New Pair Teams

[maria]

Any new pair teams since the pair try-outs?

[WeBeEducated]

I have been told that Cole Davis is definately pairing up with Sheila Harkaway in AnnArbor, and he has already moved up there.

[Sylvia]

Also, I've heard from a reliable source that Karissa Strong and Jeff Charbonneau have teamed up and will split their time between Ann Arbor and Detroit SC.

[texasdancer]

I thought all the pair teams had left Ann Arbor? The Meros left that rink, or so I heard, so who would be coaching them?

[chattykathy]

Joe Mero is still coaching at Ann Arbor FSC.
The pair teams skate at the A2Ice3 and at a newer rink in Taylor MI.

[texasdancer]

Oh, I guess I had my information wrong! Thanks for correcting me. I have never heard of a club named Taylor, is it near Ann Arbor?

[Pupiczech]

Taylor is a town in Michigan about half way between Ann Arbor and Detroit

[what?meworry?]

just posted on the usfsa site

tiffany sfikas and jeff weiss have paired up. they'll skate for the usa.

you might recall, as is mentioned in the article, that tiffany skated for england but had a terrible experience with a former pairs partner.

this is such great news to see her jump back into competition with such a great attitude. it sound as though this will be a team of interest at nationals this year!

[IceDanceSk8er]

Originally posted by what?meworry?
just posted on the usfsa site

tiffany sfikas and jeff weiss have paired up. they'll skate for the usa.

Tiffany and Jeff will definately medal at Nationals in Atlanta next year. I don't know Jeff very well, but Tiffany is such an incredible skater. I wish her an Jeff the best. As a side note, we can thank Marge Reynolds from BOI for this pairing.

[jkl]

Is there an update on the Steve Hartsell and Sima Ganaba tryout?

[maria]

I heard the Ganaba's got back together?

[haribobo]

Originally posted by IceDanceSk8er
Tiffany and Jeff will definately medal at Nationals in Atlanta next year.

:/ Well new teams don't usually medal at their first Nationals, so I wouldn't be so sure. But kudos to you for your bold prediction! :) Inoue/Baldwin, Don/Hunt, Orscher/Lucash, Spielberg/Joeright, Handy/Allen, and Scott/Dulebohn are just a few of the teams that will be standing in S/W's way in Atlanta...even if a couple of those teams end up retired or split or injured, it's not going to be a cake walk to beat the remaining couples. Most of those teams listed above will have a season of Grand Prix experience behind them which usually makes them more competitive than teams who don't have this valuable experience. I wish Sfikas/Weiss the best though, and I think it's great that they plan to be among the best-- I just hope they aren't expecting too much too soon.

[IceDanceSk8er]

Originally posted by haribobo
:/ Well new teams don't usually medal at their first Nationals, so I wouldn't be so sure.

I am very confident about this. Tiffany and Jeff will medal purely on their talent, ability and presence, which, afterall, is the criteria for all competitors. It's irrelevant that they are a new team - as individuals both Tiffany and Jeff are well known to the judges. Remember that Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov medalled their first year at Nationals in ice dance.

[IceDanceSk8er]

Originally posted by IceDanceSk8er
I am very confident about this. Tiffany and Jeff will medal purely on their talent, ability and presence, which, afterall, is the criteria for all competitors. It's irrelevant that they are a new team - as individuals both Tiffany and Jeff are well known to the judges. Remember that Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov medalled their first year at Nationals in ice dance.

[SkateGuard]

Originally posted by IceDanceSk8er
I am very confident about this. Tiffany and Jeff will medal purely on their talent, ability and presence, which, afterall, is the criteria for all competitors.

I don't know about that. I've seen Tiffany skate (with Andrew Seabrook). She's a pretty skater and can do most of the tricks, but she didn't have the speed and flow that I would have expected from an elite pairs skater. (I saw her at the Rolling Meadows, IL ice show, and the junior Chicago Jazz team was flying compared to her!) Plus, look at the competition. S/D have the experience, S/J the unison, D/H the energy and presentation, I/B the flair.

Then again, if they can do sbs triples, two different throw triples, and solid lifts, they should win. Nobody could do that in Dallas!

Erin

[IceDanceSk8er]

Originally posted by SkateGuard
I don't know about that. I've seen Tiffany skate (with Andrew Seabrook). She's a pretty skater and can do most of the tricks, but she didn't have the speed and flow that I would have expected from an elite pairs skater. (I saw her at the Rolling Meadows, IL ice show, and the junior Chicago Jazz team was flying compared to her!) Plus, look at the competition. S/D have the experience, S/J the unison, D/H the energy and presentation, I/B the flair.

Then again, if they can do sbs triples, two different throw triples, and solid lifts, they should win. Nobody could do that in Dallas!

Erin

Have you seen her skate in competition? Exhibition and competitive skating are two different animals. You should know that.

[haribobo]

Gregory/Petukhov skated very well to win their first medal, but also took advantage of an extremely weak and depleted field and by estimation were the favorites for the bronze ever since their scores/results at Mids. The team was comprised of Gregory (former Junior champ) and Petukhov (former Russian GP competitor) so chances were that they would be very strong. Sfikas/Weiss, not to say that they can't do well, but most of their competitive history shows them hovering in the 7-10 range at U.S. Nationals with their previous partners. A medal for them would be an enormous step up for both. I think they should be happy if they can just crack the top 6 this year.

I remember a poster last year saying that Gibbons/Pekarek were going to be a medal contendor at Nationals last year FOR SURE. And though they were good, they weren't even close to the podium. So I think we should just wait and see. I am not saying a medal is *impossible* for Sfikas/Weiss this year, but based on what I have seen in the past results-wise, I certainly wouldn't predict it to happen this year. If it ends up happening, I'll definitely start to trust IceDanceSk8r's predictions more! :)

[Trillian]

Originally posted by SkateGuard
Then again, if they can do sbs triples, two different throw triples, and solid lifts, they should win. Nobody could do that in Dallas!

What about Orscher & Lucash? They did hit all the "big" tricks in their long--things like speed, flow, and relation to the music kept them from winning the national title, which should be a lesson to any skater or pair who thinks they're going to win just because they have more throws and jumps than anyone else. (Under the current scoring system, anyway.) Don't get me wrong, O&L are my favorite U.S. pair right now, I just think that was proof that the attitude of "if they can only land the jumps..." is leaving out a big part of the picture.

I'd have to agree that Sfikas & Weiss probably aren't going to be medal contenders their first year out--not with more experienced teams like Scott & Dulebohn, O&L, Inoue & Baldwin, and Don & Hunt to worry about. They haven't had the kind of results with previous partners that would indicate that, and even if this is the best partnership either has had, it's going to take a year or two for things to gel. I would love to see all their hopes come true in the long run with this partnership, but if realistic goals are set, it's a lot easier to keep a positive attitude.