Russian Nationals Predictions

[Breakdown787]

Ah yes, the always controversial event. THis year is the year where we get to see the new faces of Russia. Remember 99 when Soldatova and Volchokova burst into the scene...

Ladies:
1. Volchokova - I think this is her year to make some noise and next year for her to shine. Got that feeling that she'll win this event.

2. Slutskaya - A little down, un-train, un-fit, and hey she could win this easily but I expect some mistakes from her.

3. Nelidina - With the Russian ladies down this year, I suspect Nelidina jumping consistency to move her up.

4. Sokolova - She is still my favorite but her jumps aren't there consistently. Even if she does decently, it's not like she'll finish higher than 3rd.

5. Oblasolva - I don't know what's the deal with her this season. Is she even going to compete at nationals?

6. Basova - I want this girl to finish on the podium. She has the best presentation in Russia right now with beatiful extensions. But will her jumps be there.....

7. Naidenova
8. Agapova
9. Gershkovic
10. Chernysheva....(any news on her, she wasn't on the JGP...)

***Nikolayeva...(last year was a nightmare but still any news on her)

Pairs
1. T & M
2. Obertas and Sokolv
3. P & T

Men
***with no Yagudin***
1. Plushenko
2. Klimkin
3. Abt
4. Shubin
5. Griazev
6. Dobrin

[haribobo]

I'll play. BTW you forgot Timchenko in the men...

LADIES
Slute, Volchkova, Sokolova, Nelidina, Basova, Oblasova?, Naidenova, Gershkovic? I dunno

MEN
Plushenko, Abt, Klimkin, Timchenko, Shubin, Vasilevski, Klykov, Griazev, Dobrin

PAIRS
1. T/M
2. O/S
3. P/Tik
4. B/Chuv, /R/Zak, or K/Slavnov

DANCE
1. L/Av
2. N/Kost
3. G/A??? or maybe D/Shabalin?

[cocanuts]

i dont know enough to put as many girls and guys down put here's mine:
ladies-
1.slutskaya-wont deserve it but will get it
2.volchkova-will deserve it but wont get it
3.nelidina-jump and be hideous otherwise
4.sokolova-will deserve maybe even second but the judges seem sick of her and dont like her

men-
1.plushenko
2.abt
3.timchenko
4.klimkin

pairs-
totmianina and marinin
obertas and sokolov
petrova and tikhonov

[Toepoint]

1. Slutskaya - She will skate well enough to win

2. Volchkova - She is not consistent enough for me to put her higher.

3. Sokolova - My favorite Russian lady. I hope she can put it all together and make the team; this might be her last chance to make it back to Worlds.

When are the Russian Nationals???

[Marco]

I believe Sokolova will finally pull through...(fingers crossed...)

Given Irina's subpar skating so far this season I believe the Rus Fed will give her a real confident booster no matter what happens...

[love2sk8]

I agree 100% with Cocanuts. I hope Irina skates well, enough to deserve it fairly. Vik is also an amazing skater...her jumps are technically perfect IMO...Whether Vik or Irina win the title, I hope the skater most deserving gets it.
As for the men, hopefully Plush will have two gorgeous quads.
In pairs, I dont think Petrova and Tikhonov have the musicality of some of the other pairs teams, but they do have the elements!
-Just my opinion;)

[Trillian]

I'll try the top five...

Ladies
1. Slutskaya
2. Volchkova
3. Nelidina
4. Sokolova (she really doesn't seem to have the federation behind her at this point)
5. Oblasova or Basova maybe?

Men
1. Pluschenko
2. Abt
3. Klimkin
4. Dobrin
5. Timchenko

Pairs
1. Totmianina / Marinin
2. Obertas / Sokolov
3. Petrova / Tikhonov
Past that I'm very iffy, but maybe:
4. Karbonovskaya / Slavnov
5. Borzenkova / Chuvilayev

Dance
1. Lobacheva / Averbukh (will they compete?)
2. Navka / Kostomarov
How many of the juniors will be competing as seniors? I wouldn't be surprised if Domnina / Shabalin and Romanovskaya / Grachev could finish in the next two spots, but that's only if they actually compete. Otherwise, with the recent splits taking an obvious toll:
3. Belova / Isaev
4. Gvozdkova / Alaskhanov

Wouldn't be surprised if the new team of Kulikova / Novikov stepped right into a medal position next season unless another strong new team comes along.

[¤Sweetie¤]

Kulikova & Markov will compete together at Russian Nationals, according to sources in Simsbury.

[Amy L]

Belova/Isaev split up.

Apparently, Plushenko and Lobacheva/Averbukh are skipping Nationals. But we'll find out soon enough!

[Tony Wheeler]

Kulikova/Markov will compete, Plushenko and Lobacheva/Averbukh have withdrawn, and Volchkova is sick and may withdraw as well.

[Trillian]

Interesting to hear about Kulikova & Markov--smart move on their part IMO. Anyone know if this means they've reunited permanently, or just decided to finish out the season at this point?

[Amy L]

I only heard that Kulikova & Markov are still planning to split up. They might do Euroes if they medal at Nationals (which they most likely will), but it's not likely that they'll go the entire season. I don't think it's a great idea... but maybe that it will give time for one of the junior dance teams to get their senior CDs ready for Worlds without having to rush them for Euroes.

[haribobo]

Hello all,

http://figure.engis.ru/schedule/

I did some digging around and found that someone was nice enough to post a link to the Russian skating site. They don't have an English version but I was able to navigate to the Participants List and translate using Babelfish. They really like to make us work for it! Anyway, here are the entries for Russian Nationals:

LADIES
Slutskaya, Volchkova, Sokolova, Oblasova, Nelidina, Basova, Chernyshova, Vassilieva, Agapova, Gershkovich, Naidenova, Mrost, and there are 2 more. The first looks like Bulusheva but I have never heard that name so maybe it's Burtseva? The second is a Tatiana Plusheva? Not familiar with a Plusheva girl so maybe it is Tatiana Vasina?

Notable Absences: Bubenkhina, Ratkovskaya, Rhyzova, Nikolaeva, Tkatchuk, Agapkina

MEN
Plushenko, Abt, Klimkin, Griazev, Balandin, Vasilevski, Timchenko, Shubin, Dobrin, Smirnov, Lezin, Kondakov, Saburov, Lutai, Uspenski, Samsonov, and then 2 I have never heard of...Konstantin Emenshanov and Alexei Vasiliev? Magerovski is listed as "stored up" so maybe that means he is an alternate?

Notable Absences: Klykov, Poleschuk.

PAIRS
Obertas/Sokolov
Totmianina/Marinin
Petrova/Tikhonov
Karbovskaya/Slavnov
Borzenkova/Chuvilayev
Kuzmina/Evdokimov
Mukhortova/Lebedev
Potanina/Emshanov
Ivanovich/Zhovnirsky
Maslenko/Roslyakov

Notable Absences: Riabchuk/Zakharov, Kokareva/Golovkin, Gladkova/Tokarev, Ushakova/Popov

DANCE
Lobacheva/Averbukh
Navka/Kostmarov
Domnina/Shabalin
Kulikova/Markov
Gvozdkova/Alaskhanov
Gmyzina/Lobanov
Baranov/Nigirish
Zlobina/Sitnikov
Markina/Novgorod
Khokhlova/Novitsky

Notable Absences: Mikhailova/Sergeev, Rubleva/Shefer, Orlova/Bolotin, Romanovskaya/Grachev
Feel free to correct me if I am wrong-- some of the names might have gotten changed in translation.