U.S. Nats 2009!

Senior pairs and ID is already under way, but since the marquee event that is the ladies is starting, I figured I may as well start the thread.

Held: January 18 - January 25, 2009
Where: Cleveland! (Venue - Quicken Loans Arena)
USFS Event Page: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=37784
Schedule: http://www.cleveland2009.com/schedule.htm
Results Page: http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/34540/results.html


Lots of things to look out for, although I guess the main news going into this is:
Kimmie + Emily not competing, ditto for B/A
Mirai's toe jumps getting better...is it enough for competition?
The rest of the "Fantastic Four" - Rachael, Ashley, and CaroZ - a lot of expectations especially on Rachael and Ashley
Possible spoilers by the junior girls (Becky, Angela, etc.)
Johnny vs. Evan vs. Jeremy vs. all the other U.S. men

I guess one of the main interests for me is how the judging will go for the ladies. It's unlikely that edge calls or UR calls will go as stringently as in Japanese Nats (I can just imagine all the booing if it does!) but hmm...

I'm currently watching on IN; Universal Sports - for those who have it on cable - also has it live. IIRC, the JSports Channel for those who have Japanese cable can also view the event. I guess those without...has to deal with live feeds...? (NBC will air the free skate live tomorrow)

Thank you clovera for starting this thread!!

I'm watching on IN right now too, but maybe not for long...I'm not feeling too good and I think I need to sleep.

Go Mirai!!

I wonder if Mao sent her a good luck fax like she did last year... It warms my heart to hear about Mao doing sweet stuff like that.

ETA Mirai just skated. OMG, she skates soooo fast now. She hit the boards once and almost hit them a few more times! WHOA! She missed the combo after the initial 3Lz, so added a 2T after the 3F, but then her 2A got downgraded. She's currently 4th.

Ladies' SP Results
1 Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC 65.75 37.98 27.77 6.93 6.54 6.93 7.00 7.32 0.00 #5
2 Rachael Flatt, Broadmoor SC 60.19 34.02 26.17 6.50 6.50 6.64 6.50 6.57 0.00 #23
3 Caroline Zhang, All Year FSC 58.91 33.83 25.08 6.43 6.18 6.32 6.25 6.18 0.00 #6
4 Brittney Rizo, SC of Boston 55.43 31.95 23.48 5.93 5.46 6.00 5.93 6.04 0.00 #18
5 Katrina Hacker, SC of Boston 54.79 31.22 23.57 5.79 5.54 6.00 5.96 6.18 0.00 #3
6 Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC 54.79 29.17 25.62 6.50 6.14 6.43 6.50 6.46 0.00 #13
7 Kristine Musademba, Washington FSC 53.48 32.59 20.89 5.61 4.89 5.25 5.11 5.25 0.00 #9
8 Joelle Forte, SC of New York 53.13 32.47 20.66 5.57 4.89 5.25 5.04 5.07 0.00 #15
9 Laney Diggs, All Year FSC 52.30 30.42 21.88 5.50 5.14 5.64 5.50 5.57 0.00 #17
10 Beatrisa Liang, All Year FSC 51.49 27.10 24.39 6.25 5.89 5.93 6.25 6.18 0.00 #20
11 Alexe Gilles, Broadmoor SC 50.30 30.72 20.58 5.29 4.86 5.32 5.00 5.25 1.00 #12
12 Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington 50.28 24.62 25.66 6.50 6.18 6.29 6.50 6.61 0.00 #19
13 Angela Maxwell, Dallas FSC 50.02 29.68 20.34 5.25 4.75 5.32 4.96 5.14 0.00 #11

I must say this definitely wasn't what I was predicting - apart from Rachael and CaroZ. A good handful of the up-and-comers have made it to the top 2 groups. Ashley's jumps were not on today, and I'm beginning to understand the timing issue Mirai mentioned about her jumps - her jumps were dangerously close to the boards and it felt like her takeoff was behind somewhat.

I have a weird feeling that Alissa might end up "having a Yukari" in the free skate on Saturday.

clovera wrote:

I have a weird feeling that Alissa might end up "having a Yukari" in the free skate on Saturday.

I'm having this bad feeling too. But before I become over-pessimistic, let me stay in a cheerful mood and celebrate Alissa's top position! I'm so happy for her!

My favourite US skater! Go Alissa!! I don't want to jinx her or anything but I'm really happy she could pull off such an amazing score. I can't wait to see the vids. Her program to The Swan is just gorgeous

CONgratulation to ALISSA!! I'M sooo happy For HER!!

ALYSSA IS THE CHAMPION!!!!
congratulation !!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Ladies' FS Scores
1 Ashley Wagner 115.05 60.47 54.58 6.96 6.50 6.93 6.79 6.93 0.00
2 Rachael Flatt 113.59 60.28 53.31 6.86 6.50 6.64 6.68 6.64 0.00
3 Alissa Czisny 112.31 52.68 60.63 7.43 7.21 7.75 7.61 7.89 1.00
4 Caroline Zhang 112.17 58.46 53.71 6.82 6.21 6.86 6.71 6.96 0.00
5 Mirai Nagasu 105.20 49.94 55.26 7.07 6.64 6.86 6.93 7.04 0.00
6 Katrina Hacker 101.49 52.44 49.05 6.11 5.93 6.11 6.21 6.29 0.00
7 Angela Maxwell 101.20 57.49 43.71 5.75 5.07 5.64 5.43 5.43 0.00
8 Alexe Gilles 100.90 55.44 45.46 5.89 5.39 5.89 5.64 5.61 0.00
9 Brittney Rizo 95.80 46.30 49.50 6.29 6.07 6.11 6.29 6.18 0.00
10 Laney Diggs 95.18 48.09 47.09 5.57 5.71 6.18 5.93 6.04 0.00
11 Kristine Musademba 94.00 50.65 44.35 5.79 5.43 5.50 5.46 5.54 1.00
12 Taylor Firth 93.20 51.30 41.90 5.29 4.96 5.36 5.21 5.36 0.00

Ladies' Overall Scores
1 Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC 178.06 1 3
2 Rachael Flatt, Broadmoor SC 173.78 2 2
3 Caroline Zhang, All Year FSC 171.08 3 4
4 Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington 165.33 12 1
5 Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC 159.99 6 5
6 Katrina Hacker, SC of Boston 156.28 5 6
7 Brittney Rizo, SC of Boston 151.23 4 9
8 Angela Maxwell, Dallas FSC 151.22 13 7
9 Alexe Gilles, Broadmoor SC 151.20 11 8
10 Laney Diggs, All Year FSC 147.48 9 10
11 Kristine Musademba, Washington FSC 147.48 7 11
12 Joelle Forte, SC of New York 145.33 8 13

A fall on the second 3Lz and a doubled jump from Alissa (3T-2T turned 2T-2T), but overall, a gorgeous skate. She was so touching in the Kiss&Cry. She got all teary eyed and you could really tell this meant the world to her. I'm so happy!!

Mirai actually had me jumping behind the couch to hide before her FS. The poor dear was so scared to mess up that she was crying before she got on the ice. But she held it together, stayed on her feet and delivered a really good skate. I started this behind the couch, but by the end of the program, I was actually jumping up and down about two feet away from the screen, squealing like an idiot Couldn't help it, but I gotta go apologize to the neighbours for all that noise...

Men's SP

1 Jeremy Abbott 86.40 46.79 39.61 7.93 7.68 8.11 7.89 8.00 0.00
2 Evan Lysacek 83.59 45.30 38.29 7.79 7.21 7.93 7.75 7.61 0.00
3 Parker Pennington 76.17 43.09 33.08 6.54 6.18 6.89 6.61 6.86 0.00
4 Brandon Mroz 74.88 42.91 31.97 6.54 6.29 6.36 6.39 6.39 0.00
5 Ryan Bradley 74.05 39.16 34.89 6.96 6.18 7.57 6.93 7.25 0.00
6 Curran Oi 72.76 41.87 30.89 6.11 5.93 6.21 6.46 6.18 0.00
7 Johnny Weir 70.76 33.54 37.22 7.68 7.14 7.43 7.43 7.54 0.00
8 Stephen Carriere 69.36 36.14 33.22 6.68 6.50 6.50 6.79 6.75 0.00
9 Dennis Phan 69.11 38.86 30.25 6.21 5.75 6.11 6.18 6.00 0.00
10 Shaun Rogers 64.13 35.16 28.97 6.04 5.50 5.86 5.93 5.64 0.00
11 Jason Wong 63.40 35.34 29.06 5.96 5.57 5.96 5.82 5.75 1.00
12 Adam Rippon 62.22 30.69 31.53 6.46 6.14 6.29 6.32 6.32 0.00

...I wonder what happened to Johnny...

chiyori wrote:

Men's SP

1 Jeremy Abbott 86.40 46.79 39.61 7.93 7.68 8.11 7.89 8.00 0.00
2 Evan Lysacek 83.59 45.30 38.29 7.79 7.21 7.93 7.75 7.61 0.00
3 Parker Pennington 76.17 43.09 33.08 6.54 6.18 6.89 6.61 6.86 0.00
4 Brandon Mroz 74.88 42.91 31.97 6.54 6.29 6.36 6.39 6.39 0.00
5 Ryan Bradley 74.05 39.16 34.89 6.96 6.18 7.57 6.93 7.25 0.00
6 Curran Oi 72.76 41.87 30.89 6.11 5.93 6.21 6.46 6.18 0.00
7 Johnny Weir 70.76 33.54 37.22 7.68 7.14 7.43 7.43 7.54 0.00
8 Stephen Carriere 69.36 36.14 33.22 6.68 6.50 6.50 6.79 6.75 0.00
9 Dennis Phan 69.11 38.86 30.25 6.21 5.75 6.11 6.18 6.00 0.00
10 Shaun Rogers 64.13 35.16 28.97 6.04 5.50 5.86 5.93 5.64 0.00
11 Jason Wong 63.40 35.34 29.06 5.96 5.57 5.96 5.82 5.75 1.00
12 Adam Rippon 62.22 30.69 31.53 6.46 6.14 6.29 6.32 6.32 0.00

...I wonder what happened to Johnny...

He singled his 3 axel

Congrats to Alyssa!

I haven't had time to watch the videos and follow the results... It's the end of the term at my Uni now and I'm buried up to head in projects and exams.
Only a fews days more and I'll be able to enjoy my figure skating peacefully!

Just wondering, how many places do the US skaters have in each dicipline?

SoMiTripleAxel wrote:

Just wondering, how many places do the US skaters have in each dicipline?

3 in Men and Dance, 2 in Ladies and Pairs, I think (not so sure about Pairs ).

OMG CONGRATS ALISSA!!! Her first national title!
And I was worried for nothing! ;D

I can't wait to see the programmes now! Wagner also amazes me with her great comeback; 12th in the short and then went to top the rankings for the free skate? REMARKABLE!

Johnny had a really tough time in the FS as well... Singled out his first 3A, doubled a 3L and fell on his last jump (a flip?). I can't even remember the last time I saw him actually fall. He looked really hesitant, but he fought through it and didn't leave a single jumping pass out (like he used to do). With all the health problems he had and the weight he lost recently, I guess he couldn't really be at his best just yet.

He got 133.23, overall 203.99 and he's still in 1st place with the last group to skate... So there's still hope, but he didn't put himself in a nice position. The other skaters would have to bomb for him to have a chance. But whatever happens, I truly hope the USFSA will name him to the World team for his track record and the fact that he is responsible for US Men getting 3 spots at 2009 Worlds.

I'll always be a Johnny fan!! And I'll keep cheering for him even if I have to wait for next season. He's always been my favourite skater and he'll always be. I hope he gets well and doesn't let this bad week affect his confidence

Hehehe... Me again

Men's FS
1 Jeremy Abbott 155.49 75.49 80.00 7.89 7.93 7.93 8.07 8.18 0.00
2 Brandon Mroz 154.82 82.12 72.70 7.21 7.14 7.32 7.39 7.29 0.00
3 Ryan Bradley 147.35 76.85 70.50 6.96 6.32 7.68 7.00 7.29 0.00
4 Evan Lysacek 145.51 72.73 73.78 7.61 7.04 7.39 7.46 7.39 1.00
5 Johnny Weir 133.23 63.87 70.36 7.54 6.32 6.93 7.21 7.18 1.00
6 Adam Rippon 131.54 66.96 65.58 6.57 6.43 6.64 6.54 6.61 1.00
7 Tommy Steenberg 125.22 67.50 57.72 5.79 5.46 5.89 5.86 5.86 0.00
8 Curran Oi 121.27 62.07 59.20 6.04 5.71 5.82 6.21 5.82 0.00
9 Eliot Halverson 120.05 64.19 55.86 5.29 5.29 5.96 5.71 5.68 0.00
10 Parker Pennington 116.31 55.19 63.12 6.50 6.14 6.21 6.39 6.32 2.00
11 Stephen Carriere 115.95 52.39 64.56 6.50 6.50 6.25 6.57 6.46 1.00
12 Dennis Phan 114.14 56.86 58.28 6.25 5.54 5.82 5.89 5.64 1.00

Overall Scores
1 Jeremy Abbott, Broadmoor SC 241.89 1 1
2 Brandon Mroz, Broadmoor SC 229.70 4 2
3 Evan Lysacek, DuPage FSC 229.10 2 4
4 Ryan Bradley, Broadmoor SC 221.40 5 3
5 Johnny Weir, SC of New York 203.99 7 5
6 Curran Oi, SC of Boston 194.03 6 8
7 Adam Rippon, SC of New York 193.76 12 6
8 Parker Pennington, Winterhurst FSC 192.48 3 10
9 Stephen Carriere, SC of Boston 185.31 8 11
10 Tommy Steenberg, SC of Northern Virginia 184.99 14 7
11 Dennis Phan, All Year FSC 183.25 9 12
12 Shaun Rogers, University of Delaware FSC 175.72 10 13

God, this was such a weird competition - results were completely different from what I predicted in both singles events. Congrats to Jeremy, and poor Johnny. I wonder which 3 USFS is going to pick - Ryan nor Brandon have left that remarkable of a result on the international circuit...at least not to the level of Johnny. Evan still doesn't seem up to par ever since last season.

I'm happy for Alissa winning, for the most part. It seems her victory is met with great enthusiasm, and it's nice to see her skate well, but I just can't feel comfortable with a 3 triple program with doubled jumps + a fall beat out, or score as much as cleaner skates - it's similar to how I felt a bit miffed when Mao's FS at Nats scored lower than Fumie's because of all the DG's. Rachael got her 3-3 dinged, so in the end the DG's told the story, which I'm never too happy about (Mirai got 2, which I thought was just terrible because her performance was so emotional. ) Ashley's comeback was remarkable - I love her Spartacus program and it is such a shame to not be able to see it anymore this season.

Although I watched it on NBC, I wished IN also showed it simultaneously live like last year...NBC's strategy to hog and "deliver" sports broadcasts is really starting to bug me - they did an atrocious job during the Beijing Olys and I can't help but hope for ESPN on ABC to come back more frequently. Sports on NBC is terrible, period.

On a different note, Mr. Dick Button was one of the presenters during the ceremony for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. It's nice to see him again and well - I really hope he gets to commentate for the Olympics like in Torino.

biiiiiiiig congrats to Alissa and Jeremy!!!
The final standing was so unpredictable but they really deserve it! I hope USFSA will select the world team in regular order.

Ok, here are the teams for Worlds, 4CC and Junior Worlds: http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=42483

I just checked the world team members. I have no issues with them, except I am a bit at the now-senior level Mirai, Ashley, and CaroZ being sent to Jr. Worlds again. I guess it's because they feel those 3 will be important contenders for the Olympic team mix and sending them for more international exposure, but I don't understand why USFS couldn't have just went with the current junior girls like Angela and Becky.

At least this means I get to see Spartacus again though...

I have to agree with clovera, the Jr. Worlds team is a little weird , and maybe Mirai would have preferred to end her season after Nationals so she can focus and getting healthy and used to being taller...but oh well.

Congrats to Alissa!! Good for her! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her at Worlds.

I have to say that I was most impressed by Mirai though - not because she had the best performance, but because she started in tears, held it together, and ended with a smile! I adore her, and I think if she can get her stuff together by next year, she could be a serious contender!

Anyone else see the ice dance? I LOVE Charlie White and Meryl Davis!! I thought the OD was okay, but I was totally blown away by their FD!

Off to watch the men now (yes, I'm behind)...

Me again.

I found this article/interview with Mirai from before Nationals - I post it only because they ask her about Mao.
http://www.lifeskate.com/skate/2009/01/mirai-nagasu-nationals-press-conference-1.html

Part 2:
http://www.lifeskate.com/skate/2009/01/mirai-nagasu-press-conference-2.html

Where I live, we currently don't have cable, and I don't subscribe to icenetwork (we get cbc here, so I don't have to pay those jerks to watch skating ) , so I record figure skating on the dvr at my parent's house, and I watch it when I go over there. I JUST watched the woman's LP last night. I have been avoiding skating sites for over a week, and I tried not to read most of the posts about this competition on here yet. I will read them after I watch the rest of the competition. That will hopefully be today.

Anyway, I have to start by congratulating Alissa! I speak for many people when I say that we have always recognized her talent, and the beautiful qualities of her skating. We have just been waiting for her. Waiting for her to "arrive". I still don't think she has quite arrived yet, but I think she's much closer to her destination. I hope this big win helps her confidence, and get's her closer to being the skater I've always hoped she would become. I'm so happy for her!

I was delighted by almost everyone's performance. And I don't say that for most competitions. Once again, the US showed that it has a deep field of up and coming ladies skaters - and plenty of different ones from the promising looking girls last year! The only one that was disappointing was Bebe's Poor Bebe. The one's that had the most "wow factor" for me were:

1. Mirai! Mirai showed everyone in her long program that she is a star! She went out there with tears in her eyes, but by the time her music started, you could see this fearce look in her eyes. It said, "Damn it! I'm gonna do this! And I'm gonna do it GOOD! I'll show everyone how good I am!" And she did! This was my favorite skate of the night, and the best LP I've seen from her yet. She has grown a lot taller in the past year, and had problems this season, but I have the feeling we will be seeing great things from her.

2. Alissa. Even though there were flaws in her program, everyone can see that Alissa is special, and it looks like she's improving on her consistency, and confidence. I hope she continues to improve. I always thought she could be one of the best in the world if she could work out her problems. Maybe she's finally on track?...

3. Laney Diggs. She was nowhere near medaling, but she was one of my favorites. As I watched her skate, I thought, "Wow. Wow! She is REALLY good!" I don't say think about many skaters. I thought she deserved a better score. But maybe some of her jumps were under rotated, and she wasn't doing very difficult elements. I thought she was great though.

4. Caroline. Caroline didn't give me as strong of a "wow factor" as I have seen from her before, but it was still a clean, pleasant, pretty program. She said she has been working on her speed, but I couldn't really tell...

5. Ashly. Ashly has a lot of splash. She did very good, and she made a huge jump from the sp, to the lp. I enjoyed her program a lot, but I don't think she should have outscored Mirai.

Quote :

1. Mirai! Mirai showed everyone in her long program that she is a star! (...) She has grown a lot taller in the past year, and had problems this season, but I have the feeling we will be seeing great things from her.

I agree! I felt so bad for her when she took the ice with tears in her eyes... You could see that she didn't feel confident at all, but still she didn't want to let her fans down. It takes a lot of mental strenght to compete well under such pressure. I was very moved and impressed!

I Mirai! My love for Mirai is only second to my love for Mao! I hope she can fully recover from her ankle injury and get used to her new body, because I love her skating!