NOVICE PAIRS
work all were sound, while their two side-by-side jumps received a minor deduction for an edge call. Stevens wore all black, while Zaitsev wore a dress that featured hot pink that faded to purple at the bottom. “It was really rough last night,”
said Stevens, who with Zaitsev rep- resents the Indiana World Skating Academy FSC. “I was throwing up and today at lunch I was throwing up. It was a struggle waking up in the morning and just getting in the car and the mental focus, but having Christina as my partner is ultimately why we did what we just did.” Zaitsev and Stevens chalked up the best technical and program component scores of the free skate en route to a season-best overall score of 123.20 points.
“I told myself that I have to do this for Christina and myself,” Stevens said. “We had a huge, un- forgettable season and I knew I had to go out there and do it for her. Tere was no withdrawal in mind, only skating a clean program and winning.”
Te team likely will move to
the junior level next season, but Ste- vens said they are just taking things one day at a time.
GOLD MEDALISTS ERNIE UTAH STEVENS
CHRISTINA ZAITSEV AND
ZAITSEV, STEVENS CAP BREAKTHROUGH CAMPAIGN WITH VICTORY
by TROY SCHWINDT For Christina Zaitsev and
Ernie Utah Stevens, the 2012–13 campaign couldn’t have gone much better. In their third year together, they received their first interna- tional assignment, finished a strong second at the Midwestern Section- al Championships and capped off their season in Omaha with the gold medal in the novice pairs event. Teir victory over 12 other pairs teams on a late Monday after- noon was a moment to savor with each other and their coaches, who happen to be Zaitsev’s parents, Ser- guei and Elena Zaitsev. “Tey came here well pre-
pared,” Serguei said. “Tey are ex- perienced and they’ve been around. It’s a good event for them to one
more time build confidence. Te last four teams were very good; it wasn’t until the last moment that you knew who was going to be on top.”
Zaitsev, 13, and Stevens, 19,
entered the free skate in second place, 1.21 points behind short- program leaders Kaitlin Budd and Nikita Cheban, who train at the Detroit SC. Skating right before the lead- ers in the final group, Zaitsev and Stevens seized the moment with a smooth-flowing, strongly executed program to “Toccata” by Bach. Despite being ill in the 24 hours leading up to the free skate, Stevens dug in and never wavered. Teir lifts, spins, throws and foot-
“Christina and I are just cool
and confident,” Stevens said. “We are just going to go season to season and be there for each other along the way. So instead of looking at the Olympics, we are spending every day together, learning together, and I think that’s important.” Skating last, Budd, 16, and Cheban, 20, saw their title hopes slip away early in their “Ice Sym- phony” free skate when Budd fell on the team’s side-by-side double Axels. It was a gamble that their
coaches don’t regret at all. “You live by the sword and die
by the sword,” coach Ja- son Dungjen said. “Both of our teams yesterday and today went for the double Axel, because if you look at it interna- tionally, you really have to start jumping, so we figured we are going to put it out there and see.” Together only
seven months, they finished with 114.71 points and captured the silver medal.
SKATING 43 BRONZE MEDALISTS ROBERT HENNINGS
ELISE MIDDLETON AND
“It was a good experience for our first nationals,” Cheban said. “Next year we will be back; you can count on that.” Budd and Cheban defeated
Zaitsev and Stevens at the Midwest- ern Sectional Championships in November — 114.53 to 107.19. Te team of Elise Middleton
and Robert Hennings of the Los Angeles FSC secured the bronze medal with 109.85 points. A fall in the waning seconds of their free skate to Immortal Beloved had the audience gasping. “I rushed that last lift. I kind
of let her go over behind me,” Hen- nings, 16, said. “I have a tendency to keep it [lift] behind my head in- stead of forward, and it was inevita- ble when we went down.” Performing a more serious free
skate, Middleton, 13, said, is a big step in the team’s evolution. “Last year we just had a happy
program and we just had to smile; this one is more emotional.” Aya Takai and Brian Johnson
of the Detroit SC finished fourth with 102.71 points.
SILVER MEDALISTS NIKITA CHEBAN
KAITLIN BUDD AND
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