Thursday, November 3, 2011

2011 Cup of China Preview


The 2011 Cup of China is about to get underway!
First, here’s where to watch (particularly if you live in the U.S.):

On Ice Network.com (subscription required):

Friday, Nov. 4

3:30 a.m.: Short dance
5:00 a.m.: Ladies short program
6:45 a.m.: Men's short program
8:45 a.m.: Pairs short program

Saturday, Nov. 5
2:30 a.m.: Free dance
4:15 a.m.: Ladies free skate
6:15 a.m.: Men's free skate
8:30 a.m.: Pairs free skate

On Universal Sports (available over-the-air or via dish/satellite, depending on where you live):

Saturday, Nov. 5
6-8 p.m. Ladies free skate & Free Dance
10-12 midnight Men’s & Pairs free skate

NOTE: While Cup of China will NOT be covered on NBC, you CAN find last week’s Skate Canada Ladies free skate on NBC from 4-6 p.m. this Saturday. The broadcast will then repeat on Universal Sports from 6-8 p.m. this Sunday.

And now, some quick takes on this weekend’s lineup (details of which can be found
here:)

CoC MEN—

Replacements from original lineup:
No replacements; the TBD skater for China is Nan Song. However, Brian Joubert has withdrawn due to a back injury… and it appears Jinlin Guan (of China) has also withdrawn, leaving only 8 competitors.
Top 5 guess in alphabetical order: Jeremy Abbott, Artur Gachinski, Yuzuru Hanyu, Nobunari Oda, Ricky Dornbush
Dark Horse: Kevin Reynolds
Has a quad, or quads: Reynolds, Hanyu, Oda, Gachinski
Has a quad maybe: Abbott, Dornbush
Senior GP Debut: None
Favorite: Though I’m personally rooting for Abbott, the rest of the world is probably looking at either Oda or Hanyu to emerge victorious.
Other: 18 year-old reigning World Bronze Medalist Gachinski is the youngest competitor (and only teenager).


LADIES—

Replacements from original lineup: No replacements; the TBD for China is Qiuying Zhu.
Top 5 guess in alphabetical order: Christina Gao, Carolina Kostner, Ksenia Makarova, Kanako Murakami, Adelina Sotnikova
Dark Horse: Bingwa Geng
Who might have a 3/3 (triple/triple): Makarova, Kostner, Sotnikova, Murakami
Senior GP Debut: Zhu, Gao, Kexin Zhang
Favorite: Although Kostner was mighty good at Sk8AM, she might get overshadowed here by Sotnikova, who could make as big a splash as Tutamysheva did last week in Canada.
Other: Kostner’s teammate Valentina Marchei is the oldest competitor here (age 25).


PAIRS—

Replacements from original lineup: Two from China: Sui/Han and Yu/Jin are replacing Pang/Tong and Zhang/Wang
Top 4 guess in alphabetical order: Kavaguti/Smirnov, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, Sui/Han, Zhang/Zhang
Dark Horse: Evora/Ladwig
Senior GP Debut: Steele/Schultz (of Canada)
Favorite: I’ll go with Zhang/Zhang, who looked better at Sk8AM 2 weeks ago than I’ve seen them look in a long time.
Other…: Evora/Ladwig are using Daphne et Chloe (Ravel) and Reverie (Debussy) for their free skate; please correct me if I’m wrong but I think this combo is very similar to the selection put together for Sarah Hughes 2002 Olympic free skate.


DANCE—

Replacements from original lineup: the new U.S. team of Samuelson/Gilles replaces Russia’s Monko/Khaliavin; Huang/Zheng are the TBD from China.
Top 4 guess in alphabetical order: Bobroba/Soloviev, Carron/Jones, Samuelson/Gilles, Shibutani/Shibutani
Dark Horse: Coomes/Buckland
Senior GP Debut: Samuelson/Gilles, Lichtman/Copely
Favorite: I’m guessing Bobrova/Soloviev, though wouldn’t be surprised if the current World Bronze Medalist Shib Sibs were favored over them
Other…: Although it’s their senior GP debut, U.S.’s Lichtman/Copely were the World Junior Bronze Medalists last year… I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the top 5.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yuzuru Hanyu is 16 years old.
So, he is also teenager and the youngest competitor in this season's GPS, I think.
ISU bio.
http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00010967.htm

Kelli Lawrence said...

Now why did I think I looked that up and found him to be 20? Beats me... thanks for the catch!

He may be the youngest of the Men, but I can think of at least two younger (Russian) "ladies"... Adelina is 15, and Liza (Elizaveta) from Sk8Can is only 14. Not sure about the pairs/dance teams...

Anonymous said...

>Adelina is 15, and Liza (Elizaveta) from Sk8Can is only 14
Yes, I know, Kelly. I missed put "men". I noticed after I left comment, omg. Well, Yuzuru is the youngest men's competitor in this season's GPS.
Then, Jeremy won the title of CoC. Great for him.
I don't watch his FP yet, though. I heard that some judge said it is maybe his master piece. :D

Oh my handle name is Canadakara (=Nov. 4 Anonymous)

Kelli Lawrence said...

Wow... Abbott's jumps clearly weren't the best here, but if the judges (or anyone) are calling it his "masterpiece," I sure can see their point :-)

Thanks for posting, Canadakara!

Hair Care Products said...

It may be that young men, but I can think of at least two young (Russian) "ladies" ... Adelina is 15, and Liza (Elizaveta) Sk8Can only 14 years. Not sure about the teams even / dance ...

Auto Loan Rate Quote said...

Yes, I know, Kelly felix. I skipped put "men". I discovered after I eventually left thoughts, omg. Well, Yuzuru is the newest males competition in this year's GPS.
Then, Jeremy won the headline of CoC. Excellent for him.