Bradie Tennell Wins Second U.S. Title at 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships

The first medals were awarded on the second day of competition at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, with Bradie Tennell pacing the ladies' field by more than 15 points to win the second U.S. title of her career.
 
Ice dance competition also got underway with the rhythm dance, and reigning U.S. champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates have the lead in their first competition in 11 months.
 
LADIES
 
In Las Vegas this week, 2018 U.S. champion Bradie Tennell could be seen walking the corridors of The Orleans Arena wearing a glittering golden face mask.
 
It was a fitting accessory as, following the ladies' free skate, she departed the arena with some new golden hardware.
 
Tennell's free skate to "Sarajevo" by Max Richter and "Dawn of Faith" by Eternal Eclipse earned 153.21 points, giving her a total of 232.61 points and her second U.S. title.
 
"I'm very happy with my skate today. I'm kind of speechless, actually," Tennell said. "That was exactly the performance that I wanted to give, and I enjoyed every second of it. I'm so happy, and I'm so grateful that we had this opportunity and that I was able to perform the way that I wanted to."
 
Tennell also achieved a rather historic feat, becoming the first woman to win a second U.S. title after a three-year gap since Theresa Weld won her first title in 1914 and her second in 1920.
 
"Winning my title back means everything to me," Tennell said. "It was one of the driving forces behind my move to Colorado this year. It's the driving force behind me waking up to go train every day.
 
"They say it's about the journey, not the destination, but the destination feels pretty good, too," she added with a laugh.
 
Tennell credits coach Tom Zakrajsek with helping her regain her trademark consistency, giving her a key phrase to repeat before the final jump in her program to keep her focused.
 
And all of the preparation meant she could do what everyone wants to do when they come to Las Vegas: enjoy herself.
 
"Honestly, I was just having fun," Tennell said. "I know I've done everything in my power to prepare for this competition, and I'm more confident in myself. I came into this competition knowing that I had skated clean programs every day. I worked so hard, and I knew that I was ready. All I had to do was go out there and skate, and enjoy myself. I really enjoyed myself, and that is my goal for every competition. And I feel like I achieved that goal for the first time since 2018 U.S. Championships, and that is probably what I'm most proud of."
 
2014 U.S. junior champion Amber Glenn finished a career-best second place with 215.33 points after scoring 144.50 points for her free skate to "Rain in Your Black Eyes (remake)" by Misha Ge. With the finish, Glenn became the first openly LGBTQ+ U.S. ladies medalist.
 
"I'm still in kind of shock," Glenn said with a laugh. "I felt a weight off my shoulders after yesterday, for sure, so I felt a lot less pressure today. I just let myself skate with no pressure, and it turned out pretty well."
 
It's been a long journey for Glenn as she climbed the U.S. Championships standings through the years. In 2015, she stepped away from the sport entirely for a year before coming back with new coaches and a new mindset.
 
"My mindset coming back was, 'I'm going to skate for me and my own happiness, not for a title or for success or for other people's goals,'" Glenn said. "I wanted to skate for me, and to now come back and have a national medal five years later is amazing."
 
2017 U.S. champion Karen Chen finished third. Her free skate to "Butterfly Lover Concerto" by Takako Nishizaki earned 143.99 points, giving her a total of 214.98 points.
 
"I'm really happy with how I skated here," Chen said. "Definitely a few little minor mistakes here and there, but overall I felt like it was a great performance, and I'm really happy with what I delivered."
 
2019 and 2020 U.S. champion Alysa Liu rounded out the podium in fourth place with an overall score of 213.39 after her free skate to "The Storm" by Havasi and Lisa Gerrard earned 137.03 points.
 
"I know I have a lot to work on still," Liu said. "Luckily I can train my quads and triple Axels again, so I'm actually really excited. Now that U.S. Championships is over, I get to go back home and train again on the quads. This was a very cool experience, especially because this is the first live competition. I was really happy to be here."

ICE DANCE
 
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are two-time U.S. champions, two-time Olympians together and have been skating together for nearly 10 years.
 
But before leaving their hotel to head over to The Orleans Arena, this veteran pair found themselves more nervous than usual.
 
Following a season shortened due to event cancelations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and after withdrawing from their assignments due to Chock suffering a concussion, this was their first competition -- live or virtual -- in 11 months.
 
But the reigning U.S. champions showed no rust upon their return, as Chock and Bates scored 90.10 points for their rhythm dance to "Too Darn Hot" by Cole Porter from Kiss Me, Kate.
 
The score was good for first place heading into Saturday's free dance, and also set a new record for the highest rhythm dance score ever recorded at a U.S. Championships.
 
"As the time came to step on the ice, we really found it again, the kind of calm and the connection that we have, the bond that we share that we kind of rely on when we go out into a high-pressure situation," Bates said. "To think that we haven't competed in 11 months is just bizarre. We tried not to think about it too much, but I would be lying if I said we were not a little bit extra nervous today. But we handled it, I think."
 
Handle it they did, and with an appreciation that comes with knowing what they've been missing.
 
"Skating isn't a necessity, but to us it is, because it's our passion and it's our job, and we love what we do," Chock said. "So we're grateful to be able to perform, and to show people the joy that we have for skating, and hopefully that brings some happiness to people during this really unpredictable time."
 
While they've been in this position before, having won U.S. titles in 2015 and 2020, Chock and Bates know that it's still anybody's game.
 
"As far as the (scoring) record goes, that's not really something that we think about," Bates said. "We're pushed so hard by our training mates and our compatriots here that it's still a really close competition. It's going to come down to a free dance tomorrow. We're really looking forward to it."
 
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue sit in second place after their rhythm dance to a Burlesque medley by Christina Aguilera scored 89.66 points.
 
"We put a lot of work into this program in the last couple months, and we had the goal to really go full out," Hubbell said. "We just really wanted to go for it, and show our power and our speed and not play it safe. So I think technically we did okay. We had a few mistakes. But I think compared to Skate America, it showed our skating quality a lot. We did what we could today, and we're proud of that."
 
The 2018 and 2019 U.S. champions won their third straight Skate America® earlier this season, but have since added detail to their rhythm dance.
 
A new outfit for Hubbell didn't hurt, either.
 
"This (program) kind of allowed me to really own my very powerful feminine energy, my confident side," Hubbell said. "When you go out in a costume that you're not sure you love yourself, it can kind of wear down on that confidence, so I feel much better in this one."
 
In third place, two-time reigning U.S. bronze medalists Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker earned 85.28 points for their rhythm dance to selections from Saturday Night Fever.
 
"We were really happy with the performance we put out today," Hawayek said. "It was one of those ones that we kind of felt like we fought for the entire time, but that's why we train the way we do, to be able to say at the end of the day, no matter how it feels, it can really be a super strong performance. We're really thrilled with the work we did."
 
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons are in fourth place, earning 80.10 points for their rhythm dance to "I Turned the Corner" and "What Do I Need With Love?" from Thoroughly Modern Millie.
 
"I think this type of program is what is more comfortable for me, what comes more naturally," Parsons said. "So I think this program compared to last year just let me enjoy myself on the ice, enjoy my new partner on the ice, and I think we grew a lot because of it."

The Championship ice dance competition concludes tomorrow night with the free dance. Fans can catch the action live 9 p.m. – midnight ET on NBCSN or live and on-demand on Peacock Premium.

Don't forget to check out the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships Virtual Fan Experience, featuring live scoring, the latest news and fun activities and giveaways.