Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim heading into the free skate.
Changing their short program music just
six weeks out from the U.S. Championships was something they felt needed to happen after re- ceiving lukewarm component marks during the Grand Prix season. “Tere was nothing wrong with our short
program,” Kayne said. “No official or judge told us that we needed to change it. We just felt there was something off about it. It felt forced and I wasn’t able to skate it how I wanted to skate it, and I wasn’t excited.” Telling Peterson about their feelings was a
little uncomfortable, she admitted. “He knew there was something up,” Kayne
said. “He looked at me and was like, ‘What do you want to say that you are not saying?’ I said this program isn’t working for us and I feel we should maybe look into other options. He was like, ‘I will look at other options, but I can’t prom- ise you anything.’”
Te day after the team returned from com-
peting in Zagreb, Croatia, on Dec. 8, Peterson had a couple of pieces of music cut for them. “Everyone was in agreement on what it was going to be when we all heard it,” O’Shea, 24, said. “We took that day off and the next day we went back to work. Te program really came together quickly, like four days. It’s the quickest program we’ve ever done.” Te team’s conviction to change music, Pe- terson said, is something to be respected. “Tey are the two most important people,”
Peterson said of making a musical choice. “If they believe it, understand it and love it, they’ll con- vince everyone else with their skating.” Te team’s victory comes a year after Kayne
returned late in the season following hip surgery to win the bronze medal.
Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim
“Because of the hip surgery, we all really had to learn patience,” Peterson said. “It has literally taken us 18 months. I am so proud of them. Be- yond skating well, they skated with heart.” Te victory earned Kayne and O’Shea their
first Worlds berth. “Tat was the goal this season; make it to
Worlds,” O’Shea said. “I’d like to be part of earning three U.S. slots at Worlds. Tat would be some- thing special to be part of. It’s going to be tough, because the field is very stacked. We are going to keep pushing. It’s not a time to rest on your laurels.” Kayne and O’Shea’s title gave Peterson’s
“Team Florida” the pairs hat trick, with titles coming at the novice, junior and senior levels. Since 2009, Peterson has had a top-three team on the U.S. podium every year, with three of those teams earning Olympic berths. So what’s the key to his success? “A lot of physical preparation,” he said. “I
think we have a very strong team. We support each other. We have a lot of simulated compe- titions and a supportive community that comes and watches them, so they feel almost weekly that they are giving a little competition. We have a great staff that looks at the entire package.” Peterson also credited his work with famed
Russian pairs coach Tamara Moskvina for three days last summer. “We looked at the finite details,” Peterson
said. “I love being taught by a master like Moskvi- na. She’s been in my head the whole year.” Scimeca (DuPage FSC) and Knierim
(Broadmoor SC) arrived in Saint Paul from Colo- rado Springs, Colorado, as the favorites to repeat, with a towering quad twist and a Grand Prix Final berth on their side. Teir hard-edged short program to Metalli-
ca’s “Nothing Else Matters” had been golden for the duo, who plan to marry in June. But things simply didn’t click for them, with Knierim falling on a triple Salchow and Scimeca experiencing a wardrobe malfunction during their normally reli- able triple twist. “It’s a bit of a bummer,” Scimeca, 24, said.
“We felt really prepared. We actually felt really good out there. We just got off the ice and really wanted to get back out there and do it the way we can. We’re accepting of it, because we want to do it lights out at the World Championships.” On the triple twist, Scimeca provided the details of the mishap. “When he caught me, my dress fell down, and I think I flashed the audience,” Scimeca said. “So, it really startled me when he went to catch me, because I could feel in the air my breast was out. I don’t know if you could see it, because I was rotating, but it really distracted me.” Teir free skate to music from Elizabeth:
Te Golden Age was much improved over their performance at the Grand Prix Final, but it still contained a couple of errors — a fall on the jump combination and a hand down on the landing of a throw triple Lutz. “It’s still not up to where it needs to be or
can be,” Knierim, 28, said. “Hopefully we can step it up at Worlds.”
Scimeca and Knierim finished with 196.80 22 MARCH 2016
points and the silver medal. Tey scored 210.49 points in winning the title last year in Greens- boro, North Carolina. Knierim said they didn’t feel any additional
pressure because they were defending their title. “I think last year was harder for me,” he said.
“Tis year we came in at a little bit of a low since the Grand Prix Final, but getting the experience there was great and just wanting to improve from that. We had a shot at regaining another title, but we opened a door for other teams to take advantage in both the short and long and they just waltzed right through it. We’re happy and disappointed at the same time.” Capturing the bronze medal with 179.04
points, Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran, both 25, continue to build a foundation. Tey placed third in both the short program
and free skate, bettering the overall score from their rookie year together at the U.S. Champion- ships by 10 points. In their free skate to a Journey medley, Cas-
telli and Tran (Te SC of Boston) got the audi- ence charged up, but a couple of mistakes after the midpoint of the program impacted the out- come. Tran fell on a jump and Castelli fell on a throw triple Salchow. “It wasn’t exactly what we wanted today, but I definitely think we fought through the whole program,” Castelli said. “We had an uncharacter- istic mistake on our throw, but you know what? We are technically still babies. Tis is our second year together, so we are still growing. We are com- peting against two teams that have been together for a while, so we are really happy with where we are and what we are able to put out there.” Madeline Aaron (Coyotes SC of Arizona)
and Max Settlage (Broadmoor SC) repeated as pewter medalists with 157.81 points. It was a strong accomplishment for the veteran team, with Settlage out for most of the fall with a back injury.
Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran
PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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