GRAND PRIX SERIES ROSTELECOM CUP
Madison Chock and Evan Bates secured their second gold medal of the 2014 ISU Grand Prix Series with a personal-best free dance score in the Moscow competition, Nov. 14–15.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
Te Michigan-based team earned Level 4s for their lifts, twizzles and spins and Level 3s for their step sequences in their free dance to selec- tions from An American in Paris. Teir score of 105.42 and overall total of 174.28 bested the field by nearly 14 points. At Hilton HHonors Skate America, the
two-time U.S. silver medalists and Olympians won the event with a score of 171.03. “We just evaluate our performances based
on our last performance, and so looking at Skate America this was definitely a step up,” Bates said. “It felt like a stronger performance. We gained higher levels, so technically it was better, but also emotionally it felt stronger.” Russia’s Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhi- ganshin collected the silver medal, while Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland of Great Britain won the bronze. U.S. World Junior champions Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, making their first Grand Prix Series appearance, fin- ished sixth with 136.33 points, while two-time U.S. World Junior bronze medalists Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton placed seventh with 133.38 points. LADIES
U.S. bronze medalist Mirai Nagasu im-
proved upon her Skate America performance, finishing fourth with a total score of 165.88. Her score in Chicago at Skate America was 158.21. Nagasu’s teammates, Ashley Cain and Ange-
la Wang, finished eighth and ninth respectively. Japan’s Rika Hongo earned her first-ev-
er Grand Prix medal, claiming gold with 178 points. Russia’s Anna Pogorilaya, the winner of
TROPHÉE ERIC BOMPARD U.S. takes home Ashley Wagner Te event is the fifth of six in the ISU Grand
two bronze medals Ashley Wagner and the ice dance team of
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue earned bronze medals at Trophée Eric Bompard, held Nov. 21–23 in Bordeaux, France.
Prix Series. Wagner, who won silver at Skate Canada
with a score of 186.00, finished third in the short program and fourth in the free skate for a com- bined score of 177.74 points.
Te two-time U.S. champion and Olympi-
an opened her free skate to Moulin Rouge with a double Axel. She fell on her second jump, a triple flip, but recovered to complete five more triples and a Level 4 spin. “Going out on the ice today, I had a lot of stomach pain,” Wagner said. “I felt really nauseous and sick. Te program in general was something I had to fight through. I trained so hard at home, and I think that I relied on all the run-throughs I have done, so that mentally I was strong enough to just trust that physically. I was capable to push through.” Wagner qualified for the Grand Prix Final
for the third straight time, finishing sixth in the overall standings. Russian teenagers Elena Radionova and Ju- lia Lipnitskaia claimed gold and silver, respective- ly, with scores of 203.92 and 185.18. Team USA’s Courtney Hicks placed fourth with 172.58 points, including a third-place effort in the free skate, while Samantha Cesario was sev- enth with 161.70.
Skate Canada, took the silver, while Canada’s Alaine Chartrand, the short program leader, set- tled for the bronze. MEN Jason Brown led the three-man U.S. con- tingent with a fifth-place finish. Te U.S. sil- ver medalist and Olympian chalked up 235.56 points. His score was within one point of his total at Skate America, where he won the silver medal. Max Aaron, the 2013 U.S. champion, fin-
ished seventh, with teammate Stephen Carriere placing ninth. Spain’s two-time European champion Javier
Fernandez took top honors with 265.01 points. Russia’s Sergei Voronov seized the silver medal, with the Czech Republic’s Michal Brezina grab- bing the bronze. PAIRS Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier, silver
medalists at Skate America, missed out on bronze by .01 point, ending with 164.85 points. Tey turned in the second-best free skate of the event. Te Florida-based duo generated big points with their opening triple twist and three Level 4 lifts. California-based Jessica Calalang and Zack
Sidhu also had a strong outing, finishing fifth with the third-best free skate and a total score of 157.45. First-year team DeeDee Leng and Simon Shnapir placed eighth. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov led a
Russian podium sweep with 211.97 points. Tey entered as the Olympic, World and European silver medalists. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov captured the silver, with Kristina Astak- hova and Alexei Rogonov winning bronze.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue
ICE DANCE Performing to Te Great Gatsby soundtrack,
Hubbell and Donohue produced four Level 4 el- ements, but a wobbly curve lift and their circular footwork received a Level 2. Tey finished third in both segments of the ice dance competition with an overall score of 152.11. Teir bronze medal matches the one they
earned at Skate Canada. “Parts of the program improved from what
SKATING 13
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