen in 2024. If he's set on representing the US at the Olympics, he would have to wait until Milan 2026 (when he's 35).

As another user mentioned previously, teaming up with Luba could be an option if he wanted to compete in Beijing, but he would need to be released by the USFS beforehand. Also, Mervin seems very committed to the long-term development of his partnership with Oliva (and they are dating) - so I doubt that he's even considering it right now.
 

labgoat

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I mean, so many! Another of Sandra's comments that stands out to me was in regard to Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval. Someone had mentioned that their relationship was very conflict-ridden. Sandra said, "It takes more than hard work to make a pair." Words for the Ages!

According to Wiki, Scott Wendland became a coach after Jenni ended their partnership. Natasha Kuchiki went through difficult times -- in July 1992, soon after Todd ended the partnership, Natasha had a tryout with Rocky Marval, but then Calla and Rocky decided to reunite. The next year, they broke up again, and Rocky and Natasha skated together for a year or less. When they didn't make the Olympic team, Rocky reunited with Calla and they turned pro.

Yikes. I didn't know any of this at the time, but retroactively I feel for Natasha. The really happy ending, though, is that she had a long and (as it sounded) happy career in various shows, among them Disney where she played the leads: Belle, Jasmine and Mulan. She finally retired from touring in 2015.

It just shows how long the USA, at least, has had a history of partner switches. It's hard to argue with Meno/Sand's success, but Ouch! I'd never seen the 1993 pairs World event. I liked M/S better then, and in the Olympic year, better than I did once they started focusing more on romantic/married themes. Hm! Sounds familiar.

Some of these old videos are just full of interesting and fun comments.

1993 World Kazakova & Sukhonov https://youtu.be/jTu0hTIRpYQ
1996 World Kazakova & Dmitriev https://youtu.be/h4Ya3Ia8AVc
 

Skater Boy

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If Mervin wants to go to the Olympics perhaps his best chance considering everything might be a Lubov? On a side note he may not be that old but he seems he has been driven around the block a few times. It is tough to win a bronze medal at worlds and then go downhill from there.
 

skylark

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From Jenni and Todd's IG, shots of some of their skaters doing off-ice training. One shot could be called "Treetops" ... another is a gorgeous silhouette effect

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_0Pv8CpJ9r/

From Ashley's IG, here are "flippity doo daas," she and Timothy learning new moves. Please be kind -- they're experimenting, not polishing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CALPffXje5-/

Ashley has her caption for this one, but I call it "Second Story Window"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMAlXrDQgu/
 

TontoK

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From Jenni and Todd's IG, shots of some of their skaters doing off-ice training. One shot could be called "Treetops" ... another is a gorgeous silhouette effect

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_0Pv8CpJ9r/

From Ashley's IG, here are "flippity doo daas," she and Timothy learning new moves. Please be kind -- they're experimenting, not polishing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CALPffXje5-/

Ashley has her caption for this one, but I call it "Second Story Window"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAMAlXrDQgu/

I didn't realize that Brandon had made his way from Florida to California to begin training in person. The height of that twist is an encouraging sign. (Ref: the link to Jenni and Todd's page.)
 

skylark

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I didn't realize that Brandon had made his way from Florida to California to begin training in person. The height of that twist is an encouraging sign. (Ref: the link to Jenni and Todd's page.)

Brandon has been living with Alexa and Chris since near the beginning of April, I think, although it might have been longer. They've been fairly quiet about it. Post #397 in this thread shows a video that Ashley put together with music, featuring 6 US pairs in a sort of "your last move is my first move" game. Alexa and Brandon showed an impressive jump and lift.

And I agree about this being encouraging. I figured Alexa and Brandon would have a great twist. Brandon always showed strength, getting Haven plenty of height. And just as importantly, Alexa has a fabulous "push off" technique. It was a matter if their technique would match, and apparently, no problem.
 

TontoK

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Brandon has been living with Alexa and Chris since near the beginning of April, I think, although it might have been longer. They've been fairly quiet about it. Post #397 in this thread shows a video that Ashley put together with music, featuring 6 US pairs in a sort of "your last move is my first move" game. Alexa and Brandon showed an impressive jump and lift.

And I agree about this being encouraging. I figured Alexa and Brandon would have a great twist. Brandon always showed strength, getting Haven plenty of height. And just as importantly, Alexa has a fabulous "push off" technique. It was a matter if their technique would match, and apparently, no problem.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I had completely missed it.
 

ice coverage

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Brandon Frazier and Alexa Knierim gave a Zoom interview to All Year FSC (which is Brandon's club):

https://youtu.be/u0KLjXgWQOI (May 21, 25:09)​

The interviewers are Courtney Phillips, Molly (Rendel?), and Doug Williams.

BTW, unrelated to the video:
Congratulations to Jenni + Todd + Christine Fowler-Binder, who tonight won PSA's 2020 Coach of the Year award.
(Other nominees for Coach of the Year: Raf + Vera + Nadia Kanaeva; Saga Krantz; Patrice + MF + Romain + Pascal Denis; Denise Myers + Jeremy Allen + Sandi Delfs)
Raf (who had been working with the Knierims) was inducted into the PSA Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2020.​


New pair: Nica Digerness and Ian Meyh :hap85:

Per Nica's and Dalilah's Instagram posts:


I am excited for Nica and Ian. Lotsa luck to them.

Per Instastory not too long ago, Nica recently had surgery of some kind (details were not given, IIRC). I hope her recovery is going well.
(I do not recall the exact date, but Nica's surgery took place well after Danny had announced the end of their partnership and well after he had been seen training on numerous occasions with his apparent new partner.)


Nice interview with Cate Fleming and Jedidiah Isbell:


From Jimmy Morgan's ongoing series of (excellent!) interviews for Skating Club of Boston.
 

skylark

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Alexa Knierim has posted a short video of herself and Brandon Frazier skating together on the ice. :) It's on Alexa's Facebook page.
 
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