1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Novice Pairs

Final Standings

        J1:  Scott Cormier
        J2:  Marie Pearce
        J3:  Tamie Campbell
        J4:  Bette Snuggerud
        J5:  J. Barlow Nelson
        J6:  Coco Shean
        J7:  Janet McLeod
        J8:  Linda Chihara
        J9:  Brett Drury

Notes after the long program.

The novice pairs free skating had two strong performances that resulted in a rare tie for first place in the long program.  Anselmi & Adler placed first overall by virtue of having won the short program.  They had a respectable double twist and landed throw double loop and throw double Salchow.  They were one of only two teams to include the difficult back outside death spiral in their program in addition to the forward inside repeated from the short program.  Also in first place in the long program for a second place finish overall where Appel & Kaplan.  Their double twist was not as securely done as Anselmi & Adler's but was still acceptable for this level.  They also landed throw double Salchow and throw double loop.  They included only one death spiral, the forward inside repeated from he short program.

Ross & McPherson moved up from fourth in the short program to third overall by placing third in the free skating.  Their double twist was one of the best of the day.  They also landed the only successful throw double Axels of the day.  Two other teams attempted the throw double Axel, but the girl fell on both of those attempts.   Ross & McPherson also landed throw double loop and included two death spirals in their program, a back inside in the up position, and the forward inside.

While the top teams all skated well for this level and should be pleased with their accomplishment, they all still need some maturing before they are ready for junior.   In addition, the double twists were poor for the group of 13 teams as a whole.   Only two teams had really strong twists and two others had respectable ones.   This traditional weakness of American pair skating continues to needs a great deal of work.

Notes after the short program.

No one team stood out in the pairs short program.  Anselmi & Adler did not have a majority of firsts and not a particularly strong majority of seconds.  Their lift consisted of a nice swan (platter) to star with a twist out.  For a side-by-side spin the use camel - sit, and their pair spin was a nice kilian tango.  Close behind then in second place with four first place ordinals - two more than the first place team - were Appel & Kaplan.  Their lift was a simple press.  For spins they used side-by-side flying camel and a kilian camel pair spin.  Campos & Biancosino, who placed third, also received two first place ordinals.  Their twist lift was weak.   For the lift they used a hand-to-hand loop lift.  Their spins consisted of simple side-by-side camels and a parallel sit pair spin.

Free Skating

Short Program

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