U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW LADIES
WAGNER SEEKING TO BE FIRST REPEAT LADIES
WINNER SINCE KWAN by MIMI WHETSTONE
It’s been eight years since a lady has repeated as U.S. champion. Tis month, Ashley Wagner will take the ice with the goal of becoming the first American woman to win back-to-back U.S. Championships since Michelle Kwan in 2005. Wagner enters the Championships fresh off
her strongest season, winning the ladies title at the 2012 Four Continents Championships, 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America, 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard and earning silver at the 2012 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. “Te Grand Prix [wins] count for some- thing, but at the end of the day, they are not what qualify me for Worlds,” Wagner said. “Tis season is going to be all about endurance. I need to be able to maintain this success from now through March, hopefully.” Challenging Wagner will be two-time U.S.
champion and reigning U.S. silver medalist Alis- sa Czisny, who will compete for the first time since undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip last June. Reigning U.S.
bronze medalist Agnes Zawadzki is also aiming to stand atop the podium. Zawadzki earned her first senior international medal in September at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and won her first Grand Prix Series medal, the bronze, at 2012 Rostelecom Cup in November. Also vying for a medal will be Gracie Gold,
who is new to the senior scene this season. Last year’s U.S. junior champion and reigning World Junior silver medalist, Gold took silver at both the 2012 U.S. International Classic and 2012 Rostelecom Cup in her senior season debut. Joining the battle for the top spots will be
Christina Gao, a freshman at Harvard University who earned second- and fourth-place finishes at 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America and 2012 Trophée Bompard, respectively. Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. champion, had a solid season, winning the bronze at both 2012 NHK Trophy and 2012 Finlandia Trophy. Hoping to make their mark in the senior
event are Hannah Miller, Angela Wang and Leah Keiser, each of whom earned a berth to the Junior Grand Prix Final this season. Miller, the 2012 U.S. junior bronze medal-
ist, earned two silver medals on the Junior Grand Prix circuit this season in Austria and Croatia and finished the JGP Series with a second-place finish
at her first trip to the JGP Final. Wang earned third- and first-place finishes
at her JGP events in the United States and Cro- atia, respectively, and finished fourth at her first trip to the JGP Final. Keiser started her season strong, winning
the junior ladies title at both 2012 International Challenge Cup and 2012 JGP Turkey, her first career international events. A fourth-place finish at JGP Germany gave her enough points in the season to skate at the JGP Final, where she fin- ished sixth.
MEN ABBOTT-LYSACEK BATTLE
MAKES ITS EPIC RETURN by MIMI WHETSTONE
Tree-time reigning U.S. champion Jere-
my Abbott will face familiar competition in the men’s event, as Evan Lysacek plans to return to the U.S. Championships for the first time since 2010. Abbott, who earned the silver medal at 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard in November, is expected to face off against the 2010 Olympic champion for the first time in two seasons. Ly- sacek, who in October withdrew from his only Grand Prix assignment with a groin injury, plans to use the U.S. Championships as his return to competitive skating. Between 2007 and 2010, Abbott and Lysacek were the only men to top the U.S. Championships podium. In a back-and- forth battle, each won two gold medals by edging out the other. “Our [U.S.] men haven’t been shy on tal-
ent,” Abbott said. “I don’t think it’s going to be any harder or easier to maintain my spot than it has been in other years.” Joining Abbott and Lysacek in the medal hunt will be two-time reigning U.S. bronze med- alist Ross Miner, who earned the bronze medal at NHK Trophy last fall. Miner’s NHK free skate was the best international free skate of his career, crushing his personal best score set at 2012 Four Continents by 12 points. His program included a head-turning quad Salchow that, with a GOE of 1.29 points, totaled 11.79 points. Also among the medal contenders are reign-
ing U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon, who earned fourth place at 2012 Cup of China, and 2011 U.S. silver medalist Richard Dornbush, who rebounded from ongoing boot and blade issues this season to earn the silver medal at 2012 Finlandia Trophy. Reigning U.S. pewter medal- ist Armin Mahbanoozadeh, who won bronze at 2012 Ice Challenge last fall, will battle to regain a spot on the podium.
Also hoping to claim the top spots are Max
Ashley Wagner, skating her free skate, opened the Grand Prix Series by winning 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America.
Aaron and Keegan Messing. Aaron, the 2011 U.S. junior champion, won gold at the 2012 U.S. International Classic with a free skate that featured a quad Salchow and eight triple jumps, including two triple Axels. Messing, a two-time reigning Coupe de Nice champion, earned an
SKATING 23
PHOTO BY OTTO GREULE JR./GETTY IMAGES
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