2017 U.S. SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SENIOR
Portland to host 2018 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships
Portland, Oregon, will host the 2018
U.S. Synchronized Skating Champion- ships, February 22-24, 2018. Competition will be held at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This will be the first time that Port-
land has hosted the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. The city was the site of the 2016 Midwest and Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Sectional Champi- onships and the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. U.S. Figure Skating will work with
the Oregon Skating Council, the Oregon Sports Authority, Travel Portland and Rose Quarter to produce the event.
The Haydenettes feel the music in their tribute to Prince.
fifth World bronze medal. “I always think about how lucky I am to
coach the Haydenettes,” Krantz said. “[Former coach] Lynn Benson was an idol for me when I was a competitor, so it’s a very special feeling to be coaching here. We never take it for granted and we work our tails off to be where we are. It’s very important to us.” In Rockford, the Haydenettes jumped on top with their short program to music from Gladiator. A Level 3 intersection and Level 4 block and no hold elements lifted the team to an event-best score of 70.19. “Every time we get on the ice we try to
get a better score and more calls,” Krantz said. “I think this is our season high.” Earlier in the day, the Haydenettes had a
self-described “tricky” practice. “Sometimes it’s good to have practic- es with some uncertainty so we can come together and focus and improve things for the competition,” skater Tessa Hedges said. Te Haydenettes left nothing to chance
in their free skate to a medley of music by Prince and Te Revolution, racking up a top segment score of 138.64 points. Tey executed two Level 4 group lifts, and earned Level 4s for their no hold, wheel and pair elements. Te program, choreographed by Krantz
and Adam Blake, played to the personalities of members of the team. Te feeling that the crowd gave the
skaters, Hedges said, was amazing. “To have people behind what we were
trying to portray felt special,” Hedges said. “We did our jobs of really showing what Prince is and what he stood for.” For Blake, working with Krantz and the
SKATING 17
top U.S. synchronized skating team is a career highlight. “It’s been an absolute dream,” Blake
said. “If we give them anything, they go at it 100 percent. I’ve worked with the circus, I’ve worked on Disney on Ice, and I’ve worked with others, and there’s no other group of individuals that I’d rather work with.” Te Crystallettes equaled their best finish since 2014. Tey skated an emotional short program to “Lean on Me” that touched the audience, judges and everyone associated with the Crystallettes. “Tis program means a lot to all of us because our coach (Shannon Peterson) had breast cancer, so it’s not hard to add emotion to the program,” skater Emily Hollander said. “We can just feel it.” Teir short program score of 67.11 points left them within striking distance of the Haydenettes, and more than seven points ahead of third-place Miami University entering the free skate. Performing to music from Te Sorcerer’s
Apprentice, the Crystallettes skated clean, garnering four Level 4 elements. In all, they earned 122.39 points for their free skate. “We’ve layered this program since the first
competition,” Peterson said. “We’ve enhanced it at every competition we’ve had.” Te electricity in the arena helped ignite
the Crystallettes’ performance. “It’s really easy to play off the energy of
the crowd,” skater Anastasia Worthy said. “Just seeing everyone’s support, that gave us more strength to get through the program.” Te Skyliners (SC of New York) won
their third consecutive bronze medal with 172.96 points. Teir short program to “California
Dreamin’” earned 58.81 points and included a strong move element, intersection and circle. In their free skate, the Skyliners performed to music from Whitney Houston and moved up a spot from the short program to edge Miami by .12 point.
Tis wasn’t a typical competition week for the Skyliners. Just a week prior, the team
The Haydenettes take the short program lead with their performance to music from Gladiator.
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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