2001 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Senior Pairs

Standings

Notes after the long program.

Following the pairs practice the day of the long program Stiegler & Stiegler and Hayes & Gillam withdrew from the competition.  The Stieglers withdrew due to Tiffany suffering a case of bronchitis and possibly pneumonia.  Gillam has been suffering for several months from a pinched nerve in his neck that affects the strength in his right arm. He received treatment for it prior to Nationals but is not fully recovered.   The team withdrew in the interest of Hayes' safety.

There were few clean programs presented in the long program, and the anticipated showdown between the former National Champions, Hartsell & Hartsell, and the reigning Champions, Ina & Zimmerman, was anti-climactic when the Hartsells had a difficult skate.   These two teams where the last two to skate in the staring order.

Skating first in the last warmup group were Tiffany Scott & Philip Dulebohn.   The began with successful triple toe loops but shortly thereafter Dulebohn fell on footwork and then pulled Scott down as well.  Next came a twist lift with no catch.   The team was able to recover, however, executing a lasso lift with side-by-side takeoff, throw triple Salchow and a variation on a hand-to-hand loop lift.  They also completed throw double Axel and a helicopter lift.  On an attempted double Axel - double toe loop combination, Dulebohn completed the jumps while Scott fell on the double Axel and omitted the toe loop.  It was an inconsistent performance with decent presentation and some difficult tricks, but also contained the three errors and weak unison in places.  At the time it seemed that it was a strong enough performance to hold up for the bronze but no more.  As it turned out, however, problems in the Hartsell's performance not only cost that team the gold medal, but allowed Scott & Dulebohn to move up a place and win the silver medal and the second spot on the World Team.

Next to skate were Laura Handy & Jonathan Hunt.  Sitting in fourth place they had a chance to move up, but numerous errors cost them dearly and they dropped to sixth in the long program and sixth overall.  They made five major errors including chest contact on the twist lift and falls on both throws.  On the positive side, they displayed decent unison and their basic pair quality was good, and given that they have not been together very long the result here was hopeful for the future.

The stage was thus set for the Hartsell's to complete their comeback attempt.   They desperately wanted to at least make the World team, and with a first place finish in the short program were hopeful they could reclaim the National Championship.   The presentation of their program was well done with a particularly nice middle section, but Danielle, as she described afterwards, was pushing herself a little too hard and the result was three significant errors.  On their opening twist the team bumped shoulders.  The following throw triple Salchow was good, but on subsequent triple toe loops Danielle fell.  Then on a double Axel - double toe loop combination she fell again.  After these two falls the team skated cleanly but the damage was done.   The team lost a 6-3 split of the panel with Scott & Dulebohn and placed third in the free skating and third overall.  After working so hard to comeback from her knee surgery last season and surviving Steve's injury earlier in the week, Danielle was keenly disappointed and at times fought to hold back her tears.  Nevertheless, both skaters tried to remain optimistic about the future and the team will have one more opportunity this year for major competition at the Four Continents Championships in February.

Last to skate were Ina & Zimmerman.  Of the four teams in the final warmup group, their program was the cleanest, though hardly perfect.  They executed some nice moves with interesting choreography that was well presented with only one major error, a step out of throw triple loop.  Of lesser consequence, their triple twist was no more than adequate; and in a pair of rather silly mistakes both skaters fell one after the other trying to initiate their closing pair spin which they managed to ultimately complete, at least in part.  They both landed triple toe loops, and three other jumps.  Also completed was a nice throw triple Salchow and three overhead lifts including the inverted lift that has become a signature move for  them.  All nine judges placed them first, and by winning the free skate they moved up to first overall to successfully defend their National Championship.

Notes after the short program.

Against the backdrop of their comeback attempt after missing last season and their training accident the day before the short program, Danielle Hartsell & Steve Hartsell took the ice as the first team in the second of four warmup groups.  Steve Hartsell, who injured his head falling in a lift during a practice session, skated without head protection or bandage.  Plainly visible was a three inch patch of skin where his head had been shaved and fresh stitches bore testimony to the danger in this branch of skating.   They opened their program with a well done back outside death spiral and followed with triple toe loops and a fine overhead lift.  They skated with good speed with a confident presentation, including a nicely done spiral step sequence.  The program closed with a clean throw triple Salchow.  It proved to be one of the few clean programs of the night and the team received a warm standing ovation from the audience.   Seven of the nine judges ended up placing them first.

Skating second in the last warmup group, Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman, the reigning U.S. pairs champions, were the favorites coming in to the competition, but two errors in their performance and the strong effort from the Hartsells consigned Ina & Zimmerman to second place.  By the end of the night it was clear the Championships was wide open to either team in the free skate.

On their opening element Zimmerman stepped out of a triple toe loop.  That was followed by a nice double twist, but then trouble cropped up again with Ina putting two hands down on throw triple Salchow - an element they frequently have trouble with.   The remainder of the program was generally well done with only one other minor error when Zimmerman had a  wobbly entry into the side-by-side solo spin.  They were placed second for the night by the panel with  two judges placing them first and one judge placing them as low as fifth.

Tiffany Scott & Philip Dulebon gave a performance which received a strong second mark, to place third despite two significant errors in the elements.   On the opening element, Scott fell on her triple toe loop and after a fine back outside death spiral they missed the catch on double twist.  The rest of the program was nicely done with a particularly good overhead lift.

Laura Handy and her new partner Jonathan Hunt had a fairly good skate to place fourth.   They opened with a fine double twist, but then Handy fell on the subsequent triple toe loop.  The remainder of the program was clean, though a bit slow in places.   Handy was the 1999 World Junior Pairs Champion and the 1999 U.S. National bronze medalist with her former partner J. Paul Binebose. Binebose was seriously injured in a training accident in 1999.

Short Program

Free Skating

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