Lawrence and Swiegers sixth at NHK Trophy

TOKYO – Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask.,  took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 236.49 points.  Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang of China were second at 182.18 and Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, also of China, were third at 171.32.

It was the second competition this season for Lawrence and Swiegers who are hoping to regain top form in time for the national championships in January after an injury earlier this year to Swiegers.

“It wasn’t perfect but we feel like it was a step forward and part of the process,” said Lawrence.  “We are going to take the positives and adjust our training accordingly.”

Swiegers said he was too tentative.

“I left a lot on table,” he said. “I’ve been skating better than what I showed today. Still we went out there and fought everything.  It is important for us to keep everything in perspective.  Our big goals are nationals and qualifying for the Olympics.”

In ice dancing, Piper Gilles of Toronto and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., stand fifth after the short dance. It was the couple’s first event this season.  Poirier was out three months after sustaining a serious leg injury this past spring.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S., lead the field with 73.70 points.

The free dance is on Sunday.

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