points and ended with a total score of 178.84. As always, they gave credit to their coaches. “Marina and Igor do such a great job with all of
their teams,” Maia said. “We all have our own styles; they really help find your highlights and work on them, and I think it’s just a good training environment.” With the talent in U.S. ice dance so deep, several
teams were locked in a tight fight for the bronze med- al and third spot on the U.S. World Team. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue edged Lynn Krieng- krairut and Logan-Giulietti Schmitt by three points to come away with the prize. Te skaters paired up in the spring of 2011 after Hubbell’s former partner, brother Keiffer, took a temporary break from the sport. “I did not try out with anyone else,” Madison
said. “We didn’t even plan to try out. We just starting stroking together one day, and we knew we wouldn’t find anyone better. We were happy right from the first day.”
Both of the team’s programs, the Latin short to mambo, rhumba and samba rhythms and free dance to “I Put a Spell on You,” were marked by the kind of sexy connection you don’t see everyday. “From the first day when they started to skate to-
gether we felt there was something really strong about them,” Massimo Scali, one of their coaches at the De- troit Skating Club, said. “Of course, they can improve, but you can always work on your technique. You can’t work on your soul, and they have it.” Kriengkrairut and Giulietti-Schmitt walked off
the ice following their free skate, excited about their performance and best finish ever at the U.S. Champi- onships. “We were here last year, unfortunately had a bit of a disappointment,” Giulietti-Schmitt said. “Tis year went a lot better and we are really excited.” “We definitely discover something new every year and it becomes even more fulfilling each year, each sea- son and we love what we do,” Kriengkrairut added. First-year team Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished fifth. Teir performance in San Jose, they said, was a good first step in their partnership. “We were both unsure of how things were going
to go but we both kind of plunged into it and we got together kind of late in the season but it just kind of gave us more incentive to work hard and stay extra hours on the ice in the summer and put in the extra work,” Bates said. “It’s gone by so quickly I don’t think we even had time to make goals for the event. I think today’s performance is a big step forward for us, kind of a breakthrough performance, so we are thrilled.” Te top three teams will compete at the 2012
World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France on Mar. 26‒Apr. 1. Tere, Davis and White will square off against the last team that beat them: their training partners, Canadian Olympic champions Virtue and Moir. Whatever happens, the outcome will be hard fought. “Winning can never get old,” Davis said. “Espe- cially winning these days takes so much work and so much effort. You can’t just sit back and kind of expect to win. Tere’s so much effort involved on a daily basis, and it really is an honor to be at the top whenever you can get there.”
26 MARCH 2012
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani ditched their short program used during the Grand Prix season for a new one in San Jose. The change paid major dividends.
The new team of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue deliver two sizzling performances en route to the bronze medal and World Team berth.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
PHOTO BY ERZA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES
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