Tag Archive for: 2015 Riga Cup

Meng and Meng stay in top-five at Junior Grand Prix

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RIGA, Latvia – Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal produced the third best free dance on Saturday to finish fifth overall in ice dancing at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenk of Russia won the gold medal, Angelique Abachkina and Louis Tauron of France were second and Sofia Evdomikova and Egor Bazin of Russia third.

The Mengs were fifth after the short program. While they didn’t advance in the standings after their standout performance Saturday they were only 2.06 points out of third spot. They scored an international personal best of 130.51 points.

Hannah Whitley of Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham of Angus, Ont., were seventh.

In men’s competition, Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., struggle in his long program and placed fifth overall. He was second after the short program on Thursday.

‘’It’s disappointing,’’ said Nadeau. ‘’One of my goals this year was to go to the Junior Grand Prix Final and that won’t happen now. Now my focus is going to be on competing at the nationals for the first time at the senior level.’’

Dmitri Aliev of Russia took the gold, Deniss Vailjevs of Latvia second and Alexei Krasnozhon of the U.S. third.

The third stop on the circuit is next weekend in Colorado Springs.

Full results: 2015 Riga Cup

Canadian skaters gain valuable experience at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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RIGA, Latvia – Justine Brasseur of Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy of Ste-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que., took sixth spot in in pairs to complete their international debut on Friday at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit.

Renata Oganesian and Mark Bardei of Ukraine won gold with 144.29 points, Anastasia Poluianova and Stepan Korotkov of Russia were second at 138.75 and their compatriots Ekaterina Borisova and Dmitry Sopot were third at 135.42.

‘’We made two mistakes that cost us a higher placing,’’ said Brasseur, 14. ‘’Still we are very pleased with our first showing at the Junior Grand Prix. We have some goals we want to meet in terms of our scoring this season and we know what we need to do to improve.’’

In women’s competition, Maria Sotskova of Russia was the winner with Kaori Skamoto of Japan second and Da Bin Choi of South Korea third.

Sarah Tamura of Burnaby, B.C., produced the eighth best long program to jump from 21st to 13th overall.

‘’I had a disastrous short program and I wanted to bounce back from that,’’ said Tamura, 14. ‘’I wanted to go out there and skate my long program like I do every day in training and I achieved that.’’

In ice dancing earlier Friday, Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal are fifth after the short dance and Hannah Whitley of Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham of Angus, Ont., sixth.

Men’s competition got underway Thursday. Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., stands second after the short program.

The free dance and men’s free skate are on Saturday.

Full results: 2015 Riga Cup

Canadian skaters head to Latvia for second stop on ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of five entries to Riga, Latvia, for the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Canada will have one entry per category in men’s, ladies and pair, and two entries in ice dance. The competition takes place from August 26-30, 2015.

Canadian Junior Champion in 2015, Nicolas Nadeau, 17, Boisbriand, Que., is Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Last year, Nadeau placed fifth and 10th respectively at his ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in Japan and Croatia. He also placed 25th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Nadeau trains at École Excellence Rosemère and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Sarah Tamura, 14, Burnaby, B.C., is Canada’s lone entry in ladies. Last season, she placed 14th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Japan and 13th in Croatia. The representative of Burnaby FSC also placed sixth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Tamura is coached by Joanne McLeod, Jill-Marie Harvey, and Neil Wilson at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Justine Brasseur, 14, Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy, 18, Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que., are the Canadian pair entry at the event. Representing CPA Brossard and CPA Saint-Césaire, the 2015 Canadian novice champions will be competing at their first international assignment. Brasseur and Ostiguy train in Chambly, Que., with coaches Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig.

Melinda Meng, 16, Montreal, Que., and Andrew Meng, 18, Montreal, Que., are the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Representing CPA Laval, the Mengs won bronze at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the junior category, and placed seventh at their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment last season in France. The Mengs are coached by Shawn Winter in Pierrefonds, Que.

Hannah Whitley, 15, Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham, 17, Angus, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, they placed 10th at their international assignment in Croatia and placed fifth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Whitley and Graham are coached by David Islam and Kelly Johnson at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

Live streaming will be available through the ISU’s YouTube channel.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #2 – Riga, Latvia

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men’s Nicolas Nadeau 17 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Ladies Sarah Tamura 14 Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby FSC Joanne McLeod / Jill-Marie Harvey / Neil Wilson
Pair Justine Brasseur / Mathieu Ostiguy 14/18 Brossard, Que. / Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que. CPA Brossard / CPA Saint-Césaire Josée Picard / Marc-André Craig
Ice Dance Melinda Meng / Andrew Meng 16/18 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Laval / CPA Laval Shawn Winter
Ice Dance Hannah Whitley / Elliott Graham 15/17 Creemore, Ont. / Angus, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC David Islam / Kelly Johnson