Tag Archive for: 2014 Skate America

Canadian pair sixth at Skate America

CHICAGO – Vanessa Grenier of Sherbrooke, Que., and Maxime Deschamps of Loretteville, Que., produced a satisfying sixth place finish in pairs on Sunday in their senior Grand Prix debut at Skate America.

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia won the gold medal, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. were second and Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang of China third.

Grenier and Deschamps, in their second season together, also ranked sixth in both their short and long programs.

‘’We each made an error in our free program but we feel we made a good impression this weekend,’’ said Grenier, 22.  ‘’We were able to manage our stress level and we know what we need to work on.’’

The pair were fifth at their previous two outings this season – the Nebelhorn Trophy and Skate Canada’s Autumn International – both part of the ISU’s new Challenger Series.

‘’We’ve increased the difficulty levels of both our short and long programs for this year,’’ added Deschamps, also 22.  ‘’So far our season is going well but I think today we made sure we really enjoyed our performance as well.’’

On Saturday night, 16-year-old world junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto won the bronze medal in comeback fashion in men’s singles.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa2014/index.htm

Canada’s Nam Nguyen wins bronze medal at Skate America

Nam-Bronze-ChicagoCHICAGO – World junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto landed a quadruple Salchow and two triple Axels to post a personal best score and win the bronze medal in men’s competition on Saturday night at Skate America.

The competition is the opening stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Tatsuki Machida of Japan took the gold medal with 269.09 points, Jason Brown of the U.S. was second at 234.17 and Nguyen followed at 232.24 in his senior Grand Prix debut.

Nguyen, 16, roared into his program to music from La Strada packing in the quad and two triple Axels –including one in combination, in the first minute. He added five more triples including a beautiful Lutz to cap the program.

The medal was a bit of a surprise for Nguyen who was seventh after the short program on Friday.

‘’I didn’t have a great week of training so it’s nice to finish like this with a satisfying performance,’’ said Nguyen who is coached by Brian Orser. ‘’The start of my program is important but I know I still have the rest of the program to focus on.’’

Nguyen landed the quad Salchow for the first time last week in a silver medal performance at Skate Canada’s Autumn International in Barrie, Ont.

‘’I felt today’s jump had a lot more power in it and I’m looking forward to doing it again at my next competition.’’

The Americans were 1-2 in ice dancing. Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the gold medal with 171.03 points and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani were second at 160.33. Russians Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin were third at 143.87.

Élisabeth Paradis of Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette of Laval, Que., climbed from eighth after the short dance to fourth at 137.30 in their senior Grand Prix debut. Nicole Orford of Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams of Okotoks, Alta., were eighth.

In pairs after the short program, Vanessa Grenier of Sherbrooke, Que., and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., are sixth.

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

The pairs and women’s free skates are on Sunday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa2014/index.htm

Canadians begin ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Season in Chicago

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send four entries, for a total of seven skaters to Skate America, the first event on this season’s ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The competition, which is the first of six ISU Senior Grand Prix stops, will be taking place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates/Chicago, Illinois, from October 24-26, 2014. Canada will have one entry per category in men’s and pair, and two entries in ice dance.

World Junior Champion Nam Nguyen, 16, Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in men’s. This will be Nguyen’s first ISU Grand Prix assignment at the senior level. Earlier this month, he won silver at the inaugural Skate Canada Autumn Classic International. Last season, he placed 12th at the 2014 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and fifth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Nguyen is coached by Brian Orser and Ernest Pryhitka at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club.

Vanessa Grenier, 22, Sherbrooke, Que., and Maxime Deschamps, 22, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will represent Canada in pair. The 2014 Canadian junior pair champions from CPA Sherbrooke and CPAR Vaudreuil will be competing at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment. This season, Grenier and Deschamps placed fifth at both of their assignments on the ISU Challenger Series, Nebelhorn Trophy, and the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte at CPA Saint- Léonard.

Nicole Orford, 22, Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams, 23, Okotoks, Alta., are the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Earlier this season, the representatives of Inlet SC and Calalta Community FSC won silver at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and placed sixth at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International on the ISU Challenger Series. Last season, they placed fifth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and fifth at the 2014 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Orford and Williams are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Élisabeth Paradis, 22, Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette, 22, Laval, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their first assignment on the ISU Senior Grand Prix circuit. Earlier this season, the representatives of CPA Loretteville and CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc., placed fifth at Nebelhorn Trophy. Last season, they placed fifth at the 2013 Cup of Nice and eighth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Petra Burka, of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Meghan Buttle, also of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team physiotherapist and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

For more information and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2014 SKATE AMERICA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Nam Nguyen 16 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club Brian Orser / Ernest Pryhitka
Pairs Vanessa Grenier / Maxime Deschamps 22/22 Sherbrooke, Que. / Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. CPA Sherbrooke / CPA Vaudreuil Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams 21/23 Burnaby, B.C. / Okotoks, Alta. Inlet SC / Calalta Community FSC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice Dance Élisabeth Paradis / François-Xavier Ouellette 22/22 Loretteville, Que. / Laval, Que. CPA Loretteville / CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc. Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon