Ten months ago,
Nica Digerness and Danny Neudecker had to fight to get through every performance.
After their first season at the senior level, Neudecker was forced to take time off to tend to his persistent back injury. "I had three bulging disks and joint issues. I took three or four months off. We were still skating, but only doing choreography," he explained.
The duo was crowned the U.S. champions in junior pairs back in 2017 and made the transition into the senior circuit for the 2017-18 season. "I think that last year was hard for them going from junior to senior and going from junior champions into their senior transition," their coach Dalilah Sappenfield emphasized. "It's always a big jump."
Despite a rough end to their debut season, Neudecker's injury helped the team get the back to basics and, ultimately, to their first Grand Prix assignment.
"I think [the injury] was kind of a blessing in disguise because it allowed us to work on some of the things we needed to work on, like our skating skills and new choreography," Neudecker said. "We really drilled those. That was kind of the missing piece. By the time we put the elements in, we were really ready. That was a big part of our development this year."
With the missing piece back in place, the newly healthy couple went full speed ahead into their second senior season. "Time has gone so quickly," exclaimed Digerness. "This whole experience has been so exciting." With new programs inspired by their previous show program and
Adam Rippon's 2017-18 free skate, the couple is excited to show off their newly mastered skating style.
"Our short program is called 'The Rose' and it was our show program for the past two years," explained Neudecker. Digerness added, "I like our short because it is so graceful and we can show it so well. It shows off the softness in our skating."
"Our free skate is kind of a remake of
Adam Rippon's," continued Neudecker. "We loved Adam's music so much and we made it our own by mixing in 'Let It Go' by James Bay. They work together really well."
"[Since Danny recovered] we worked on a lot of stroking and choreography, and side-by-side spins and jumps," said Digerness. "We practiced making it all cleaner." Neudecker elaborated, "We added two triples into [the free skate] as well. We are having such a good year so far, so we want to keep building."
After attending their first Champs Camp in August, the Colorado Springs-based team made their senior international debut at the Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy, finishing fourth. The duo continued on their road of firsts, scoring 51.56 in their Grand Prix debut last night in front of a hometown cheering section for Neudecker.
"It's nice to see where Danny grew up and to have so much support at our first Grand Prix," said Digerness.
Neudecker added, "Yeah it was kind of nerve racking going first at our biggest competition ever, but the crowd was awesome. It's my hometown so I felt relaxed, but overall I think we are really happy with the performance."
Looking towards the future, the duo is optimistic that the best is still on the horizon.
"Everything is a new challenge." Digerness emphasized, "I'm just excited about what all has happened and what's yet to come."
Neudecker concluded, "Everything keeps building in a good way and we are really happy with that."
