US Nationals 2013

Just watched Ashley's FP practise. She doesn't seem to be in good condition. She fell twice and isn't the first fall, the same 2A she fell during GPF and hurt her hip ?

I hope she recovers soon. I can't help to think is Mao was injured after her fall at Worlds 2008 when she was trying to attemp her 3A. That was a very bad fall too (on her hip too) but as Mao never talked about her injury, we never got to know how bad it was.

ddmm wrote:

Just watched Ashley's FP practise. She doesn't seem to be in good condition. She fell twice and isn't the first fall, the same 2A she fell during GPF and hurt her hip ?

I hope she recovers soon. I can't help to think is Mao was injured after her fall at Worlds 2008 when she was trying to attemp her 3A. That was a very bad fall too (on her hip too) but as Mao never talked about her injury, we never got to know how bad it was.

Mao never mentioned that fall lead to an injury...and she skated almost perfectly after that fall, so I don't think she was seriously injured as Ashley. Mao's fell sort of in a sliding way, but in Ashley's case it was obvious she hit her hip pretty bad. Plus the look on her face at that moment showed she felt something was wrong and was shocked about it.

Ashley too skated her pro till the end strongly as she can after the fall like Mao, but I think sometimes when you injure yourself like that the pain gets worse later on. I do hope she gets well soon, but it's better she had that fall this season than next.

ddmm wrote:

I can't help to think is Mao was injured after her fall at Worlds 2008 when she was trying to attemp her 3A. That was a very bad fall too (on her hip too) but as Mao never talked about her injury, we never got to know how bad it was.

That was one scary fall, even uglier and more painful than Ashley's. And to think that after that, she went on and jumped 3-3 like it's nothing. One seriously gutsy lady.

Part of me wishes that Mao would speak about her injuries (if she has any) this way it would be easier to understand why she doesn't have a good skate, however I also love that she keeps it to herself and NEVER uses an injury card or illness to make excuses for her bad skate. Actually, I've never heard her making any excuses. RESPECT.

Lysacek news -

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/globetrotting/chi-lysaceks-coach-it-is-going-to-be-a-long-recovery-20130124,0,2313464.column

Alokya wrote:

Lysacek news -

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/globetrotting/chi-lysaceks-coach-it-is-going-to-be-a-long-recovery-20130124,0,2313464.column

Apparently we have to be a member now to read Phil Hersh articles? ... I don't like what being a member entails. Guess I won't be reading his articles anymore.

Star85 wrote:

Alokya wrote:

Lysacek news -

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/globetrotting/chi-lysaceks-coach-it-is-going-to-be-a-long-recovery-20130124,0,2313464.column

Apparently we have to be a member now to read Phil Hersh articles? ... I don't like what being a member entails. Guess I won't be reading his articles anymore.

I can read it just fine, without being required to become a member, but then I'm from Europe.

It talks about Evan's injuries and how extensive the last surgery was so it'll take a long time to heal. Frank doesn't know when Evan will return to competition, but gushes about Evan's new found artistry.

Star85 wrote:

Alokya wrote:

Lysacek news -

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/globetrotting/chi-lysaceks-coach-it-is-going-to-be-a-long-recovery-20130124,0,2313464.column

Apparently we have to be a member now to read Phil Hersh articles? ... I don't like what being a member entails. Guess I won't be reading his articles anymore.

Star85, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the no thanks button, it should take you right to the front page on the site. It worked for me.

When does the ladies segment begin?

does anyone know if there will be live streams to this competition?

ballerinamao wrote:

does anyone know if there will be live streams to this competition?

Searched as much as I can, but couldn't find any...icenet offers live streaming, but you have to pay to see it.

starting now

I'm only looking at online score report:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2013/68390/CAT001SEG001.html

Go Mirai!!

From Ice Musings

http://icemusings.blogspot.com/2013/01/us-nationals-senior-ladies-short-program.html

Mirai Nagasu: 34.73 TES + 29.66 PCS = 64.39 and into 1st place

I absolutely love her dress and the color looks great on her
Great height and nice landings on the triple toe + triple toe
Nice Ina Bauer
Good triple loop
Flying entry to the camel spin with great positions and nice entry into a catchfoot donut
I feel that this is a great vehicle for her this season as it really shows her carefree approach and love of skating
Nice spiral into a double axel
Good character in the step sequence and some nice edgework
Iffy illusions in the combo spin but all the other positions are nice
Really nice layback spin into a great Biellman

Yay! Mirai!!

Christina is in third right now behind Mirai and Courtney.

Mirai's SP!

Happy for Angela, but at Gracie Gold's performance. People kept on talking about how she was the next big thang, you know? But anyway, she made a splash this season and it's probably the nerves that took control of her body. Now if only Mirai holds on to her spot; she has the tendency to implode in the most critical moments!

Ashley's in first with 67.57

Agnes is in second with 65.31

And Mirai is in third with 64.39

COHK wrote:

From Ice Musings

http://icemusings.blogspot.com/2013/01/us-nationals-senior-ladies-short-program.html

Mirai Nagasu: 34.73 TES + 29.66 PCS = 64.39 and into 1st place

I absolutely love her dress and the color looks great on her
Great height and nice landings on the triple toe + triple toe
Nice Ina Bauer
Good triple loop
Flying entry to the camel spin with great positions and nice entry into a catchfoot donut
I feel that this is a great vehicle for her this season as it really shows her carefree approach and love of skating
Nice spiral into a double axel
Good character in the step sequence and some nice edgework
Iffy illusions in the combo spin but all the other positions are nice
Really nice layback spin into a great Biellman

Yay! Mirai!!

I'm so happy for Mirai, too! Hopefully this will boost her confidence back! I feel like she's feeling free during her competitions compared to before. She stated in an interview that she doesn't have a lot of hype this year in nationals, so she doesn't feel as much pressure, which helps.

mh~ a bit puzzled by the scores that Agnes is over Mirai, when Agnes had a fall and Mirai skated clean...

Here's the skating order of FS (skaters 10-20):
10 Caroline Zhang, All Year FSC 12 49.99
11 Ashley Cain, Stars FSC of Texas 11 50.83
12 Hannah Miller, Lansing SC 8 54.47
13 Gracie Gold, Wagon Wheel FSC 9 54.08
14 Samantha Cesario, SC of New York 7 55.74
15 Christina Gao, SC Of Boston 5 58.74
16 Yasmin Siraj, SC Of Boston 6 57.88
17 Courtney Hicks, All Year FSC 4 59.72
18 Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC 2 65.31
19 Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington1 67.57
20 Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC 3 64.39

Yeah, and someone please explain to me how on earth Agnes' spins had higher GOEs than Mirai's. Her spins were far better. Curse first-group scoring!

With regards to Gracie, USFSA always does this - they pick a poster child. Gracie is the current one. Ricky Dornbush for some stupid reason still is as well. Meryl and Charlie have actually earned their status, and while I love the Shibs, they haven't really earned it for the past two seasons. Same with Denney/Coughlin. Meanwhile, those with real talent - Mirai, Agnes, Castelli/Shnapir, Ross, Jeremy, and Armin - get sidelined. Stupidity.

i don't know why usfsa continues to advertise gracie. i don't really see anything that amazing in her skating but that's just me. i even find agnes with more potential yet agnes doesn't get the same treatment.

Wow, I haven's seen this coming. What happened to Gracie? And in what world does Agnes of all people get better GOE on spins than the "queen of spins" Mirai?!!!! USFSA don't be stupid, you want 3 spots for Olympics, news for you, Agnes isn't very liked by international judges! Don't be the idiots and do push Mirai instead. Since Ashley is probably going to win Nats, if USFSA sees reason and sends Mirai to worlds as well, she won't be under much pressure, so she'll probably place well enough to secure 3 spots, IMO.

swan wrote:

i don't know why usfsa continues to advertise gracie. i don't really see anything that amazing in her skating but that's just me. i even find agnes with more potential yet agnes doesn't get the same treatment.

I felt the same when I saw her competing in GPS this season, but after I saw her in one of the galas, I was able to notice that she does have something special. The main problem in her case, I think, is mostly mental nerve issues. She was much more flexible and smooth when she skated to her EX, compared to how stiff she seemed in competition. Furthermore, I do not think the pros and music she chose for this season (both SP and FP) do not fit her character. I think her team is trying too hard to make her skate to the kind of stuff which would make her look more mature than she is, and the kind of stuff which judges would assumingly prefer. I think that was a bad idea...she's clearly not so comfortable with those pros. But when you see her skate in a relaxed mental state to her EX, she's really charming; it's nice to see her singing along with the music while she skates, and the 60's style dress looks great on her. I think what she needs is a better choreographer and maybe a better coach...

I haven't updated myself much to Euros and US Nats but I occasionally see updates on twitter. I'm glad Mirai is in top 3. I don't know much on how others performed -- might try to catch up next week -- but I saw tweets regarding Caroline's score. Seems they didn't believe they gave her that low. And Agnes fell? Which jump? I thought she skated clean seeing she's scored high and placed 2nd.

For the FS I hope Mirai can continue to skate really well. I want a medal for her.

OMG.. I don't usually give my opinion here because I'm not an expert on figure skating, so I prefer just to read what you guys think.. But Caroline was SO UNDERSCORED! I honestly don't think her combination should've received a <<

fefe_sky wrote:

OMG.. I don't usually give my opinion here because I'm not an expert on figure skating, so I prefer just to read what you guys think.. But Caroline was SO UNDERSCORED! I honestly don't think her combination should've received a <<

Haven't seen the protocols yet, and honestly speaking I don't care that much about the scores anyway since I do not trust the judges nor the current CoP rules, but I agree with you fefe_sky. I think Caroline delivered pretty good and attracted the audience alot. She deserved at least more scores in PCS I think to cover any non-visual mistakes if she had any which lowered her TES. The way that the audience seemed obviously bothered by her low scores proves that. I thought Caroline skated divine the most in recent years this time, and even if she got <<, her jumps has improved alot since she started reforming them. Overall she skated as graciously as any other girls IMO, and should've been rewarded more for that. I noticed she seemed to have dropped some weight, but she still had enough stamina too. I hope the judges will give her more credit in her FP if she performs it as well as she did in her SP.

Maybe someone posted this already, but here are the links to some YT vids for ladies SP:

ashley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1mUfXShd0s
agnes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzLFb2QlgXQ
mirai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SA4zR8meDA
caroline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhj4RKMSSH4

These were uploaded by the same user, so he/she might add more later. But the fact that this person uploaded Caroline's performance aside from the top 3, I think is also proof that most of the people who watched her skate thought it was very well done.

I'm assuming some people will defend the judges pointing out any faults they can find in Caroline's performance, but it was clear that the audience liked it, and I think that means something. Maybe her low scores were fair according to the current rules, but then I would say there are faults in the rules. Not in her performance.

Thanks for the videos Pochi.

I hadn't got to see Carolines SP yet this season. That song was gorgeous! And I agree with you guys - underscored! I felt so bad for her after the scores came up. She not only looked disappointed, she looked hurt. Like she was holding back tears.

Mirai skated with such ease and joy! I know the judges already want Ashley to win again, but it's not out of reach for Mirai. I'd love to see her steal it back again!

Ashley skated very well, and clean. IMO, she wasn't any better than Mirai, just different. She had serious music, and the program highlighted her precision, refinement, and good points.

Anges: I don't really care for her skating all that much. She is stiff, and still a little underdeveloped. I guess the clean 3-3 and the rest of the program made up for the fall.

There's still hope for Christina to medal. I really hope she does. She's a special skater, and that medal would give her more of that momentum she needs in her career.