Making their international season debut at the U.S. International Classic, Scime- ca and Knierim competed in Salt Lake City for the first time since becoming engaged. They won the pairs title by 7.06 points.
Knierim worked in the automotive depart-
ment at Sears for a couple of years and later at Goodyear. He currently works for Ford Street Fleet Services and is pursuing a degree in diesel mechan- ics. He has two classes remaining. In his first season with Scimeca, he would skate from 9 a.m. until noon, then work from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the auto shop, and take classes until 10. He’s no longer following that lifestyle, but he does take time out to cruise with his buddies. Just recently, he hit the road for Pueblo, Colo., just to drive. Te one thing he doesn’t allow Scimeca to do is take his Camaro for a spin. First, she doesn’t drive a stick shift. And second, she doesn’t really care much about driving. Her car is used mainly to get from her apartment to the rink and back. “I’ll hear phrases he says to his guy friends and text him messages like, ‘Hey bro, you still got those wheels?’” Scimeca said. Of the two, she is definitely the extrovert. He
is mild-mannered and is content to be out fishing. She is a diminutive blonde who stands at 5-foot-2. He is dark and towers over her at 6-foot-2. “He’s calm, and I get anxious and
hyperactive,” Scimeca said. “It makes for a nice balance.” On the ice, the two are in tandem. Scimeca
and Knierim are trying to take their skating to new heights. Tey have been working during the offseason on perfecting their triple twist and were
especially pleased to receive Level 4 marks on that maneuver at the U.S. International Classic. Te twist has been something they really have homed in on this season, watching plenty of video and making sure Scimeca’s split is big enough to receive full credit. At two competitions leading up to Salt Lake City, they did not receive Level 4 credit.
Tey nailed it in the free skate in Salt Lake. “So we worked on it every day before our session with video and figured it all out,” Knieirm said.
Tey also are developing two new lifts, in- cluding a star lift with an exit that is quite spectac- ular.
“Tere’s one lift that Alexa was terrified of in
which she is upside-down completely,” Sappenfield said. “It is really difficult.” Teir short program is to music from Moulin
Rouge, which features a sultry tango opening, and their free skate is a lighter routine to Gershwin’s An American In Paris. So far in this still-young season, those programs have produced one gold medal (in Salt Lake) and a bronze (at the Nebelhorn Trophy). “I really like these programs,” Sappenfield said. “Tey have a lot of transitions and they real- ly skate in unison. I think longevity and getting them to gel is really the key.” It seems as if those last parts of the equa-
tion won’t be problematic for this pair. Tey appear ready to be at each other’s side for the long haul.
As a placard in their Colorado
Springs apartment reads, “Te best is yet to come.” For Scimeca and Knierim, they hope that time comes now.
26 NOVEMBER 2014
MANDY CHENG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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