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Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue Emily Samuelson and Todd Gilles Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely Madison Chock and Evan Bates Isabella Cannuscio and Ian Lorello
Championship Pairs Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin won the 2011 U.S. Pair skating title and placed 6th at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships. They surprised figure skating fans a little over a month later with the news that their partnership had ended. Shortly afterwards, John Coughlin paired up with 2010 Olympian and 2010 U.S. Pair Champion Caydee Denney. The Denney-Coughlin team easily won the senior pairs event at INDY Challenge 2011 and earned a spot on the Grand Prix circuit. At Skate America, they placed 2nd after the short program and 4th overall. They may be the clear favorites to win the 2012 U.S. Pair Skating title, but many observers say they lost their “sparkle” at the NHK Trophy in Japan. Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, the 2010 and 2011 US Pair Skating silver medalists and 2010 Olympians, could also possibly win gold. Many of the pairs that competed at the senior level at the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships are no longer together, but other pairs who will be competing and are still together include: • Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker • Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir • Tiffany Vise and Don Baldwin • Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff • Lindsay Davis and Themistocles Leftheris • Chloe Katz and Joseph Lynch • Andrea Poapst and Chris Knierim
PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH
Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker
• Barbie Long • Mariah Bell Junior pair skaters Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer qualified for the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating final. Another junior pair that has been noticed is Jessica Noelle Calalang and Zack Sidhu. The top two teams that placed in novice dance at the 2011 Championships, siblings Rachel and Michael Parsons, and Jessica Mancini and Tyler Brooks, may be the only age eligible skaters to compete in the upcoming 2012 Junior Olympics, but there are returning junior dancers who may end up on the national podium. They include Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton, Lori Bonnacorsi and Travis Mager, Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter, Madeline Heritage and Nathaniel Fast, and Danielle and Alex Gamelin. For the junior men’s title, all eyes may be on two-time US national men’s novice champion Nathan Chen. Some others to take note of include Harrison Choate and Philip Warren. Will 2012 influence the 2014 Olympic year? It’s hard enough to make predictions on who will win or medal at the 2012 US Figure Skating Championships; in fact, everything could change by 2014. Will Meryl Davis and Charlie White stay around? Will Evan Lysacek be in good enough form for 2014? Could Alissa Czisny possibly reign as the queen of U.S. ice for four years? Will the Caydee Denney and John Coughlin pair team also reign? Only time will tell. This nationals may help answer these questions.
Ross Miner
PHOTO BY PAUL/MICHELLE HARVATH
Juniors At the junior level, the field is also somewhat open. Although the days when predictions could be made are over, some skaters do stand out. Some junior ladies to watch include: • Gracie Gold • Hannah Miller
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