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All photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano |
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All photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano |
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By Minnie Sanderson Brittany Chase and Andrew Speroff (Broadmoor SC) skated away with the top spot scoring 37.35 in the Novice Pairs competition at the Exel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, this afternoon. The team narrowly edged out the competition with their first-rate rendition of “Soda Pop. They performed most of their elements with high energy and were consistently in synch, particularly on their crossovers, side-by-side double loops and footwork. “We felt very good out there—we just tried to stay relaxed and have a good time,” said Andrew Speroff. Some of the standout elements of their program included a split double twist, big throw double loop and a fast and fluid lasso lift which Chase finished in an upside-down stag position. Remarkably, this is only the second competition that the team has ever done, with the first being Midwesterns where they had come up with a silver-medal finish. The team was just formed in late August after Speroff’s former partner had suddenly decided to part ways with him. Chase, who had never skated pairs before, tried out with Speroff and they hit it off instantly. In one week, she took four official U.S. Figure Skating Pair tests and the team sent in their application for the 2008 qualifying season. “It’s been a hard year for Andrew and I’m just so happy for him,” said Judy Speroff, Andrew’s mom. “I’m just happy they skated well—they’re such good kids.” Brynn Carman and Christopher Knierim, also of the Broadmoor SC, came up second with a score of 37.01. Their interpretation of Mozart’s “Chopsticks” was entertaining, powerful and engaging, although Carman fell on her side-by-side double loop and slipped in the straight-line footwork. Kloe Bautista (All Year FSC) and Galvani Hopson (Los Angeles FSC) claimed the third position with their lively take to the “Austin Powers” theme, for which they earned 35.93 points. They performed a split double twist lift, a big throw triple loop and a one-handed lasso lift with strength and aptitude. Their side-by-side double loops were also nicely in synch. The only flaw was in their side-by-side flying camel/back sit/upright combination in which he fell slightly out of synch—something that seemed to happen frequently among this particular group. Still, their choreography and interpretation of the music was exceptional. This program was created by Renee Roca, the former U.S. ice dancer. “The team came here with the intention to perform well and although it wasn’t a great day, they did their job,” said Lloyd Eisler, who trains the team at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Los Angeles, California. Marissa Castelli (Smithfield FSC) and Simon Schnapir (Colonial FSC) would up fourth with a total score of 35.62. Their program was innovative, dramatic and provided an ideal showcase for their various elements. It was choreographed by Sheryl Franks, the former U.S. Olympic pair team skater. They did a big throw double Axel, well-extended one-handed lasso lift and a horizontal split double twist lift. The team faltered slightly however on their side-by-side flying camel/back sit/upright spin combination and Schnapir fell out of the side-by-side double loops. “I think we got really excited about the throw double Axel and lost our concentration a little bit, but the top four scores are all so close it’s going to be a free game in the long program, and we’re looking forward to it,” said Castelli. Schnapir agreed. “I think we’re in a position where we can go all out and I’m looking forward to it.” |
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The top four teams all held on for medals, with two teams moving up and two teams moving down by one place. Bryn Carman & Christopher Knierim, who were second in the Short Program, won the Free Skate to win the Novice Pairs Championship. The 2007 National pewter medalists and 2008 Midwestern Champions skated to the theme from "City Slickers" with speed and enthusiasm. Though they had two significant errors in their jump elements, they made up for it in other elements and also in their Program Component scores. Their opening double twist was huge, with two judges going to plus three in GoE and five judges marking it plus two. Another strong element was their forward inside death spiral, and their last lift which consisted of a star takeoff into a lido position. Both jump elements, however, were missed by Knierim, the first being an intended double Luzt- double toe loop combination for which he eked out a single Lutz, and a double flip which he single. By sticking to double throws and a double twist, the team went for quality over difficulty and the strategy paid off. In Program Components the team scored in the low to mid fives for all components. Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir placed second in the long and dropped to third overall. They scored highest in TES in the Free Skate but could not closed the deal with the Program Components. Their opening lasso lift was well executed with nine plus twos for GoEs. Most of the following elements were also well executed, though in the second half they ran into problems. Their spiral sequence was marked minus one by six of the judges, and was followed by a big fall on throw triple Salchow. In addition, Shnapir left out the double toe loop in an intended double flip - double toe loop combination. These three errors, and a poorly interpreted program, cost them the victory in this event. Skating to music from "Gladiator," their program components were in the low fives, with some judges going into the fours. The lowest marked component was Interpretation, and rightly so. Castelli made a brave attempt to express the music, but Shnapir was MIA for the entire program. Considering that the music chosen was primarily the theme representing the gladiator's longing for his dead wife, it was odd to see the woman doing all the work to interpret the music, with not a hint of emotion coming from the man. Brittany Chase & Andrew Speroff placed third in the Free Skate and dropped to second overall, after winning the Short Program. The team was scored positive on nine of eleven elements with GoEs consisting mostly of zeros and plus ones. Early in the program, however, they had a fall on throw double loop and near the end they both missed their planned double Lutz - double toe loop combination. Oddly enough one skater completed a single double and the other a double single. In any event, due to unequal rotations between the two partners the GoEs for this element where all minus twos and threes. Finishing 0.57 points behind the second place team, either of these errors cost them a place. Skating to music from "The Addams Family," it was not the usual cut of music and thus proved to be a more interesting program than is normally the case for this overused piece of music. The Program Component scores were in the low fives, with Skating Skills and Interpretation their two highest marks. Finishing fourth in the Free Skate and fourth overall were Chloe Bautista & Galvani Hopson. The couple displayed some minor strengths in most of their elements (with GoEs of zero and plus ones) and had minor errors in two others. Their best elements proved to be their opening double twist and a flying combination spin, called level 2. On throw triple loop Bautista but a hand down for a loss of 0.40 points and on their press lift GoEs of minus one cost them another 0.30 points. There Program Components were mainly in the high fours, except for Interpretation, which was the lowest of the five marks at 4.61, for a routine that was mundane at best. |
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