Predictions for Ondrej Nepela Memorial

[Breakdown787]

Entries are up at www.kraso.sk/nepela/entries.php

Ladies: I'll do top 10

1. Julia Sebestyen
2. Carolina Kostner
3. Sarah Meier
4. Julia Lautowa
5. Diano Poth ----- I'm SO GLAD SHE IS BACK!!!!!
6. Zuzana Babiakova
7. Mojca Kopac
8. Sabina Wojtala
9. Susanne Standmuller
10. Anna Lundstrom

Ladies field is deep and it should be an intresting battle between my top 4 predictions. Really looking foward to see if Kostner can make it 3 in a row so far this season. And wow, can't wait to see Diana Poth debut in nearly 2 years. Rest of the fields are BLAH, but men should be somewhat intresting with Lindemann and Lambiel.

P.S.---Why US didn't send any skaters here stills upsets me......I bet some skaters like Gardiner or Corwin would love more than just one assighnment.........

[Trillian]

Right now Sebastyen and Kostner do look good for the top two, though Meier could challenge either of them (especially Kostner) if she's healthy these days. I'd see Lautowa as the other most likely medal contender among the ladies.

Not too packed a mens field--Timchenko could actually win this event, with Lambiel also having a good shot at a medal. It'll be interesting to see how Lindemann does after all his injuries.

Pairs looks pretty dull--it would be especially nice if the U.S. had sent a team to this event, but I guess our international caliber teams are mostly already assigned somewhere else. Might not have hurt to give a senior assignment to Vise & Ibarra or the Stieglers, though.

Not a terribly deep dance field; look for Golovina & Voiko to win. I thought Akimova & Sarkulov had split for some reason--I thought I'd heard he was in the U.S. looking for a partner earlier this year.

[oubik]

Sarkulov was skating with Klochko last year and Akimova with Baranov (different one from Marika Humphreys hubbie). So it seems they are together now.

As for dance predictions I think it should be a close battle between Golovina & Voiko and Moravkova & Prochazka who bet them in Europeans. It depends how both teams developed through the summer period.

Also the men entries are not as bad as it looks cause there are plenty of men who should be around 15th place at Europens and should reach the finals at Worlds like Smalun, Kozlov, Sviatko, Urbas or Tupikov. It seems Tupikov is number one Ukrainian man at the moment as both Dmitrenko and Danilchenko disappeared from the ice.