NHK is Last Chance to Qualify for 2014 Grand Prix Final

by George Rossano

Grand Prix Ladies Final Standings after Five Events

Pl

Pl Name Nation Points

1 Elena Rodianova RUS 30

2 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva RUS 28

3 Anna Porilaya RUS 28

4 Julia Lipnitskaia RUS 26

5 Ashely Wagner USA 24

6 Rika Hongo JPN 22

7 Courtny Hicks USA 18

8 Alaine Chartrand CAN 15

9 Mirai Nagasu USA 14

10 So Youn Park USA 14

11 Samantha Cesario USA 13

12 Sotoko Miyahara JPN 11

13 Gracie Gold USA 11

14 Kanako Murakami JPN 11

15 Polina Edmunds USA 9

Qualified for Final in Grey

Grand Prix Men's Final Standings after Five Events

Pl	Name	Nation	Points
1	Maxim Kovtun	RUS	30
2	Javier Fernandez	ESP	28
3	Tatsuki Machida	JPN	28
4	Jason Brown	USA	20
5	Denis Ten	KAZ	20
6	Nam Nguyen	CAN	20
7	Konstantin Menshov	RUS	16
8	Misha Ge	UZB	16
9	Takahito Mura	JPN	15
10	Michael Brezina	CZE	15
11	Richard Dornbush	USA	15
12	Max Aaron	USA	15
13	Sergei Voronov	RUS	13
14	Yuzuru Hanyu	JPN	13
15	Adian Pitkeev	RUS	10

Grand Prix Pairs Final Standings after Five Events

Pl Name Nation Points

1 Ksenia Stolbova & Fedor KlImov RUS 30

2 Cheng Peng & Hao Zhang CHN 26

3 Wenjing Sui & Cong Han CHN 26

4 Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov RUS 24

5 Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier USA 22

6 Wuehan Wang & Lei Wang CHN 22

7 Alexa Scimeca & Chris Knierim USA 18

8 Madeline Aaron & Max Settlage USA 16

9 Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford CAN 15

10 Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov RUS 15

11 Vanessa James & Morgan Cipres FRA 14

12 Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin CHN 13

13 Nicole Della Monica & Matteo Guarise ITA 12

14 Kristina Astakhova & Alexei Rogonov RUS 11

15 Vera Bazarova & Andrei Duputat RUS 9

Grand Prix Dance Final Standings after Five Events

Pl Name Nation Points

1 Madison Chock & Evan Bates USA 30

2 Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron FRA 30

3 Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani USA 26

4 Piper Gilles & Pau Poirier CAN 26

5 Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin RUS 22

6 Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue USA 22

7 Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin RUS 18

8 Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje CAN 15

9 Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam CAN 12

10 Charlene Suignard & Marco Fabbri ITA 12

11 Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland GBR 11

12 Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte ITA 11

13 Sara Hurtado & Adria Diaz ESP 9

14 Elisabeth Paradis & Francois-Xavier Ouellette CAN 9

15 Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov RUS 9

(27 November 2014) The last Grand Prix competition begins this weekend, offering the last chance for skaters to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona next month. The U.S. has already qualified two entries in the dance final, and is on the cusp of qualifying at least one lady this weekend.

Four Russian ladies have already qualified. U.S. Skater Ashley Wagner klings to fifth place in teh standings with a second and a third in her two events. Sotoko Miyahara (JPN), Gracie Gold (USA) and Kanako Murakami (JPN) all placed third in their first event and have a chance to qualify. Polina Edmunds (USA) must win in order to have a chance of qualifying, which would then most likely lead to the fifth and sixth qualifiers being decided on tie breakers. The most likely scenario would have Gold winning at NHK and qualifying. A second place finish by Edmunds would not get her into the final, but would secure the sixth spot for Wagner. A third place finish by Edmunds would leave Wagner at the mercy of a tie breaker in deciding the sixth place qualifier.

For the men, Maxim Kovtun (RUS), Javier Fernandez (ESP) and Tatsuki Machida (JPN) have already qualified, leaving open three spots to be filled this weekend. These spots are most likely to go to Takahito Mura (JPN), Sergei Voronov (RUS) and Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN), who placed first or second in their first events. If they fill the top three spots at NHL, they will al finish with more than 20 points, pushing Jason Brown (USA), Denis Ten (KAZ) and Nam Nguyen (CAN) out of the qualifying.

Ksenia Stolbova & Fedor KlImov (RUS), Cheng Peng & Hao Zhang (CHN) and Wenjing Sui & Cong Han (CHN) have already qualified in Pairs. Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford (CAN), Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov (RUS) and Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin (CHN), who placed first or second in their first events are the favorites to fill the podium at NHK, and in doing so all could make the final, though the sixth qualifier might be decided on a tie breaker involving Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov (RUS). In this case, Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier (USA) would be pushed out of their current fifth place position in the pairs standings.

Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA), Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron (FRA), Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA) and Piper Gilles & Pau Poirier (CAN) have already qualified, leaving two places to be decided at NHK.

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje (CAN, who placed first at Skate Canada and Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland (GBR) who placed third at Cup of Russia are most likely to take the fifth and six qualifying spots. Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov (RUS) would have to pull off an upset to qualify. They have not scored as well as Weaver & Poje this season, and they were beaten by the Coomes & Buckland at cup of Russia. More than likely, Russia, once an unstoppable powerhouse in dance will likely have no dance entries in the final.

The way our crystal ball sees it, the U.S. is likely to qualify one lady and has an outside chance for two. They will be shut out in the Men's and Pairs, but have already qualified two in Dance. In comparison, Russia has already qualified six entries and is likely to pick of two or three more, and will lead the entry count for the final..