Your TOP 5 at US Nationals?

[NoNameFace]

Well, well...Since the competition is behind us now (discussion over it not quite yet LOL), please share your top 5 moments/skates/impressions (for those attending in person and those watching on TV) from the entire competition

What are your discoveries/disappointments taken from US Nationals in San Jose?

I'd like to begin the thread with my top 5 catching phrases:

1. 'Body of work', thrown in probably 90% of posts
2. 'Fedora', we all know that Gracie was there, and she was not on a mute:cool14:
3. 'Furious', no need to explain that one too...
4. 'Drama', in every form, every discipline, graduated in different forms, counted singularly or in bigger numbers (depending on discipline)
5. 'Vera Wang', now that was the topic of the event!

 

[kevinVchicago]

TOP 5 SKATES:

1 Jimmy Ma - SP
2 Mariah Bell - FS
3 Mirai Nagasu - FS
4 Grant Hochstein - SP
5 Polina Edmunds - SP

HONORABLE MENTION:
Bradie Tennell - FS
Hubbell / Donohue - FD
Karen Chen - FS
Nathan Chen - SP
Vincent Zhou - FS

 

[GGFan]

I was out of town for work so I wasn't able to get as immersed in the live performances like I would have liked. havnig said that, there were some wonderful moments. In no particular order:

1. Hawayek/Baker free: one of the best programs of the quad! The classical simplicity, Jean-Luc's beautiful knees, Kaitlin's presentation and selling of the program, etc. It just sings! It was a pleasure to see them skate Liebestraum to its full potential. :hap93:

2. Alex Johnson short: the man is a genius with his skates. So happy he went clean and got some appreciation. His positions, extension, attention to detail, and musicality are at the very top of the world today. Like Satoko I could enjoy him with all doubles.

3. Jimmy Ma short: the energy and the chutzpah of the performance was first rate. He is extremely musical and natural. I think more choreography can be added throughout and in between the moves but it's still a stunner.

4. Ross Miner free: never been a huge fan of Ross' skating but he had the Rudy Galindo moment of the event. It all came together for him. The music was perfect for his style and he had the performance of the free. I hope his performance is what he remembers in the long run and not what happened subsequently.

5. Shibs short: perfectly suited to them and perfectly packaged. The countdown twizzles do not get old at all. I loved that the judges acknowledged the brilliance of the program by giving them a sizable lead here. This is the only program where I think they can at least compare favorably to the top two teams. They still don't quite have the edging and power but latin is suited to their quick turns and cleanliness.

Honorable mentions: Adam Rippon's short, Hubbell/Donohue's edges and heat, Grant Hochstein's short, Bradie's no drama competing style.

 

[Putina]

Off the top of my head,

Starr Andrews - FS
Ross Miner - SP
Adam Rippon - SP
Vincent Zhou - FS
Ross Miner - FS

The above are performances I have watched more than once.

 

[Anyasnake]

-Hubbell/Donohue FD

-Hawayek/Baker FD

-Shibsibs SD

-Gracie, Twitter & Fedora

-The madness that occured during the competition, especially online.

 

[Barb]

1. Shibs SD
2. Mirai (everything)
3. Karen IN the olympic team
4. H/B SD/FD
5. Grant SP

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Skating:
Mirai's redemption
Bradie's breakthrough
ShibSibs SD
Jason Brown's SP
Starr Andrews FS
BONUS: Mariah Bell SP

Not actually skating:
Gracie and twitter
FURIOUS FURIOUS FURIOUS "I know no words but furious "
Vera Wang's "costumes" for Nathan
Mirai's KnC reaction to her FS
Pics of the ladies' team / the ladies team in general

 

[Crossover]

1. Ross Miner FS
2. Madison Hubbell / Zachery Donohue FD
3. Polina Edmunds SP
4. Starr Andrews FS
5. Madison Chock/ Evan Bates FD

Honorable mention
Grant Hochstein SP, Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker SD/FD, Jimmy Ma SP, Ashley Wagner FS, Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Nathan Bartholomay FS, Gracie Gold's twitter, Mirai rejoining the Olympic team

Worst
1. Ross Miner not even named to Worlds AND 1st alt to both Olympic and Worlds behind Jason, the 6th finisher
2. Another tiresome controversies regarding the Olympic selection in ladies (Karen over Ashely) and now even in men (why Nationals is needed?) that USFSA has created after the Sochi team selection in ladies
3. Selective judging and PCS scoring to push in and out certain skaters especially in ladies

 

[Off My Rocker]

I’ve didn’t get to see any of the short programs so here’s my picks from the FPs/FDs, which I was able to watch live (special thanks to the guy who provided the QQ links, even if the whoopee cushion sounds were somewhat distracting!):

1. Hubbell Donohue FD – so steamy I had to get off my rocker to retrieve ice packs; the depth of their edges and use of skating knees is exquisite
2. Ross Miner LP – the joy of witnessing his skate of a lifetime; I had a lump in my throat :yes2:

3. Hawayek/Baker FD – I’ve been waiting for this breakthrough skate from them. and assuming they’ve been assigned to 4CC, will be cheering for them to win there

4. Sean Rabbitt FP – one of those toe-tapping entertaining performances; some may call it cheesy, but I find seeing a fun one like this refreshing from the plethora of dramatic routines.

5. Maybe not a “fave” moment, but has left an indelible memory: Looking at the expressions of the Shibutanis and Chock/Bates after the FD, I had a flashback to the Fusar-Poli/Margaglio intense eye daggers after their 2006 OG OD. Clearly Shibs not happy with their skate and Chock/Bates I’ll assume with their placement, but IMHO the right team won. Very happy for H/D!

Definitely high drama in the ladies, men and dance! I’m actually hoping for tamer times at Canadians this week – these past couple of days were just too hard on the old ticker. Phew, need to rest up.

 

[skylark]

Off the top of my head:

Ashley Cain / Timothy LeDuc FS. Such a triumphant moment, after bad SP and difficult sophomore season. I love this team; one thing I realized this week-end is that the reason their long lines, unison and expression are so good together is that they have the same kind of intuitive feeling for the music. So it's one of their NATURAL advantages, like H/D sexiness. And I do love their SBS jumps and their mutual/together charisma and performance values.

Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue FD. The first time I saw it this season, I said it was a Slow Burn of Passion, rather than a more overt, exuberant passion. This quality only got better; and I am thrilled for them! Proud moment for them ... and they are so generous, at the press conference, Madi mentioned that all 3 of the couples have now been US champions, and are great friends with one another. Proud note for me: I was one of the few who predicted that they'd win over the Shibs.

Alexa Knierim / Chris Knierim FS. Yes, their SBS jumps are disappointing (SP: they're getting there). But it's the quality of everything else they do that has them being such a world-class pair for us. I love their connection, their joy in being able to skate together again after such a big scare, and the fact that their priority this season (newly) is to give something, some joy, or some meaningful experience, a feeling of great emotion, to their audiences.

Ross Miner. SP and FS I love a man who's not afraid to show that he's an Unabashed Romantic.

Adam Rippon, press conference after SP. Speaking about having the courage to be himself and share his story so that he can be a light of encouragement to ANYONE who feels different, not only if you're gay, but if you don't like how tall you are, or your ethnicity (implied: many other traits as well). Adam looked straight at the camera and said: (paraphrasing): You can do anything you want [if you put all your passion and all your hard work into it].

Ashley Wagner This woman has the courage to confront what she feels is wrong-doing, in a public way. Using her own identity, putting herself on the line and taking responsibility for it and not fearing the consequences. She's not afraid to confront, not afraid to be angry.

Wagner is in the arena, (unlike internet critics). She's valiant, courageous, not afraid to use her voice for herself AND on behalf of others. She's open about her struggles; she's a hero.

 

[Mrs. P]

Top 5:
1.) Ross Miner SP/FS
2.) ShibSibs SD
3.) Mirai FS
4.) Alexander Johnson FS
5.) Starr Andrews FS

Honorable mentions:
Grant Hochstein SP, Adam Rippon SP, Jason Brown's SP/EX, Hubbell and Donahue FD, Chock and Bates FD/EX, Karen Chen FS, Bradie Tennell FS, Sean Rabbit's programs, Jimmy Ma SP, Vincent Zhou FS, Nathan Chen FS/Ex, Hawayek/Baker FD, Cain/LeDuc FS, Timothy Dolensky's FS, Emmanuel Savary's SP, Tomoki Hiwatashi's FS

The true #1 thing: Hanging out with so many awesome folks from GS!

I really had a good time!

ETA: Basically my list are all from what I saw in person, but if I were to add stuff I didn't see in person, I'd add: Dinh Tran's FS, Camden Pulkinen's FS, Alysa Liu's FS, Bradie Tennel's SP all to the honorable mention list.

 

[dorispulaski]

So glad you had a good time!
Alysa Liu's stunning debut, winning Jr. Ladies! I have not been this excited about a US lady for a long time. Too bad she is just too young for the JGP next season.

Short Program
Free Skate

Ross Miner SP,FS

Starr Andrews FS

Chock & Bates FD

Hawayek & Baker FD

Jason Brown SP

I have not watched everything yet, including the SD, but those are the high points for me so far.

 

[danse]

1. Hubbell & Donohue's everything and win!
2. Ross Miner's FS - THAT moment is what Nationals skating is all about.
3. Cain/LeDuc's FS - I wasn't going to watch the US Pairs, but I will be watching them!
4. Grant Hochstein's SP - Good on him for getting that quad/triple & it was a beauty!
5. Adam Rippon explaining himself at the press conferences. Sure he's cocky, but he wears his heart (and mouth) on his sleeve. I've got mixed emotions about the US choices, but the Olympics without some sass wouldn't be as exciting.

 

[blue_idealist]

Top 5 programs

1 - Ross Miner's free skate
2 - Hubbell/Donahue's FD and win
3 - Stellato/Bartholomay (both programs)
4 - Bradie Tennell's free
5 - Kayne/O'Shea's free, even though it had a mistake since they're personal favourites of mine and it was great for them just coming back from injury

 

[demarinis5]

My top programs

Shibs SD/FD

C/B FD

H/D FD

Ross's FS

Adam's SP and his reaction in the K&C

Grant's SP

At the end of the day minus the drama there was some fabulous skating at US Nationals.

Congrats to all of the skaters who worked so hard to make this a good event. Whether your expectations were
accomplished or not as a fan I respect your hard work and dedication and I wanted to say Thank You!

 

[Frenchie]

1 - Mirai Nagasu making the Olympics after what happened to her in 2014.
2 - Ross Miner's FS - I've never been a big fan of his skating, but I had a huge grin watching him, and I must have said "wow!" in disbelief about a dozen times during his skate!
3 - Stellato/Bartholomay FS - they should have won IMO - especially since the Body of Work(!) means the USFSA could still have sent who they want to the Olympics & Worlds.
4 - Ashley Wagner's La-La-Land FS - it wasn't perfect, and the choreo would certainly have gotten more intricate & refined after some more months, but after being so thrilled at the beginning of the season to learn she would skate to this, and so disappointed when she dropped it, I'm happy we still got to see it, even if just this once!
5 - Judges completely disregarding the facts and scoring to get the result they want, embracing the new (& scary) post-Trump reality where facts don't matter anymore. (everybody gets a huge Nationals Points Inflation, but Ashley Wagner gets a significant Nationals Deflation; +3GOE for two-footed elements; Jason Brown's SP 3A not UR; Vincent Zhou PCS 10 points ahead of much better Alex Johnson and Tim Dolenski, ...) :disapp:

Honorable mention: Some really cool moments here and there, like Angela Wang's SP, Starr Andrews' FS, Cain/LeDuc's FS, Jimmy Ma's SP, Grant Hochstein's SP or Sean Rabbit's FS.

 

[jenaj]

1. Mirai's FS. I stood and cheered in my living room when she hit that last jump.
2. Ross Miner's FS. The skate of the night--maybe the entire competition.
3. Mariah Bell's FS. Woefully under-marked. She really sold it.
4. Ashley's FS. I think Ashley should have gotten the bronze.
5. Grant Hochstein's SP. Perfect.

 

[Nathan13]

1. THE DRAMA
2. Mirai FS
3. Shibutani SD
4. Chock/Bates FD
5. Ross FS

 

[twirlingblades]

Top 5:
1) Nathan short
2) H/D free and finally winning!
3) Bradie free- so solid!
4) Mirai free- heck yeah!
5) Twitter (Gracie, fan outrage, coverage)

Honorable mentions:
-Alexa Knierim sobbing after the free
-Ashley #drama
-men’s Oly team #drama
-Starr free and skating to her own singing
-jimmy ma
-Adam short

 

[rosacotton]

Top 5
1. Shibs SD
2. Hawayek/Baker FD
3. Starr Andrews FS
4. Parsons FD
5. Mariah Bell FS

Tie for Biggest Disappointment: "Body of Work" for the men and NBC's free dance coverage. :shame: