(11 Feb 2014)  Over the next few days, the two American pair teams, Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir and Felicia Zhang & Nathan Bartholomay, should do the U.S. proud and show quite well in Sochi.

Castelli & Schnapir, who claimed their second consecutive U.S. title in Boston last month, are at the helm of this talented two-team squad and are in a good position, as they have serious arsenal under their belt, including huge throw triples, high-flying and smooth lifts and highly entertaining programs.

This New England based duo, who represent the Skating Club of Boston and scored gold at the 2014 U.S. Championships with two solid performances defined by excellent theatricality and exceptional technical elements, are all bout putting on a good show this week with their Olympic debut.

Thrilled at the prospect of representing their country in Sochi, Shnapir and Castelli, who is extremely popular among their peers in the American skating community, are determined to show the world that the U.S. pair standard is not only on the rise, but as formidable as ever.

In fact, the two, who are coached by Bobby Martin, Carrie Wall and Mark Mitchell, are planning on going for broke as they have planned to attempt a throw quad in their James Bond free skate.

“We’re excited to do that in Sochi,” said Marissa Castelli, 23, a Rhode Island native. “Simon and I are looking to put out two clean programs.”

Shnapir and Castelli, who placed 13^th at the 2013 World Championships and finished fourth and sixth during the 2013 International Skating Union Championship Grand Prix series last fall, are also realistic about their ambitions in regard to their medal hopes in Sochi and want to come out with a top-10 finish.

“We’re hoping to put out our strongest programs of the season,” said Shnapir, 26. “We want to put out the best programs we can skate.”

Certainly, after a solid performance in the team competition earlier in the week in which they helped Team USA win a bronze medal, they seem to be in a good position to perhaps even wind up as one of the top six finishers.

“We’re so proud to be representing the U.S.,” said Shnapir. “Hopefully, it’ll be a really positive experience for us.”

This team certainly seems to be in a good position to accomplish just that, especially in considering the quality of their personality and character.

In Boston, they earned some serious kudos for their honesty and candor during interviews with the media, especially when they discussed some of the challenges they have faced over the years in terms of working together as a team.

Admitting that there have been numerous times they have disagreed, did not get along with one another and even wanted to split up, they said sticking together through the tough times has only made them stronger.

“We’re both strong-willed Leos,” said Shnapir, who shares the same birthday, as Castelli, August 20^th, laughed during a pre-Olympic conference call interview several weeks ago.

At the end of the day, the two, who usually wind up spending their birthday together at Champs Camp in Colorado Springs, definitely have a dynamic that not only works, but that might eventually help catapult them right to the top of the international pair skating pinnacle in the coming years.

For now, the Olympics are a critical stop en route to this journey.

“[Simon and I] are good friends and business partners,” said Castelli. “Now we have the common goal of skating at the Olympics.”