Photography by Ann Jensen
Sasha Cohen
Amber Corwin Photos
Joan Cristobal
Alissa Czisny
Andrea Gardiner
Christina Gordon
Sarah Hughes
Jennifer Kirk
Michelle Kwan Photos
Beatrisa Liang
Patricia Mansfield
Ann Patrice McDonough
Ye Bin Mok
Angela Nikodinov
Stacey Pensgen
Molly Quigley Photos
Andrea Varraux
Sara Wheat
Free Skate note: I know you all saw the final flight on TV, so I will just add a few comments. Michelle was MUCH better in this program than in the short. She was much more "open" and fast. Very impressive. Just awesome to see live. I felt very bad for Angela. When she fell on the loop at the 1/2 way mark I just wanted to weep for her. So frustrating for her. Sasha is really very good. To my eye she has a much more natural instinct for the correct positions than Sarah, who still hits off bits at times. The two of them are going to be very interesting to watch. Jennifer Kirk is a very good skater, but the position she skated in last night really emphasized her lack of speed. I don't really see anything wrong with her jumps that is catastrophic; except the lutz - I was in a position to watch her practice a lot of those last night & she does something I hadn't seen before: She takes the toe of her free foot and drags it slightly on the ice as she heads into the corner- it leaves a double tracing right down the diagonal. Interesting. She has nice positions and a good feel for the music. But in this crowd that leaves her well off the podium. Andrea Gardener had a great skate. She has a lot more power in her jumps than anyone else and a nice clean technique. She got a little swingy on the end of a couple of her triples, but she got a huge ovation and seemed very pleased. Amber Corwin had another good skate that got low marks. She landed one of her lutzes, but fell on the other. She did 3 toe-3toe, 3 flip, 3 sal-2toe, 3 sal, 3 flip and 2 axel. Her music cut off just as she was starting the lutz - it clearly threw her off and she talked to the referee. She restarted from the point the music cut off and did the lutz cleanly. It looked like there was a bit of a problem in her camel- sit, but otherwise it seemed like a good skate to me. I guess Andrea is more powerful, and she did land both lutzes, though neither were totally clean... and one was in combination...so I guess it all worked out ok in the end, the numbers just seemed low....Probably my quarrell is more with Ann Patrice's placement than anyone elses. In the free she had enough problems that I would have had her lower than Andrea or Amber. And I certainly would have not had her 4th after the short. So now, she is in the top 6 and Amber and Andrea are not. I really like Ann Patrice and I enjoy her skating...but.....
If someone needs details on one of the skaters I didn't mention just e-mail me, Everyone here had a loveley program and beautiful spins and style and such. It is a really nice bunch of Sr. Ladies and made the evening go by very quickly.
Short program addemdum: I am getting reports that Angela had a swingy ending to her flip. I missed that... If true, then that makes this all muddier. Pretty much everyone winds up with similar level of error - Michelle's axel, Angela's loop, Sarah and Sasha's Flutz. So that winds up with the second mark being the kicker......That's a really hard call. Leaving personal preferance aside, all these ladies are right up there in terms of this. I guess Sarah being the low man on the totem pole. This evening I would give the edge to Angela, but that definitely an IMHO. Your milage may vary.
SP:2
3 Flutz-2 toe. 3 flip. 2 axel. I don't have a real quarrel with her being second. I would have had her lower than anyone with a true lutz, but I am not sure how consistantly they are deducting for that. Unless Sarah had an error I missed, they hammered her for it. But Angela didn't get rewarded for her real lutz....so I have no clue what is going on.
SP:8
2 axel. 3 lutz. 3 toe-3toe. Not a thing wrong with this program and she delivered it solidly and convincingly. I assume the triple-triple is a lower score getter than a lutz combo & that accounts for some of her placement.
SP: 13
Pretty spinner. Cautious skating. cheated 2 axel. cheated, 2 footed 3 flip-2 toe. 3 sal.
SP:11
Amazing spinner.May have skated even more cautiously than Joan, but "has" harder jumps.2 axel turned out of a 3 lutz-2 toe. Fell on 3 flip.
SP: 9
2 axel. 2 footed 3 lutz-2 toe. 3 flip. bobble at the end.
SP:12
2 axel. hand down on the 3 lutz-2 toe. Bobbled on exit to the combo spin.
SP: 2 axel. 3 lutz-2loop. 3 flip. I assume from her placement the lutz was flutzed and the loop was cheated (couldn't see it real well), or something else went wrong. That being the case I then would have had Angela ahead of her, even though Angela did a lutz-toe combo.
SP: 6
2 axel. 3 flutz-2toe. 3 flip. Jennifer was one of the ladies who lutzed in the corner I can see easily. It wasn't off the right edge at all.And her overall skating still lacks the power of Angela or Sasha. I mean, we are knee deep in superb ladies skaters, Jennifer is amazing as well, but this is all a comparison game.
SP: 1
A very low, possibly 2 footed 2 axel. 3 lutz-2 toe. 3 flip. She skidded and pulled her free leg up very high for the take off on the axel. I didn't think she was going to make it. I would not have had her in first. Probably in second. She was very slow and cautious in this program and that is a real problem. And in this group her spins are not standouts- especially the sit spin. Her spiral sequence is way ahead of the pack, and her presentation, while usually ahead of all humans on the planet, was not at it's peak here. I would have put one of the ladies who went all out and had cleaner axels ahead of her - most likely Angela, who's presentation was dead on start to finish, especially if I assume Sarah's lutz was flutzed. I assume she will skate a mind blowing free skate and the podium will eventually wind up just the way it should, but thats the way I call this short program.
SP: 7
2 axel. 3 lutz-2 toe. 3 flip. I would have flip-flopped Bebe and Ann Patrice's placements. Bebe skated cleanly and A.P. did not. Even if she is too young to send to the OOOOOs.
SP: 17
Stepped out of 2 axel before it made full rotation. 2 footed the lutz and fell. Not sure if she tried the toe when she got up. Layback travelled.
SP: 5
2 axel. 3 lutz (very close to the wall) - 2 toe (ran out of room and had to step out). 3 flip. Not sure why she wound up above other clean skates. She is a great skater, but once again, we have enough of those for two or three podiums & she made an error here.
SP: 15
Such a beautiful skater. Best arms around. Disaterous skate. Never left the ice on the waxel. fell on lutz. fell on flip.Beautiful spins and footwork helped keep her out of last place.
SP: 4
2 axel. 3 lutz- 2 toe. 3 flip. I think she had a better skate than Michelle. If Sarah flutzed, then she had a better skate than Sarah.Sasha and she were pretty equal technically, so then it comes down to nit-picking. To me, Angela expresses the music from her soul more. But I am not sure there is a point value to give that :)). Anyway, I just don't get it. At all. Judge # 3 - Jeffrey Wolf of Seattle, Wa. agreed with me. Two other judges had her in second (which I absolutely would have settled for): Steve Winkler of Palm Springs and Jon Jackson of San Francisco. Anne Cammett of Rush, NY called her in third. All fine folks. The remaining 4 had her in 4th. Ptuey.
SP: 14
Landed 2 axel up on her tippy-toe and scraped before she could settle back down. Landed the 3 lutz with her feet crossed and went down. Fell on the flip.
SP: 16
Landed the lutz 2 footed, turned out and took a step before the 2 toe.. Did a 3 loop, which only made it around 2.5 times and landed 2 footed.
SP: 18
Poor thing skated last. The audience was exhausted, we had no energy left for her. Fell on the axel. and the sal and the toe. Inbetweens not up to the level of the others.
SP: 10
1.75 axel. 2.75 loop. Hand down on 3 lutz, step, 2 toe.
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Last updated: January 31, 2002 4:15 PM