2008 U.S. Nationals

Senior Ladies

Text and photos copyright 2008 by George S. Rossano

Up until the ice cut after the second of four groups had skated, this event was looking to be a major disappointment.  Caroline Zhang did not live up to the hype preceding her, and Beatrisa Liang did not step up to the plate either.  Kimmie Meissner did not skate like a National Champion no less a World Champion.  Alissa Czisny did not skate like a contender either, with all her jumps MIA.  With all the talent skating in the first two groups, no one broke 60 points.

The second half, however, was a breath of fresh air.  Mirai Nagasu, who has skated in the long shadow cast by the Zhang hype, kicked butt, breaking 70 points.  Rachael Flatt gave a sterling performance, as did Ashley Wagner.  At the end, Kimmie Meissner found herself over five points off the pace to take one of the top three spots.  At this point the best thing Meissner has going for her is that both Nagasu and Flatt are not age-eligible to go to Worlds.  So if the current leaders in the top three spots hold their places, Meissner only has to place fourth or fifth to make the World Team.

Skating to "I Got Rhythm," Nagasu proved that she did.  She was scored best in both TES and PCS.  She landed a strong opening triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination, a nice triple flip (though two judges scored it below zero in GoE), and a strong double Axel.  Her spins and sequences were were all called level 4, except for a level 3 straight line step sequence.  Except for a flying sit spin which was marked at Base Value, all her elements were scored positive.

Her performance was energetic and dynamic.  It was fast, clean and enthusiastically presented.  Her Program Components were generally in the mid sevens with transitions marked about half a point lower than that.  Nagasu's scores rocketed her to the top of the standing, nearly 13 points ahead of Meissner who was the leader up until that point.

Nagasu was followed in the start order by Flatt, who skated to "It Ain't Necessarily So."  Flatt also landed a clean triple Lutz - triple toe loop, that was scored positive, though not quite as high as Nagasu.  Also clean were her triple flip (one judge had it at minus one) and double Axel. Flatt racked up 62.91 points, even though only one of her elements reached level 4 and her spiral sequence was only level 1.  Her program nicely captured the tone of the music and was rewarded with Program Components in the mid to upper sixes.  Flatt was scored third in both TES and PCS and finished the night in third place.

Second in the Short Program was Ashley Wagner.  She too landed a triple-triple combination -- in her case triple Lutz - triple loop.  Though scored with slightly lower GoEs than the other triple-triples, because of the greater value of the triple loop over the triple toe loop, hers was the highest scored combination of the evening.  Skating to music from "Henry VIII", her Program Component marks were in the upper sixes, fourth best of the event.  Her performance was fast and strong, but also made clear, her main asset at this point is her athleticism.

Coming into Nationals the spin doctors and the rumor mongers were working overtime.  Would Meissner be ready or not?  Now we know the answer, and the answer is not.  At 13 points back it will require an heroic effort to be turned on Saturday and Nagasu falling down a few time for Meissner to win the gold here.  Not impossible, but I wouldn't bet the pension fund on it.

Not that it was a terrible effort.  Meissner landed triple Lutz - double toe loop and a nice double Axel -- and her closing step sequence was very well done.  Her Program Components were also respectable.  On triple flip, however, she received a downgrade, edge call and fell which cost her at least 5.3 points. The problem is, we have three ladies here with triple-triple combinations and good component skills, and Meissner is down the equivalent of nearly three triple jumps compared to the leader.

Now sitting nearly 17 points back, Zhang placed seventh in the Short Program.  She attempted a triple Flip - triple toe loop combination, but the toe loop was downgraded.  Her subsequent triple Lutz attempt was also downgraded.  Her double Axel also received a few negative GoEs, and was scored negative by the panel overall.  Like Czisny who would skate after her, Zhang lost too many points in her jumps than she could ever hope to make up in her well executed spins and sequences.

Alissa Czisny, who won the Free Skate at 2007 Nationals, competed here with a cast on her left hand due to a broken thumb.  She had major errors in all her jump elements, and also had a time deduction.  Her spins and sequences were all well executed and scored well, and her Program Components were in the mid sixes to seven (fifth best overall) but without a single successful jump element her fate is sealed.  She is nearly 20 point behind the leader and has virtually no chance of making the podium this year.

To accommodate the TV broadcast schedule, the ladies event was split in two, with the first ten ladies competing in the morning and the second ten in the evening.  The same judges were used for both sections and these judges were not assigned any intervening events during the day.

The first of the top four competitors to skate, Meissner had seven triples planned to Nagasu's six.  Meissner needed to land them all and hope that Nagasu would miss two of the six she had planed to have any hope of recapturing her title.

Though she had a good warm-up, Meissner fell on her opening triple flip (which also had an edge call), and from the look on her face, knew it was all over.  She fell again on her subsequent triple Lutz, at which point she was fighting merely to stay on the podium.  At element six she fell again on a triple Lutz and goal was then to just get through the program.

Skating to music from "Turendot," Meissner did not attack her program, and received Program Components in the mid to high sixes.  She placed seventh in the Free Skate and ended up seventh overall. This put her fourth in line to be named to the World Team after excluding age-ineligible skaters, but was named anyway based on results from past seasons.

Next up, Rachael Flatt, skating to "Romantic Rhapsody," landed seven clean triples, including a triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination.  Skating with speed and confidence, she skated a joyous performance which was marked in the mid-sevens, except for transitions in the high sixes.  She won the Free Skate by 2.41 points and moved up from third in the short to second overall, just edging out Ashley Wagner by 0.17 points.  All of her jumps were called fully rotated with clean edges.

Wagner was third of the top four to skate, performing to "Jealous."  She too landed seven triples, but a double loop in triple loop - double loop combination was severely under-rotated.  Between the loss in base value, and the minus twos for GoEs, the error cost her the gold medal.

Wagner's Program Components were scored near seven in most cases, with marks in the mid sixes for Transitions.  It was an energetically skated performance with good interpretation of the music, and the audience responded with a standing ovation, the third of evening (after Zhang and Flatt).

Last to skate in the event, Nagasu had a cushion of 5 points over Wagner coming out of the Short Program, and needed it.  She had six triples planned and gave no visible sign of the pressure she surely must have felt.

Opening with a lovely spiral sequence, Nagase fell on double Axel.  On the next element, a triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination, the toe loop was poorly landed.  She then pulled the program together for the remaining ten elements, with the only error therein an edge call in a triple Lutz that cost her one point.

The program was well skated and received GoEs in the low sevens.  In the routine she acted out the part of the doll Coppelia, in some cute moments.  Nevertheless, trying to act out the whole ballet seemed a little too ambitious artistically in the four minutes available.  Nagaus is the second youngest U.S. Champion, after Tara Lipinski.

Both Flatt and Nagasu are not age-eligible for the World Championships and will be going to Junior Worlds instead.

Caroline Zhang, who skated last in the first evening warm-up, had six triple planned and landed them all, though both Lutzes had edge calls that cost her 2.72 points.  Her two double Axels were also scored negative, though most judges gave those jumps GoEs of zero.

Skating to Schurbert's "Ave Maria," she received Program Components in the high sixes from the judges and a standing ovation from the audience.  At the time she skated it seemed he performance would not be enough to put her on the podium, but enough of the skaters in the second warm-up fell by the wayside, and Zhang ended up fourth in the Free Skate and fourth overall.

Zhang is also not age-eligible to be named to the World Team.

Skating to "Yellow River Piano Concerto,"  Beatrisa Liang had a decent skate, and moved up one place finish fifth overall.  She will now be making her first trip to Worlds this season.  It was a generally well performed program, with component marks in the mid to upper sixes.  Her jumps were somewhat inconsistent, landing four triples.  One of her Lutzes had an edge call, and she also singled two jump elements.

Katrina Hacker placed sixth in the Free Skate and sixth overall.  She was third in line to make the World Team, but by virtue of reputation (or rather the lack thereof) she was skipped over, and the seventh place Meissner was named to the team instead.  She landed four triple jumps, including a Lutz with an edge call, and also three double Axels.  Skating to "Concerto de Aranjuez" her Program Components were in the low sixes in a respectable performance that ended just a bit early (ahead of the music).