SENIOR PA IR S
Te victory was extra sweet for the couple, who became engaged in April 2014. Knierim broke his fibula before last season and the team struggled to place fourth at the U.S. Champi- onships and missed out on making the Olympic Team.
“Te Chris and Alexa you saw last year
wasn’t the team that I knew they could be,” Sap- penfield said. “It was really good for everyone to see what they are capable of and the strength they really have.” Sappenfield, Scimeca and Knierim credited their team of coaches at the Broadmoor Skating Club for their success. Eddie Shipstad, Ryan Jahnke, Janet Champion and Larry Ibarra each bring something unique to the team, they said. Florida-based Haven Denney and Brandon
Frazier emerged with the silver medal, while Tar- ah Kayne and Daniel O’Shea, who also train in Florida, secured the bronze medal. Denney and Frazier finished second in both segments of the event, and had to skate right after the electric performance of Scimeca and Knierim. “Tere were a couple of little things here
and there, but overall, coming after such as a his- toric program, I thought they held their heads up very well and stayed zeroed in on what they had to do,” said coach John Zimmerman, who directs the team in Coral Springs.
Te 2013 World Junior champions entered the U.S. Championships having placed second at Hilton HHonors Skate America and barely missed a place on the podium at the Rostelecom Cup in Russia. “Coming here we had a lot of extra atten- tion on us than what we are used to,” Frazier said. “People might think that finishing second isn’t good for us, but I was very proud of my partner and me. We did very well. We know we have a lot to improve on and we just want to keep climbing for Four Continents and Worlds.” For their short program to the theme from
Te Godfather, Denney and Frazier received all positive grades of execution on their elements. Teir most exciting moment came when Denney landed a throw triple loop just inches from the boards.
“I yelled, ‘Wall!’” Frazier said. “I’m sure the
judges heard that.” In their free skate to music from Te Lion
King soundtrack, the team once again was solid. Tey did receive a negative GOE for their throw triple loop (Denney put a hand on the ice), but the rest of the program went off well. Denney, 19, and Frazier, 22, finished with a
total score of 199.92 points. “I think with the long, that’s the most we
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier
had to fight this season so far,” Frazier said. “But we still put out a good per- formance and we’re proud of that.”
Kayne and O’Shea capped a season of frustration and the unknown by finishing on the podium. A lingering hip inju- ry and subsequent surgery to Kayne put the team’s season in limbo, as they withdrew from their two Grand Prix Series events in the fall. But they pushed on starting
in November, training smarter, not harder, staying the course and believing in their coach Jim Peterson’s message. “One of the greatest things
Mr. Peterson said to us this season was to have confidence in ourselves without having the repetitions of the elements,” O’Shea said. “He really pushed that we have the ability to do every element, even if we don’t do them every day.” For Kayne, Peterson’s words
struck a chord that helped her during the most frustrating times. “One thing he would tell
me every day and what he told me the first time I spoke to him after I had my surgery was that I was one step closer to a clean program,” Kayne said. “Tat’s something I said to
22 MARCH 2015
Tarah Kayne and Daniel O’Shea
myself every day to get through it. I tried to keep in mind it’s a work in progress and to be patient with myself.” In Greensboro, Kayne, 21, and O’Shea, 23,
started with an inspired short program to “Your Song” from Moulin Rouge, which put the team from Ellenton in fourth place with 61.56 points. “Te big goal we had was not only to ac-
complish the elements but tell the love story of Moulin Rouge, and they skated, I thought, with joy and passion,” Peterson said. For their free skate to selections from Spart-
acus, Kayne and O’Shea put together another crowd-pleasing program that was judged third- best overall. Teir only major mistake came from a fall on the throw triple loop. Te team finished with a total of 185.31 points. “We just took it one day at a time, one week
at a time,” O’Shea said. “Each step of the way we pushed ourselves and became closer and stronger as a team because of the whole situation. Tarah said it best, ‘Adversity makes you stronger.’” Te 2014 U.S. junior champions, Madeline
Aaron, 20, and Max Settlage, 22, earned the pew- ter medal in their senior debut.
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84