Free Dance
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue captured their first Skate America title in Everett, Washington on Sunday, defeating the field by more than eight points and putting themselves in excellent position to qualify for the Grand Prix Final for a fourth consecutive season.
The win also marked the U.S. ice dance champions' first gold medal at a complete Grand Prix event. Their previous win, at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard held in Bordeaux, France, represented their performance in the short dance only; the free dance was canceled following terrorist attacks in Paris.
"I always watched Meryl (Davis) and Charlie (White) and other teams come to Skate America and do their best for Team USA, and I'm really pleased we were able to bring the gold medal home," Hubbell said. Their win is the 10th straight ice dance title for the U.S. at the event.
Renowned for their smoldering on-ice connection, the World silver medalists are showing a softer romantic side this season with a stirring, at times almost wistful free dance, set to the 1996
Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. The couple thinks their power and chemistry brings a unique take to Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers.
"We've never portrayed a well-known story, so for us to have that opportunity, that's something new for us that we've always wanted to do," Donohue said. "Madi always loved this song, and it was our coach, Romain (Haguenauer), who said, 'Why not
Romeo and Juliet?'"
"When I watch the Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio (in the 1996 movie), I'm not thinking, 'Oh, they're such cute little kids,'" Hubbell said. "They have quite a lust for each other. There have been a million beautiful
Romeo and Juliet interpretations, but I think there is something special Zach and I can bring to this piece, with the raw emotion and the absolute intensity that goes into dying for the person you love."
The free dance performance in Everett was a major uptick from the program's debut at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City last month. Five of Hubbell and Donohue's elements earned the highest level, and their program component scores far outstripped the field's. They gained 122.39 points for the program, enabling them to crash through the 200-point barrier with a total 200.82 points.
"We made quite a few little changes, not anything big, but all over the program that made quite a difference," Patrice Lauzon, another of the team's coaches, said. "The goal was to give it a little faster pace."
"There are still some points left to be found," Donohue said. "Actually, I know where they are. We have to do the elements better."
Hubbell and Donohue have only a few days before they compete again, at Skate Canada, which is being held near their Montreal, Quebec training site. Should they do reasonably well there, their next event will likely be the Grand Prix Final, held in Vancouver Dec. 6-9.
"We were in the wonderful position of being able to choose which Grand Prix we wanted to do," Hubbell said. "With Skate Canada near our home in Montreal, it just makes it very easy with no extra travel...It gives us a chance to take a week off, rest our bodies, and prepare (for the Grand Prix Final), where we know the competition will be increasingly difficult."
Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri won silver with 192.30 points, while Tiffani Zagorski and Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia claimed bronze with 181.38 points.
Competing at Skate America for the first time, Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter just missed out on a medal, placing third in the free dance and fourth overall with 180.57 points, just .81 out of third place.
The Maryland-based team performed a modern, lyrical free dance to music from French composer Yann Tiersen, highlighted by distinctive lifts and a gently flowing step sequence, done on one foot.
"We're very happy and proud of both of our skates here," McNamara said. "(Our scores) show we're doing what we need to be doing."
"Our first Skate America, we were really excited and wanted to give it our all," Carpenter added. "We were focused on giving our best performance."
McNamara and Carpenter next compete at the Grand Prix of Helsinki in Finland Nov. 1-4.
Performing an avant-garde free dance to Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," choreographed by 1984 Olympic champion Christopher Dean, Karina Manta and Joe Johnson ignited the Everett crowd with their inventive lifts and outgoing personalities. The Colorado Springs-based team placed tenth with 139.33 points.
"We were having a blast," Johnson said. "The crowd was amazing…We definitely executed better technically than yesterday (in the rhythm dance), so it was a better performance, too."
The skaters, who are coached by Patti Gottwein at Colorado Springs' U.S. Air Force Academy, also work with Dean and five-time U.S. ice dance champion Ben Agosto.
"(Dean's) philosophy is always stay focused, do it the way you do in practice," Manta said. "Don't make a big deal out of competition."
Ladies Free Skate
U.S. champion Bradie Tennell had one goal when she took the ice for her free skate on Sunday afternoon at Skate America in Everett, Washington.
"Do my job, fight for everything and not let anything go," said Tennell, who faltered on her opening triple-triple combination in her short program, costing her big points and a chance to challenge for the title. "I really fought for everything in that program today and I'm happy with my attack and I am proud of how I did."
Tennell, performing a powerful and emotionally charged routine to
Romeo and Juliet, received Level 4s for her spins and footwork. Her jumps were decisive, although she received two under-rotation calls on jump combinations. Tennell finished with 192.89 points and in fourth place in the segment and overall.
"I think this program is wonderful," Tennell said of her free skate choreographed by Benoit Richaud. "I'm happy with the way it turned out. I love the program and love training it. I want to be able to captivate the audience and have them really feel the story."
As far as the underrotation calls, she said, "I haven't talked to my coaches, but I'll go back to work and try to make them [jumps] higher and make them look more clean."
Tennell's quality free skate was overshadowed by the outstanding performances of short program leaders Satoko Miyahara and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and Russia's Sofia Samodurova. The three ladies delivered six virtually flawless programs over the two days.
Miyahara, the defending champion at Skate America, repeated as the titlist by winning both segments and finishing with a score of 219.71. Sakamoto finished second in both segments and earned the silver medal with 213.90 points. Samodurova placed third in both segments and captured the bronze medal with 198.70 points.
Megan Wessenberg wrapped up her first Grand Prix event feeling optimistic about her season to come. She placed sixth in both segments and overall with a score of 170.33.
"I had some mistakes sprinkled throughout the program, but I thought I paced myself really well, stayed focused and in the moment, so overall I think a good effort," she said.
Wessenberg's next big competition will be next month at sectionals.
"I've done a lot of good shorts this year, but it's taken a little bit longer for my free [skate] to come together at competitions," Wessenberg said. "My focus will continue to be to train really hard and when I get to events, trust my training and let my body do what it's been training to do."
Starr Andrews experienced some bad patches in her free skate to a jungle medley. She popped her opening triple Lutz into a single and never fully recovered.
"It was a little rough," Starr said. "I haven't been practicing like that, so it was kind of a shock to me. You have to live and learn."
Andrews won't have much time to dwell on her performances at Skate America,
as she will compete next weekend at Skate Canada.
"This was a great learning experience," said Andrews, who made her Grand Prix Series debut. "I just need to turn it around and show them how I've been practicing."
