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Oh I agree. I was thinking what it could have been if Alexa had partnered up with Brandon years ago.
2020 Skate America: Pairs' FS
- Thread starter gsk8
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Oh I agree. I was thinking what it could have been if Alexa had partnered up with Brandon years ago.
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okay.. I'll go change my stream and make sure the thread is open.
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It should be in 10 minutes. If the pairs had started at 8:43 eastern, dance would have already started by now, but they pushed pairs back to 9 eastern.
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I mean, they probably should have? was their jump in the SP actually worthy of a downgrade?
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I'm watching on my phone so couldn't comment, but wow! How good where Alexa and Brandon! Awesome result in their first competition. The future looks good for them! And Chris K is listed as one of their coaches so yay for him.
Missed Ashley and Tim, they were so close to 3rd, they must be bummed.
Missed Ashley and Tim, they were so close to 3rd, they must be bummed.
I'm so pleased that the partnership of Alexa and Brandon seems to be working out spectacularly. They look like a pair who have been skating much longer than less than a year.
I really like Jessica and Brian but they have to work on the SBS jumps. So sorry for CG/L just missing the podium by a hair. Hope it motivates them to work harder for Nationals, b/c I am seeing some improvements, especially their twist and lifts.
I really like Jessica and Brian but they have to work on the SBS jumps. So sorry for CG/L just missing the podium by a hair. Hope it motivates them to work harder for Nationals, b/c I am seeing some improvements, especially their twist and lifts.
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Congrats to Alexia, Brandon, and Chris. I bet all are happy!!! 
What a good pair event. Ok, not perfect , but good! Alexa and Brandon were so good for being together for such a short time. Alexa's jumps look so much more secure; maybe she was focused too much on Chris' jumps before. Brandon is a great pair man. There are still some tweaks to work but overall very nice! Good for Audrey and Misha capturing third. Misha was making me nervous with those shaky lifts. I hope they are able to stabilize those lifts moving forward. Jessica and Brian were good but disappointed that they couldn't overcome Alexa and Brandon. Jessica, in particular, seemed nervous and shaky. It's hard to be the hunted! Lastly, I will say that Olivia and Mervin and Tarah and Danny were my 2 favorite teams. Olivia was so supportive of Mervin due to his jump falls. They exude such happiness when they skate! Tarah and Danny just feel right to me when they skate albeit problems with those jumps. I would love to see them climb back on the podium.
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The US pairs field has come A LONG way in three to four years. We have two teams that could potentially go Top 6 at Worlds (if it happens) and if clean, those two teams could potentially medal. An incredible development to witness. As for the pairs teams themselves, K/F were stunning, ethereal, and their pairs elements were world-class. The twist is huge and gorgeous, the lifts are spine-tingling, and their overall presence is coming along very nicely. C/J have come a long ways and there is an innate SPARK in them that just screams World title holders or even Olympic medalists, but they will need to fix their side-by-side jumps ASAP. Aside from the issues on the SBS, everything about them is just quality and I hope they can continue to progress and have their big moment at a Worlds or Olympic event.
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Yep. I don't think it's quite fair that Ash & Tim missed out on third by percentage points. Overall, Lu/Mitrofanov have shown some improvements and they are strong on the jumps and 3-twist, and generally have good throws, but they still need to work on style and projecting.
I think Ash & Tim were overly dumped on in the sp. Their sp is a good program style for them, and I think the judges were inconsistently nitpicky with the UR call which was very close (and not a good angle to call from either). L/M have a solid sp which they skated very well, so that made the overall difference, but L/M faltering in the fp for me shows they still have a lot of work to do. The short program L/M are comfortable with because I think they've used it for 3 seasons running, if I'm not mistaken. If not three seasons, then definitely the last two seasons.
Ash & Tim are lacking a bit of confidence, and being dumped on surely hurts their confidence further. They have better style, presentation and maturity than L/M and should have been given more of a vote of confidence and be in third place. For sure the percentage point difference is going to be hard to swallow for Ash&Tim. Or, hopefully, they just shrug it off and get back to the drawing board since this is such an unusual season. If I were them, I'd work hard on areas of weakness (i.e., the sbs jumps, throw landings and the twist). For whatever reason, the judges do not take off for their twist dismount where Ashley touches Tim's shoulder which is like a bit of an assist. Ash&Tim and their coaches have got to know that's happening, and they need to fix it before domestic and international judges start deducting them on it. That's what I mean by inconsistent scoring by the judges. Ash&Tim received good GOE on their twist which is giving them a false sense of security on that element. Meanwhile, the judges peruse close landing angles like scorched earth harridans. As much as I love this sport, the judging gives me a headache.
In a way, I think there is politically some judges in the U.S. who maybe are pushing for Lu/Mitrofanov over Ash&Tim, but it's probably not all judges across-the-board. I also think the call at U.S. Nationals on Tim's foot position in the death spiral was overly harsh. Take points off, but if the slight adjustment is barely noticeable and doesn't affect the execution of the death spiral, it's criminal IMO to have given them no points for it. Another huge hit to Ash&Tim's confidence after a disappointing GP season for them in Fall 2019.
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I have to go back and read through the thread. Overall, I'm optimistic too, because I think this Skate America has benefited all the skaters who have taken part. They've had the opportunity to get back to some semblance of competition normality, and to see where they are at and where they need to continue improving. U.S. pairs have some exciting teams to watch. More thoughts on each pairs team, later.
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I think Jessica was either nervous or had a mental block. Either way, this was a good fight for both top teams!! I'm confident Jessica & Brian and Alexa & Brandon will keep pushing themselves forward. The US needs good internal competition to increase the chances of getting medals internationally. Both pairs should be highly promoted! (But my heart is more with Jessica & Brian, I won't deny it)
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I don't think I've ever seen Brandon with a genuine smile competing before. This new partnership suits him. They looked very strong, and with plenty of room to grow.
Brian and Jessica still have the best overall package, but they've got to fix the jump problems. Not one clean SBS in either the short or the long. That's a lot of points to throw away.
It's strange to see so many L2 death spirals among top couples.
Brian and Jessica still have the best overall package, but they've got to fix the jump problems. Not one clean SBS in either the short or the long. That's a lot of points to throw away.
It's strange to see so many L2 death spirals among top couples.
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The SP is one they debuted part way through last season (I think post GP, but I'm not sure). So not that long.
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Yeah, thanks. It's a nice program for L/M, so it's good to keep a program that works and further fine-tune it. I think that makes it easier to find something different for your other program and know you can rely on the one you're comfortable with and spend time on the new one (which they have done with the Chaplin fp).
I love that Jess & Brian brought back their lovely Game of Thrones sp. It really works well for them, and they added some new choreo and transitions to it.
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Just been watching this pairs event, and I thought it was great! Good to see Anna and Evgeni doing a lot better than in the short, although obviously not perfect. At least no deductions. I wasn't impressed by Emily and Spencer yesterday, and I wasn't today. They missed a lift - always scary but at least no falls or anything. Mervin and Olivia, what can I say? You can see Olivia was a singles skater some years ago - her jumps are really good. But Mervin was having a lot of problems there. At least they do look good together. I very much enjoyed Tarah and Danny's interpretation of Carmen, despite the problems with the jumps. I was happy that Ashley and Tim did well, even though the SBS loop was a problem (again - perhaps they should choose another jump to do SBS). Too bad that they were undermarked in the SP (in my view that is), otherwise they would have been on the podium. They did have the 3rd best FS. Charlie Chaplin in pairs is difficult. Ondrej and Valentina would have been able to pull it off when they skated together, but not such a young couple as Audrey and Misha. Still, a good skate element wise but I didn't really think it was podium worthy. Nice for them though to podium. It's always such a joy to watch Jessica and Brian who skate so beautifully. Jessica had some problems with the jumps, otherwise we might have seen 9's in the PCS (we all know those go up when the GOE of jumps goes up), it really is so good. Alexa and Brandon were the big stars. A wonderful programme, and they looked fantastic together. I wish they had come together years ago, but that's a bit unfair as both have had their successes with their former partners. And Chris is very much a part of the team. But it was a joy to watch them, and a great way for the competition in the pairs event to end.
Agreed - he has a lot of charisma and looks really strong.
The next Aljona and Bruno??Here for the very end
Always loved fierce Alexa, but I had my doubts when I heard Chris was retiring. And TBH, never really paid much attention to Brandon before.
But wow, after only a few months together (granted they are experienced), but
wow
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Thank you. It is really great source of FS stats!
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So, results definitely as expected pretty much. I didn't know what to expect from Alexa and Brandon but my goodness... They instantly are favorites to win the US Title IMO with Jessica and Brian just behind them. If they both skated clean I really don't know who would win. Both teams are captivating. I really think this is the end for Tarah and Danny as well as Ashley and Tim barring big mistakes from the other two pairs. The level of skating and cohesiveness is really quite substantial.
