SENIOR PAIRS
Judges
Mathew H, Zats
Sherie Grimson
Joan H. Gruber
Jessica Gaynor
Deborah D. Currie
Joyce Komperda
Scott P. Cormier
Charlene A. Tagas
Lester M. Cramer
Results
SP FS Skater
withdrew (due to injury in the warm-up)
10 Nicole Bateson-Rock / Jeff Tilley
Notes on the long program:
So far our crystal ball is doing pretty good, with the order of finish turing out as it predicted and with Meno and Sand beating out Ina and Dungjen on the strength of the second mark.
The last group for the long program began with Ina and Dungjen who skated a difficult program to "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". Their program was fast and smooth, and the opening throw triple Salchow followed immediately by side by side triple toe loops was impressive. They went on to complete triple twist into throw triple loop, three overhead lifts, and side by side double axels. The only error was Dungjen stepping out of an axel and singling a toe loop in a final jump sequence. There performance put the pressure on Meno and Sand to skate very well if they were to take the top spot.
Skating next, Meno and Sand, skated again to "Nessun Dorma", this time in stunning new blue costumes. They began strong with triple twist, a swan lift, side by side double axels, camel spins, and a forward inside death spiral. On throw triple Salchow, however, Meno crashed and Sand gave out a small cry of despair and a look of anguish as Meno got up. The remainder of the program was clean and well skated, including throw double axel, two additional overhead lifts (including the swoop), and side by side double flips. On the strength of the second mark, Meno and Sand took first place in the long with a majority of seven firsts, to finish first overall, and gain another National pairs titile.
Next up were Stiegler and Zimmerman. They opened with a triple twist that was under-rotated by 1/4 turn. They completed throw triple Salchow and throw triple toe loop, and three overhead lifts (although in the last one Zimmerman looked a little strained). In side by side double axels Stiegler stepped out of the landing, and later in double toes Zimmerman fell. Their program ("Piano Trio in G Minor Op.3", Ernest Chausson) is somewhat somber in tone but very passionate, and was very well presented. Despite their errors their effort put the pressure on Lyons and Wells to deliver the goods if they were to move up to third place.
Last to skate were Lyons and Wells. In perhaps a first for National competition, they landed side by side triple loops as their opening move. This was followed by triple twist and throw double axel. They also completed throw triple Salchow, and three overhead lifts. On side by side triple Salchows, a jump he has had problems with all season, Wells put his hand down, and in a side by side double flip - double toe combination he stepped out of the double flip. They skated fast and strong (music from the soundtrack to "A Fish Called Wanda") and in a close decision took the third spot with a five thirds majority, making the World Team for the first time.
Skater comments following the long program:
Meno on winning their third consecutive U.S. title: "We were a little more nervous defending our title for the third time. It feels very good to win. All of the pairs skated very well tonight and I think we are sending a very strong group of pairs to Worlds."
Sand on their overall performance: "We were a little disappointed in the short program last night. We put the triple toe in because things have been going well, and that's always a coaching decision in our situation. I was disappointed I didn't do it. In the long program we had one mistake, but we were quite strong the rest of the program and the last third of the program was very strong."
Sand on rebounding from the early error: "I just take one thing at a time. We look at the program as a complete package. Obviously, we had the one error, but overall it was pretty good." [Meno] "We just tried to continue through the remainder of the program. The second mark has always been important for us."
On the pair's progress in the past year (John Nicks): "I'm really not quite so close to them. They've taken their own path in life and often I'm completely ignored. The times that I do spend with them and the times they do communicate with me rather than communicating between themselves in various ways - I enjoy it very much."
On the U.S. chances in World pairs (John Nicks): "This is an exceptional team that we're sending because it features a blend of experience with a very talented young pair. That blend of experience and young talent is something that we should be striving for."
Ina and Dungjen on their standing: "You never know how it is going to end up. All we're concerned about is how we skate. Judging is Judging. We're happy with what we got and the way we skated."
On going to Worlds: "We're going to go into Worlds focusing on clean skating. Nationals is the best we've done so far and that's what you want to do is build on your last performance. We're going to clean up a few minor mistakes and we'll hopefully place top five in the Worlds."
Wells on the pair's formation: "I've always had a vision and I've always been able to see the end. When I started skating with Shelby, that vision became much more clear."
Wells on what he saw in Lyons: "There are a lot of girls out there that see pairs as a ticket ... see it as a way of getting places. I wasn't interested in someone who wanted just to make Nationals. I wanted to make Worlds and I knew what it took, I thought. Shelby's just incredibly talented."
Lyons on her expextations: "I just wanted to skate good but it is now time to concentrate on junior ladies because I am not finished competing."
Notes on the short program:
Ina and Dungjen took the short program with a strong clean performance including side by side triple toes, lasso to star to 1 arm hold and flip out, back outside death spiral and an outstanding triple twist. Their unison and expression was good and speed excellent. Meno and Sand have added triple toes to their short program this year, but Sand left his in the warm up and the deduction dropped them into second place. They completed step through press ending with a swoop, forward inside death spiral, and an excellent triple twist. As usual, their unison and expression was excellent. In an unexpected third place finish Stiegler and Zimmerman outclassed the rest of the field. Their "wierd tango" number (an Argentine tango) was a hit with the audience. The completed side by side double axels, lasso to one arm hold to drop down release, forward inside death spiral, and a clean double twist. They skated with speed and flair. Lyons and Wells were a distant fourth with Wells falling on his triple Salchow. They completed a flip-up platter to star, forward inside death spiral, and a clean double twist. They skated with good unison and expression but went over the time limit by 5 seconds.
Jason Dungjen on being in first place: "It has been a very, very long time since we have been in this position and it feels great. Our goal was just to come and skate clean because we had problems in the short program last year."
Kyoko Ina on their free skate: "Our program is more entertaining and difficult this year. Not because we have added a lot of things but we have combined things differently. We really feel very confident going into the free because we have skated very well in practice and know we are prepared."
Jenni Meno on their short program: "We added the triple toe in the short program recently and it will feel a lot better when we do it in future competitions. It was just harder here under pressure. We just needed more experience with that move. We like our short porgram a lot. The goal was to add the triple toe and only that one element and do the best we could."
Todd Sand on his missing the triple toe: "My timing was way off and I was tilted in the air. I was just trying to recover as quickly as possible. We like our program a lot and we have been working really hard on it over the last 6-8 weeks. We believe in it, and the triple toe is one of our goals. When we came into this competition, we knew it wasn't a short program competition."
John Zimmerman on their performance: "We have only been skating together for a little more than seven months and we felt our technical abilities matched well. We went out there and were well-prepared. It was very energizing and it built our confidence. Our practices have all gone well this week so we are ready to go tomorrow night."
Stephanie Stiegler on being in third place: "We were thrilled to hang on to our placement when we had not even come into tonight cooncerned about it. We knew we would not be in front of them (Meno/Sand and Ina/Dungjen) because they have paid their dues, but we were thrilled to stay that close."
SENIOR DANCE
Judges
Shirley Sherman
Jim G. Millns
Eleanor Curtis
James W. Disbrow
Charles Z. Cyr
Robert J. Horen
Margaret Faulkner
Patricia S. French
Hal E. Marron
Results
C1 C2 OD FD Skater
1. 1 2 1 1 Elizabeth Punsalen / Jerod Swallow (TIE)
2. 2 1 2 2 Renee Roca / Gorsha Sur (TIE)
3. 7 5 3 3 Eve Chalom / Mathew Gates
4. 4 4 4 4 Kate Robinson /Peter Breen
5. 3 3 5 5 Amy Webster / Ron Kravette
6. 5 6 7 7 Julia Bikbova / Robert Peale
7. 10 8 9 6 Cheryl Demkowski / Gregory Maddalone
8. 8 9 8 8 Laura Gayton / Oleg Fediukov
9. 6 7 6 10 Tamara Kuchiki / Neale Smull
10. 9 10 10 9 Elizabeth Buhl / Augustine DiBella
11. 11 11 11 11 Kimberly Callahan / Robert Daw
12. 15 14 13 12 Leslie Soderberg / David Lipowitz
13. 12 12 12 15 Sophia Eliazova /Petr Tchernyshev
14. 13 15 15 13 Felita Carr / Alexei Komarov
15. 14 13 14 14 Debbie Koegel / Michael Sklutovsky
Notes on the free dance:
Our crystal ball was very cloudy in dance, which held a number of surprises.
Punsalen and Swallow held onto first place with a fast, passionate and intricate dance to latin and jazz rhythms. Roca and Sur's "House of the Rising Sun" was a jazzy instrumental version which was reminiscent of their "Summertime" routine. While expressive of the mood of the orchestration, it didn't seem particulary relevant to what Woody had in mind in the song. Junior Dance Champions Chalom and Gates surprised everyone, including themselves, by taking the bronze medal with a lively, fast paced, entertaining dance to latin rhythms (they were hoping to place in the top ten, maybe seventh).
Skater comments following the free dance:
Swallow on their free dance: "We started looking from an idea that we hadn't explored before. The Aregentine Tango - that sort of mood - is something that we were very interested in. The program was developed in a way that passion was our main idea. There isn't another dance that's done with so much passion."
On the U.S. chances at Worlds: "We're looking forward to making a difference at Worlds because we'll be sending two teams - thanks to Renee and Gorsha. There's no reason we can't have two couples in the top 10 there. It's time for the United States to do that - we've been pushed aside long enough and both (teams) are hungry for it."
Punsalen on the competition with Roca and Sur: "It's been a very close competition over the past three years and we gave it our best shot all week as they did. I think the panel just went with us as they went with them last year. I think it may be an every other year thing with the two couples."
Sur on their placement: "We're really satisfied with the way we skated tonight because it's something we really had to pull off. The program is new and it's a totally different approach and it's just unfortunate that it didn't have enough milage on it. That was the only drawback ... the lack of time (five weeks) we had to work on it. We could have done last year's program, but we really didn't want to. Do or die - we were going to do it here no matter what and get through it."
Roca on their choice of free dance music: "I think when people recognized what the tune was going to be, there was a reaction and it made us feel good. You could hear their reaction. It's not traditional, but that's why we chose it." [Sur] "We were tired of being traditional. This year, we looked at each other and said 'OK, let's do something different - just for ourselves'." I knew the song when I was growing up in Russia, even though everything was always 10 years late getting over to Russia."
Gates on earning the bronze medal: "We're amazed. We're kind of in dreamland right now." [Cahlom] "It doesn't feel like we're really in third place. We came here hoping to be in the top 10 and hoping for seventh place." Chalom on their style of dancing: "We're trying to make the skating more technical ... to bring up the difficulty of it. We try to not have any parts where it's really, really easy. We picked this free dance because it has three fast sections and the slowest sections is faster than some other people's fast sectiopns."
Notes on the Original Dance:
Punsalen and Swallow crushed the competition in the OD with a dramatic lively dance with great expression. Roca and Sur skated a strong, fast, precise dance, but were out skated in expression. Chalom and Gates skated with good speed and expression but still lack presence on the ice. Robinson and Breen's program was not as difficult as the other leaders, but was well skated, if a little restrained. Webster and Kravette struggled through the OD, running into each other in one place, and with their timing off throughout the dance.
Comments from Punsalen and Swallow after the OD:
On their standings:
Swallow: " It is very gratifying for us to be in this position. We have had six good weeks of concentrated training so to come in here and be in first going into the free dance is very satisfying.
On the pressure of the event:
Swallow: "The pressures are really different this year with two spots on the World Team. Liz and I have just tried to concentrate on improving, making a good showing and earning a spot on the World Team. We would like to play a part in keeping the U.S. in the top 10 as it is really crucial to keep two spots over the next two seasons building up to Japan (1998 Olympic Winter Games).
Notes on the CDs:
First dance - Silver Samba. Second dance - Tango Romantica
For the first dance Roca and Sur were very smooth and together, with good control and timing. Their second CD was very strong and fluid. Punsalen and Swallow were strong and energetic on the first CD with good control and timing. Their second CD was fast and strong but some steps and free leg positions seemed a bit sloppy in places. Webster and Kravette's first CD was lively and animated. During the dance there were no obvious problems with her shoulder but between dances she was seen nursing her shoulder. Their tango was well done but seemed a bit restrained. Afterwards Webster iced down her shoulder, but seemed in good spirits. In the first dance Chalom and Gates skated well except for dual belly flops that cost them a few places.
Comments from Roca and Sur following the CDs:
Roca: "We really like our original dance. Today's compulsories weren't our
best."
Sur: " The first dance felt like we weren't warmed up enough but we took our
time during the break and came back strong in the second dance. It is one of those things
where sometimes you feel on and sometimes you feel off."
About being tied after the CDs:
Roca: "This is the same position we were in two years ago, before I broke my
wrist!"
About skating tomorrow:
Roca: "We are very much looking forward to the original dance and the free
dance. Those two are where our strong points lie. It's a whole new day and a whole new
start."
Their outlook for Worlds:
Sur: "I think we should shoot for 6th, 7th, 8th."
Their free dance:
Roca: "It is going to be different from anything else you are going to see or
hear. It's a piece of music called 'House of the Rising Sun', that's the whole piece ...
Everyone in California will know the song. ... It was choreographed by Keith Young who
worked with Mikhail Baryshnikov."
Sur: "I knew this song in Russia!"
On U.S. results in international ice dancing:
Sur: "I think the focus on ice dancing has been lost in this country ... When
you lose respect internationally as a country it takes years to get it back."
On the music rules:
Roca: "It's stifling. It's hard. ... Finding music is the biggest headache of
the year. ... This piece of music has a steady beat all the way through."
Sur: "Thank God for that!"
On Russian skaters teaming up with Americans in dance:
Roca: "It's bringing up the standard in this country."
On the Silver Samba:
Roca: "Nobody realy likes doing it. ... There isn't much in the steps."
Sur: "It's boring."