US Nationals

US nationals start in just a little over a week (yay ). So I thought I would do the honors of starting the thread, since no one else has yet.

January 22 - January 30, 2011
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina

SCHEDULE:
Sunday, January 23
SESSION 1: 10:00 am-2:10 pm
Novice Compulsory Dance
Novice Ladies Short Program
SESSION 2: 2:30 pm-5:50 pm
Novice Men Short Program
Novice Pairs Short Program
SESSION 3: 7:30 pm-9:20 pm
Junior Men Short Program

Monday, January 24
SESSION 4: 10:30 am - 2:00 pm
Novice Free Dance
Novice Ladies Free Skate
SESSION 5: 3:45 pm - 7:40 pm
Novice Men Free Skate
Novice Pairs Free Skate
SESSION 6: 8:45 pm - 10:15 pm
Junior Ladies Short Program

Tuesday, January 25
SESSION 7: 11:00 am - 12:55 pm
Junior Short Dance
SESSION 8: 8:30 pm - 10:50 pm
Junior Men Free Skate

Wednesday, January 26
SESSION 9: 11:00 am - 3:35 pm
Junior Pairs Short Program
Junior Free Dance
SESSION 10: 8:30 pm - 10:40 pm
Junior Ladies Free Skate
Opening Ceremonies

Thursday, January 27
SESSION 11: 3:30 pm - 6:10 pm
Championship Pairs Short Program
SESSION 12: 7:15 pm - 11:05 pm
Championship Ladies Short Program

Friday, January 28
SESSION 13: 11:00 am - 1:25 pm
Junior Pairs Free Skate
SESSION 14: 3:00 pm - 5:40 pm
Championship Short Dance
SESSION 15: 7:30 pm - 11:15 pm
Championship Men Short Program

Saturday, January 29
SESSION 16: 10:45 am - 2:00 pm
Championship Pairs Free Skate (Groups 1-3)
Championship Free Dance (Groups 1-2)
SESSION 17: 2:30 pm - 5:50 pm
Championship Pairs Free Skate (Groups 4-5)
Championship Free Dance (Groups 3-4)
SESSION 18: 6:45 pm - 11:00 pm
Championship Ladies Free Skate

Sunday, January 30
SESSION 19: 1:30 pm - 5:50 pm
Championship Men Free Skate
SESSION 20: 7:00 pm - 10:15 pm
U.S. Championships Skating Spectacular

*I couldn't find info on groups yet.

TV SCHEDULE:
Tue, Jan 25 Time:? (Universals Sports)
Wed, Jan 26 Time:? (Universals Sports)
Thu, Jan 27 Time:? (Universals Sports)
Fri, Jan 28 Time:? (Universals Sports)

01/29/11 - Pairs Free Skate, Free Dance (LIVE) - NBC - 3:00pm - 6:00pm
01/29/11 - Pairs Free Skate, Free Dance, Ladies Short Program (re-air) - Universal Sports - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
01/29/11 - Ladies Free Skate (LIVE) - NBC - 9:00pm - 11:00pm
01/29/11 - Ladies Free Skate (re-air) - Universal Sports - 11:00pm - 1:00am
01/30/11 - Men's Free Skate (LIVE) - NBC - 4:00pm - 6:00pm
01/30/11 - Men's Free Skate (re-air) - Universal Sports - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
02/05/11 - Smucker's Skating Spectacular - NBC - 2:30pm - 4:30pm

*Sorry about the first four airings. I couldn't find any more info on them, but I'm assuming they will be the first airings of much of the competition, so they are the ones to watch out for. Just keep checking your tv listings for the times, and more info. As the dates approach the info will come.

it will be inretesting to see who will make the world team, it's gonna be a tough fight for the spots and seeing the grnaprix series this season the US ladies seem to be in top form so it wouldn't surprise me if this season is going to be some totally different skaters who make the team. eventhrough I really do hope that mirai makes it since she has great potential.

I don't know why, but I have this feeling that Alissa has already peaked and might not do her best at nationals, but I hope she proves me wrong. Either way, I hope the podium includes Nagasu and Wagner in addition to Alissa, and I hope the results reflect what happened on the ice.

For men, I want to see Adam, Jeremy, and Armin on the podium. Even though Mroz has had good results this season, I am not really a fan of his skating.

For dance, obviously I want Meryl and Charlie to win, but I really like the Shibutanis programs this year.

For pairs, I want to see Rockne and his new partner shake up the standings.

Overall, I am most excited for the Ladies, because anyone can win it and there are only two spots. I just hope it's not a splat-fest!

Thanks for the info Star85.

I'm rooting for Mirai and Alissa to get the two spots for the ladies, but I have no idea what the podium's going to look like, really. I guess that's what will make it exciting, right?

As for the men, it would be cool if Armin got on the podium—I think he's my favorite of the U.S. men this season (and no, I'm not just saying that because he's a Mao fan ).

illani wrote:

As for the men, it would be cool if Armin got on the podium—I think he's my favorite of the U.S. men this season (and no, I'm not just saying that because he's a Mao fan ).

Well it IS a good reason...

Unless Davis/White make a million mistakes, they're going to be first as they completely outdo the nearest competitors, whom are their teammates the Shibutanis as Samuelson/Bates are out this year.

Mirai and Alissa would be wonderful for the worlds team. I don't like saying this, but I hope Rachael Flatt does not make it this year. I don't like her style, and her programs are just... bleh this year, even more so than previous years. I doubt her new short program will make much difference.

Mahbanoozadeh is AWESOME!! I wish he could have taken one of the two open spots at TEB, he was great at Skate America.

Pairs competition will be funny as Evora and Barrett are engaged now. It'll probably end up being Evora/Ladwig and Denney/Barrett again, but I hope Evora/Ladwig win this time as I prefer their style. Overall, though, I'm not a huge fan of American pairs skating.

maofan93 wrote:

I don't know why, but I have this feeling that Alissa has already peaked and might not do her best at nationals, but I hope she proves me wrong.

One year ago her situation was very similar: she was very good at GP events, but only 10th at nationals. I have the feeling she won't qualify again, but hope it's only my feeling. I root for her & Mirai.

I don't like Lysacek & Weir, but men's event without them will be a bit boring

I'm really excited for the ladies competition! I'm not sure what to expect.

I was originally thinking that Alissa would win - she's coming off her GPF win so she'll be more confident and also get higher PCS, and it's not clear what shape Mirai is in right now. However, I just saw this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmwJAyesvJE) from January 8th and Alissa made mistakes on all 3 jumps of her short. A commenter does say that the ice might have been soft, so maybe that was the reason.

Now I'm thinking it may go like this:
1. Mirai (has had time that the GP Finalists didn't to train and get in better shape)
2. Alissa (might make some mistakes with the added pressure or may be tired out from the GPF)
3. Christina Gao or Agnes Zawadzki (whichever one can feel less pressure can very well get the bronze)
4. Ashley Wagner (after getting left off the Olympic team, I think she's hungry to do well here)
5. Rachael (still recovering from an injury, and she won't have the PCS boost that she did last year)
6. Christina Gao or Agnes

Anything may happen, though, which I guess makes it exciting, right?

For the men, I agree with those of you who said you want Jeremy, Adam, and Armin as the Top 3

I'm also rooting for the Shibutanis...they're such beautiful skaters..hope they do well.

Anyone heard of the fact that Rachael has changed her SP to 'East of Eden'? Pretty gutsy of her part and while I thought this was a really, really bad idea at first, I read from the FSUniverse forums some reassuring comments informing that people who witnessed the program gave positive feedback. It'll be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

I wish her all the best at Nationals. I'm not her biggest fan by any means, but all the bashing I've seen inflicted on her lately (particularly after the GPF) has got me rooting for her.

People criticize Rachael because Michelle used this music 10(!) years ago Ridiculous.

I'm happy she tries something new, I don't like her programs to jazz. I hope she will nicely surprise us

Alokya wrote:

Unless Davis/White make a million mistakes, they're going to be first as they completely outdo the nearest competitors, whom are their teammates the Shibutanis as Samuelson/Bates are out this year.

Mirai and Alissa would be wonderful for the worlds team. I don't like saying this, but I hope Rachael Flatt does not make it this year. I don't like her style, and her programs are just... bleh this year, even more so than previous years. I doubt her new short program will make much difference.

Mahbanoozadeh is AWESOME!! I wish he could have taken one of the two open spots at TEB, he was great at Skate America.

Pairs competition will be funny as Evora and Barrett are engaged now. It'll probably end up being Evora/Ladwig and Denney/Barrett again, but I hope Evora/Ladwig win this time as I prefer their style. Overall, though, I'm not a huge fan of American pairs skating.

ITA! Mirai and Alissa are the ones I want to make the wolrd team too. Not sure if it will go down this way, but it's as good a guess as any:
1. Mirai
2. Alissa
3. Rachael. It could also easily be Ashly or some newer skater (I'm hoping for this, cause I don't care for Rachael's skating much). When a newer skaters pops on the scene with a big splash like that, it's always exciting.

I would also really like to see Caroline do well, although I doubt it's going to happen this soon. The way her career has been unfolding is kind of reminding me of Alissa's: When she was newer to the scene, she was doing pretty good. Everyone thought she would be one of the top skaters in the country. Her skating was beautiful, and special. But flaws started to surface, and she had problems with her jumps, and doing well at all in competitions. People started losing faith in her. Alissa finally overcame this (well for the most part anyway. She's still not the most consistent skater, but she's doing much better now. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon), and she IS one of the top skaters in the country now. I hope it happens this way for Caroline too, because her skating is special, and I really like her....

As for the men, I think it will go this way:
1. Jeremy
2. Adam
3. Tough call... I'm going to go with Ryan Bradley. lol. He's a wild card, so you never know. Plus I really like him. He's always so entertaining, and he's been around forever but hasn't medaled in a while at nationals.

Are Evora and Barret really engaged?! lol. That IS interesting. Yes, I think those will definitely be the top two teams again, and I'm also hoping Evora and Ladwig take first. I think Caitlin Yankowskas & John Coughlin will probably take 3rd. I like them alot. I think they will pass up Denny and Barret before long (especially if they don't fix that freakin death spiral!).

Brought over from GS, via http://twitter.com/sylviaunseen

Ladies PRACTICE REPORT:
R Flatt had a great afternoon FS run thru, landing 7 triples: 2A-3T, 3Lz-2T, 3F, 3Lz, 3F-2T-2Lo, 3Lo, 3S (high free leg swing out).
C Zhang also looked good in her FS run thru: 3F-2T, 3Lz(e), 3S, 3Lo-2A, 3F, 3Lo-2T-'tano 2T, didn't see her last jump (step out?).
Yasmin Siraj, age 14, had a good FS run thru this afternoon: 3F, 3Lz2T, 2A3T bit shaky but landed, 3S, 3Lz, 3T, 2A2?2Lo, fast spins
Agnes Zawadzki's afternoon FS run thru: 2Aturns3T, 3F, 3Lz-lean F-2T, 3Lz high, 2Lo, 3S fall, 3T2T2Lo. Landed 3S fine afterwards.
Christina Gao's afternoon FS run thru: 3F3T nice, 3S, 3Lz2T2Lo, 3Lo fall, waltz jump instead of 2A, 1F, 3T2T, spins looked improved.
Ashley Wagner's FS run thru: 3F2T, 2A2(or3?)T, 1Lz, 3Lo2T2T, 3S, 3Lo fall, 3F step out. Landed 3F, 3Lo, 3Lz & 3F3T fine afterwards
Mirai Nagasu's FS run thru: 3Lz fall, 2A3T fall, 3F, 3Lz2T, 3T fall, 3Lo, Ina-2A. Landed 2A3T & many 3Lz b4 & after her run thru.

Hmmm....I might have to revise my predictions and put Rachael near the top.

Mirai 3 falls? Oh no...

I hope Mirai will held back her nerves and skate a great short program! I believe in you Mirai!

Ugh, usually nationals is a great competition for Mirai! I hope she pulls it together to win a second title, she really deserves it!! Any news on Alissa Czisny?

NEW LADIES PRACTICE REPORTS:
(compiled from the Sylvia Unseen twitter)

Mirai seems to be doing better: 3Lz, 2A fall (planned 2A3T), 3F2T, 3Lz, 3T2T2Lo, 3Lo, Ina-2A. Saw her do a 2A3T beforehand.
Christina Gao: 3F3T fell out (not enough speed), 3S, skated thru 3Lz (not warmed up yet), 3Lo, 2A, 3F, 3T2T.
Agnes Zawadzki just did a solid 6-triple FS run thru: 2A3T, 3F(high swinging free leg on landing), 3Lz2T, 2Lz, 3Lo, 3S, 3T2T2Lo.
Ashley Wagner's partial FS runthru: 3F2T, waltz jump, threw in 2A3T fall, stopped for a bit, 3Lo2T2Lo, 3S, 3Lo fell out, 3F stopped again.
Alissa Czisny warmed up her jumps well - I've seen 3F, 3Lz2T (twice), 2A (twice), 3Lo, 3T2T. SP run thru: 3Lz2T, 3F bit shaky, 2A.
Crowd enthusiastically applauded after Czisny finished her SP. Her spins were fabulous as usual & she finished her practice early.
Rachael Flatt did a complete FS run thru & landed everything: 2A3T, 3Lz2T, 3F, 3Lz, 3F2T2Lo, 3Lo, 3S. Very impressive display!
Caroline Zhang's jumps in FS run thru: 3F2T, 3Lz (picking leg still high), 3S, stopped, 3Lo-2A, stopped, 3F fall, 3Lo no combo, 2A.

Agh, I really hope Mirai is able to get the practice sessions out of her mind and deliver tomorrow..the short is her strength after all. It seems like Rachael and Alissa are very strong. Oh, and apparently Mirai was practicing a 3A! "Mirai Nagasu was trying 3A! Jump isn't there yet but it looks possible."

MEN'S PRACTICE REPORTS:
Bradley got going on his jumps afterwards - I saw a 4T3T & 3S3T3T, also a few popped jumps here & there. Crowd favorite, of course!
AMahbanoozadeh's SP run thru: 3A, 3F3T, 1Lz. He later landed 3Lz fine & worked on 4T (saw 3 falls & a doubled attempt).
Adam Rippon's SP run thru: skipped 3A, 3F3T, Rippon 3Lz, dramatic choreo, nice spins. Landed several 3A after & rest of triples.
Rippon also practiced 4T & I saw 2 falls - rotation not quite there today. Solid 1st practice overall for him.
Mroz didn't look quite warmed up yet in his SP run thru: 4T fall out/hands down, 1A, 3Lz-pause-3T. Landed at least 1 3A & 4T later.
In the afternoon practice, Mroz had a good FS run thru: 4T, 3A3T, 3Lz, break, 3Lo, 1A, 3Lz2T, 3S, 3F step out. Landed some 3A later.
Keegan Messing rocked his SP run thru in morning: 3A flowy, 3Lz(low knee save!)3T, 1F. Got 3F later but tweaked ankle on 4T attempt.
Messing practiced in aft. & got opening 3A & 3T in FS run thru b4 doubling some jumps. He was ok to try several 4T (falls) at end.
Jeremy Abbott wasn't there apparently.

Mirai is really practicing a 3A?!

Here's a short article about the ladies practice:
http://www.universalsports.com/blogs/blog=gofigure/postid=512733.html

And a new article about Mirai:
http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=512873.html#nagasus+biggest+challenge+could+doubts
Here she says that Evan "Never has a bad day". Well gee! How nice that must be!

Star85 wrote:

Mirai is really practicing a 3A?!

Here's a short article about the ladies practice:
http://www.universalsports.com/blogs/blog=gofigure/postid=512733.html

And a new article about Mirai:
http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=512873.html#nagasus+biggest+challenge+could+doubts
Here she says that Evan "Never has a bad day". Well gee! How nice that must be!

Seems like Mirai is really practicing the 3A now. According to practice tweets yesterday from http://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen she was practicing some and the jump isn't there yet but not impossible.

I'm not sure how much she practices it. I remember watching this clip of her practicing it a long time ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hdBcickrUg

well I don't know what to say about mirai practicing a jump as diffecult as a 3A cause she will never be able to succed a jump as with a three and a half revolutuions in the air when she barely able to do the three revolutions, and is having so many falls and is inconsistent with her other jumps that are important to deliever if she want's o make the world team.

and all the respect for mirai by trying to do new stuff, but she has to be a bit more realistic. since one doesn't start to learn a 3A when you are 16 especialy if you're not the best jumper nor the most consistent. when mao began to do a 3A she begann at the age of 12 and was known as an incredible jumper who had all the tripples and a 3-3 combination and was practicing even quad, and even with that mao dedicated alot of her time to the 3A to be able to keep it even when she became taller and her body changed. and has been doing it regurlary in competition for many years.

sorry but I think that if mirai want's to make the world team she better focus on her jumps and deliever it instead of thinking of a jump that is practically impossible for her to ever succed it, and which will likely give her another injury which isn't exactly what she needs right now...

It was many years ago, I don't think she practices 3A now.

In all honesty, having the necessary technique to do a clean 3A, even if she doesn't do it in competitions, might help Mirai with her rotation problems on other triple jumps. She needs faster and tighter revolutions with greater height - all requirements of a 3A. If she can do a clean 3A in practice, it should benefit her with the rest of her jumps. I was reading a news article about Mirai's 3A - she enjoys it, but she knows that there is a lot more to work on with her skating before she can focus on getting a 3A in competition.

Yeah, I think right now it's what Alokya said, as well as just a fun (albeit difficult) element to do in practice. She's not considering putting it into a program yet, though I think she might try it in years to come after she gets all the rest of her jumps fully rotated. I think most skaters have certain jumps or combinations they practice sometimes but don't put in competitions. Maybe Mirai is playing mind games with her competition a la Shizuka at Olympic practice sessions

63.35 in the short program, go mirai!

Wow, it's going to be a tough fight for the two worlds spots!

Look how close the Top 4 are:
1 Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC 63.35
2 Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC 62.50
3 Rachael Flatt, Broadmoor SC 62.32
4 Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC 61.54