On the first night of competition at the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, some familiar faces sit atop the leaderboard. As the pairs and ladies short programs kicked things off Thursday night,
Bradie Tennell (Skokie Valley SC) leads the field of ladies while Alexa (DuPage FSC) and Chris Knierim (Broadmoor SC) lead the pairs.
Ladies
Bradie Tennell, 2018 U.S. champion, is in first place following the ladies' short program, having earned 78.96 points – the highest short program score in U.S. Championships history – for her program to "Chronos/Mechanisms" by Kirill Richter.
But the 21-year-old didn't feel like her normal unflappable self as she trained in the last week before returning to the national stage.
"I haven't skated like myself all week," Tennell said. "In the warmup even I felt kind of shaky, so I just used the time between the warmup and my skate to remind myself that I do this every day, that I don't need to be nervous.
"And once the music started, it was like, 'Alright, I can breathe a little bit.'"
Tennell has been off-kilter all week, with some personal issues arising that she says made skating a bit difficult. She was also dealing with an arm injury, a hematoma that had recently become infected.
"Let's just say I'm very thankful that my mom is a nurse that's worked in the ER for 25 years," she said with a laugh. "It's been a rough week for me, so just being able to get out there and skate a clean program when I'm not feeling 100 percent is really important to me, and I'm really proud of that."
The 2018 U.S. champion and 2019 U.S. silver medalist qualified for her first Grand Prix Final this season, where she placed fifth. At her Grand Prix assignments, she won silver at 2019 Skate America presented by American Cruise Lines and finished fourth at Skate Canada.
It's been a strong season thus far for Tennell, and one that has shown a different side of her. Her short program shows a sassier side that is new to the spotlight, but one she says comes out when she's around her friends and family.
When choreographer Benoit Richaud and Tennell were initially putting the program together, Richaud had to instruct her to fully embrace the character.
"He's like, 'You need to make a splash. You need to feel like you're the center of everybody's attention,'" Tennell said. "I think as the season has gone on, I've become more and more comfortable with that, and it's more natural now."
Even with the unforeseen challenges that cropped up during the week, Tennell is optimistic about her chances for a second U.S. title.
"You have to expect the unexpected and whatever comes your way," she said. "It's kind of like dodgeball. You've just got to roll with the punches and keep going."
Reigning U.S. champion
Alysa Liu (St. Moritz ISC) is in second place, earning 75.40 points for her program set to "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Barbra Streisand.
"It went okay," Liu said. "I did try to be more present on the ice and interact with the audience, so I felt really good on the ice. And I felt happy. There were some mistakes, but it's always a good learning experience, and I think that will make me stronger."
The 14-year-old didn't nail her signature triple Axel, but says she felt less nervous than she did in 2019 in her senior debut and won't dwell on any mistakes she made.
"If I make a mistake, it's not over, and I still have to focus for my long," Liu said. "So I can't be like, 'Oh no, I made a mistake, I'm going to die now.' I have to keep it like, 'Okay, yeah, I can do this.' It's already over. Just focus on the next thing."
In third place is
Mariah Bell (Rocky Mountain FSC), who scored 73.22 points for her short program set to "Radar" and "Work B****" by Britney Spears after a fluke fall during the step sequence.
"So good, and then such a bummer," Bell said. "But I love that program. I was really getting into it. It's like a total freak thing. I don't think I've ever done that in practice. But it's ice, it's slippery. It happens. I'll learn from it, and I won't make that mistake again."
Amber Glenn (Dallas FSC) sits in fourth place with 73.16 points for her short program to "Scars" by Madilyn Bailey.
"I feel really confident," Glenn said. "I really got my priorities together, and I focused on not trying to be someone I'm not."
In her first appearance at a U.S. Championships since 2017,
Gracie Gold is in 13th place with 54.51 points.
Competition in Greensboro continues Friday, Jan. 24, with the rhythm dance and the ladies' free skate.
Pairs
Following the pairs short program at the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Alexa Knierim was in tears.
For the first time in a long time, they were happy tears.
Alexa and Chris Knierim's short program, set to "At Last" by Beyoncé, arranged by Maxim Rodriguez, earned 77.06 points to put them in first place heading into Saturday's free skate.
"Last time in Greensboro (in 2015) we had a great short, and it's nice to come back, be comfortable and put out – finally – a good short program," Chris said. "Even though, throughout, nothing felt easy as we were going through. But it's good to know that regardless, we can put all our elements out there."
It's been a long, tough road for the Knierims, but their short program displayed exactly what made them the U.S. pair to beat for so many years.
The Knierims are two-time U.S. champions, winning their titles in 2015 and 2018. They won silver in 2013 and 2016, and pewter in 2014.
In 2019, however, they finished a career-low seventh following two coaching changes, and found themselves without a home base as the U.S. Championships approached.
"We were like, couch-hopping before U.S. Championships," Alexa said.
"Last year was crazy," Chris added.
But two weeks after the U.S. Championships – and, thus, their season – came to an end, they moved to Irvine, California, to train with Jenni Meno, Todd Sand and Rafael Arutunian.
"Now we've been there for a year, in one home, and now we have a routine," Alexa said. "We have a schedule. We have regular students. We're settled, which is very nice, considering last year we didn't have a home."
Being settled in their lives has shown in the ice. At the beginning of their short program, Chris tripped, and they were able to recover and skate nearly flawlessly.
"That was a little funny in the moment," Alexa said. "When it happened there was a moment of, like, 'Good grief.' And then I was like, 'Oh well, here we go again.' And then it didn't happen that way."
Rather than falling apart, things fell together. As the final strains of music faded away, Alexa pumped her fist and the two hugged jubilantly.
And then came the tears.
"It was such a dream that was attainable, to skate that way today, but it's always seemed like something gets in the way," Alexa said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "And I've just been waiting for this moment to happen, because it's been a little bit of time for Chris and I to have a skate that makes you feel alive. So I'm just so happy."
In second place are
Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea, who scored 70.35 points for their short program, set to "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy.
It was the first time the duo has ever skated the brand-new program, which they began training the week before Christmas.
"The music itself really settles me," Kayne said. "I get really nervous at competitions. It's a piece of music that I feel really at home with, and I feel like myself skating it. I don't feel like I'm trying to be someone else. The music comes on and I feel comfortable."
The 2016 U.S. champions have a medal of every color under their belt at the event, taking silver in 2018, bronze in 2015 and a disappointing pewter in 2019 after falling from first place after missing a lift in the free skate.
This season was about growth and improving as skaters.
"I wanted to feel that every competition I was taking a step forward," Kayne said. "And I think we've done that with both our scores and the look of our programs, and this is just another one of those steps."
Reigning U.S. champions
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc sit in third place, earning 68.86 points for their short program, set to "A Storm is Coming" by Tommee Profitt featuring Liv Ash, after their death spiral earned them zero points.
"It was a bit of a surprise," LeDuc said. "We've worked so, so hard for this competition. And we really wanted that to show out on the ice, and we did a lot of our stuff well. And to be taken down by a death spiral, which is like pairs skating 101, to me, it's a bit of a shock and disappointment."
Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson are in fourth, scoring 67.56 points for their program to "Light of the Seven" composed by Ramin Djawadi.
"We did have that first mistake at the beginning, but what I am most proud of as a team for us is that we put it past us and we kept skating forward," Calalang said.
U.S. Championships continues through Jan. 26. The junior and championship events will be live and on demand on theÂ
Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Tickets are available atÂ
ncskate2020.com.
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