Denney and Coughlin, who missed the
2013 U.S. Championships after Coughlin un- derwent surgery to repair a hip injury, have returned to championship form. The Colorado Springs-based team started the season fourth at Skate America and won a bronze medal at Trophée Bompard. “Each competition and the training in be-
tween has served as a step toward our goal of qualifying for the Sochi Games,” Coughlin said. “Caydee and I love skating for a big crowd, so the U.S. Championships in an Olympic year has been circled on our calendar for quite some time. Being a year removed from my season-ending surgery, we’ll be smiling ear to ear when we get back on the national stage.” The pairs field will vie for two Olympic
spots in Sochi. Expected to push the past champs the hardest are the teams of Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay, Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff, and World Junior champions Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier. Scimeca and Knierim, who run their pro-
Ashley Wagner dentials
silver from the U.S. International Classic in Salt Lake City before earning the bronze medal at Skate Canada. A rocky free skate left her fourth at NHK Trophy, but Gold hopes to live up to her name in Boston. Others in the field with impressive cre- include
two-time and reigning
bronze medalist Agnes Zawadzki and 2008 U.S. champion and 2010 Olympian Mirai Na- gasu. Zawadzki, who is from the Chicago area and trains in Colorado Springs, finished sixth at both of her Grand Prix events. Nagasu hails from California and finished the Grand Prix season strong, claiming the bronze medal at the Rostelecom Cup in Russia with a sea- son-best score. Also in this category of tough competitors is 2010 U.S. champion and Olym- pian Rachael Flatt, who is a student at Stan- ford University. Those also looking to turn some heads
include California’s Courtney Hicks. The 2013 U.S. pewter medalist opened this season with a win at the U.S. International Classic and most recently took home the title at Ice Challenge in Graz, Austria. New York’s Samantha Cesario arrives having placed fifth at Skate America and fourth at Trophée Bompard. U.S. junior champion Polina Edmunds is also a threat. Hannah Miller and Franchesca Chiera, who
posted the highest qualifying scores heading into the U.S. Championships, as well as Chris- tina Gao, who attends Harvard and trains in Boston, are others who can’t be counted out.
12 JANUARY 2014
PAIRS Defending champs excited
to compete for high stakes The most recent U.S. champions — Ma-
rissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir (2013), and Caydee Denney and John Coughlin (2012) — enter this major competition with the most complete credentials in the field.
Hometown favor-
ites Castelli and Shna- pir finished fourth and sixth at their two Grand Prix Series stops this fall, where the veteran team attempted the extreme- ly difficult throw quad Salchow. Castelli stayed on her feet on both tries but stepped out of the landings. Execution of that element will be one of the highlights of the competition. “It will be fun to
have so many home- town fans cheering us on, an experience and opportunity that few will ever get,” Shnapir said.
grams in Colorado Springs, won the U.S. silver medal in 2013. They finished fifth and sixth in their two Grand Prix events this fall. Reigning bronze medalists Zhang and Bartholomay, who train in Florida, were sixth and seventh at their Grand Prix assignments. Boston’s Donlan and Speroff, 2012 U.S. pewter medalists, hope to continue their solid season and ride the ex- citement of the crowd to the podium. Denney and Frazier were fifth at their two Grand Prix events. First-year team Lindsay Davis and Rockne
Brubaker could also make some noise. They were sixth and seventh at their Grand Prix events. Brubaker owns two U.S. pairs titles with partner Keauna McLaughlin.
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68