LADIES By Troy Schwindt An electric personality and strong skating
skills carried pint-sized Alysa Liu to the title in Bloomington, a Saint Paul suburb. Liu (St. Moritz ISC) delivered two entertain-
ing programs, including her free skate to the soundtrack of The Addams Family, en route to a total score of 110.24. She edged 2015 juvenile champion Sophia Chouinard by less than one point (109.97). “I like the ‘Addams Family’ program because it brings out some of my personality; it’s not just cute but more spooky,” Liu, who dressed in black as Wednesday Addams, said. “With ‘Addams Fam- ily’ you can really play to the judges, too. I like the way the program is set up and organized.” Liu landed all of her jumps, although she
underrotated a triple Salchow. Her two spins received Level 4, including a fast, program-end- ing combination spin. She glided by the judges during her step sequence and blew a kiss. Seventh at regionals in 2015 in the juvenile
division, Liu finished fourth in the free skate but her combines scores gave her the win. “I have had a lot of experience throughout
the years and the difference this year is I worked harder, gained a lot of my jumps, skated faster and brought out more of my personality,” she said after her winning short program to “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Her coach, Laura Lipetsky, started coaching
Liu at Sharks Ice Fremont and Sharks Ice Oakland in tot classes when she was 5. “One of the first things that attracted me
to her was that she has this passion for skating,” Lipetsky said. “She’s been working hard on de- veloping her style as well as her jumps and spins and having the whole package. She really wants to be a champion.” Chouinard, wearing a white dress, per-
formed an elegant and clean free skate to The Nutcracker pas de deux. Her presentation and overall component marks were an event-best.
ABOVE: Ladies: (l-r) Sophia Chouinard, Alysa Liu, Alyssa Rich, Angelina Huang; Men: (l-r) Alex Wellman, Joseph Kang, Jordan Evans, Lucas Altieri; BELOW: Pairs: (l-r) Eliana Secunda/Blake Eisenach, Jasmine Fendi/Joshua Fendi, Berit Cummings/Jabe Roberts, Isabelle Goldstein/Keyton Bearinger; Ice Dance: (l-r) Avonley Nguyen/Maxwell Gart, Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov, Isabella Amoia/Cory Fraiman, Jordan Lin/Morgan Sletten
gold | Alysa Liu silver | Sophia Chouinard bronze | Alyssa Rich pewter | Angelina Huang
MEN
gold | Joseph Kang silver | Alex Wellman bronze | Jordan Evans pewter | Lucas Altieri
PAIRS
gold | Jasmine Fendi/ Joshua Fendi silver | Eliana Secunda/ Blake Eisenach bronze | Berit Cummings/ Jabe Roberts pewter | Isabelle Goldstein/ Keyton Bearinger
ICE DANCE
gold | Elizabeth Tkachenko/ Alexei Kiliakov silver | Avonley Nguyen/ Maxwell Gart bronze | Isabella Amoia/ Cory Fraiman pewter | Jordan Lin/ Morgan Sletten
56 MARCH 2016
PHOTOS BY MELANIE HOYT/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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