2002

U.S. Nationals

Senior Pairs

There being little doubt that Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman would repeat as National Champions, the main intrigue this year centered on who would occupy the second of the two spots available on the Olympic Team.  Ina & Zimmerman and Tiffany Scott & Phillip Dulebohn were the favorites coming into the competition, while Danielle & Steve Hartsell and Stephanie Kalesavich & Aaron Parchem were given outside shots.  Hartsell & Hartsell were the 1999 U.S Champions but were sidelined by injury in 2001.  They placed third in 2001 but this season did not impress at their international events.  Kalesavich & Parchem, who were fourth in 2001, on the other hand got a good buzz going for themselves during their Grand Prix events.

The first of the top teams to skate were Scott & Dulebohn at the end of the second of four warmups.  Skating to Heartbreak Hotel, the music proved apropos.  They landed their opening side-by-side triple toe loops but in the following overhead lift they had a scary broken setdown.  Throw triple Salchow was successful but their double twist had a late catch.  The second half of the program was executed without major incident until the last element when Dulebohn fell exiting their back inside death spiral.  Despite the errors it was an otherwise capably skated program and thanks to a fairly weak field they were able to hold third place in the short program.

Last to skate in the third warmup were Kalesavich & Parchem.   They had a nice skate, executed with decent speed and a decent presentation but with a few minor problems.  An opening throw triple Salchow was successful but on side-by-side triple Salchows Kalesavich two footed the jump.  Their overhead lift had a wobbly entry but was otherwise clean.  Following straight line footwork their side-by-side combination spin also proved troublesome with Parchem wobbling his way through the element.  The remaining three elements were well executed, including the double twist.  They received six second place marks to place second, and following the short program it looked like they had a chance to upset their rivals for the silver medal.

In the last warmup group of four teams the Hartsells led off and Ina & Zimmerman closed the show.

During their Grand Prix events the Hartsells skated sluggishly and Steve looked bloated and unprepared.  Their performance here was greatly improved over earlier in the season.  hey skated with greater speed and strength, and Steve, while by no stretch of the imagination svelte, looked in much better shape.  The opened with a clean throw triple loop and then followed with side-by-side triple toe loops which Steve two-footed.  The remainder of the program was clean including the double twist and the overhead lift which included a one-arm position in the air.  They received marks of second through sixth to end up fourth in the short program.

Coming off of some good performances at the Grand Prix Final, Ina & Zimmerman had a good skate in the short program despite one major error.  Their opening double twist was nice but on subsequent triple toe loops Zimmerman fell.   Their throw triple loop was well done as were the remaining elements in the program.  Their overhead lift was a fast lasso into a helicopter, platter and then a flip out.  Despite the fall they received unanimous first place marks for their performance.

First to skate in the last group following the withdrawal of the Hartsells, Ina & Zimmerman opened with triple toe loops which Zimmerman stepped out of and Ina doubled.  They followed with clean double Axels and then a triple twist with no catch.  The remainder of the program was clean except for Ina putting a hand down on throw triple Salchow.  Overall the program was fairly well skated with decent speed, but it did not attain the quality of their second free skate at the Grand Prix Final.  Nonetheless it was the best of the batch here and they received unanimous first place marks to win their third consecutive U.S. pairs title.   After skating, Ina pulled no punches in assessing their performance, saying "If we skate like this, we're not going to be a factor (at the Olympics).  This was our worst performance this year to date, which I guess is not to bad.  We were coming into nationals at about 80%, and we just wanted to skate decently enough to really satisfy ourselves, but know we have another 20 (%) to work on."

The competition ended with the duel between Kalesavich & Parchem and Scott & Dulebohn for the silver medal, and the second spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.   Skating to Les Miserables, Kalesavich & Parchem began with a triple twist with no catch.  They followed with throw triple Salchow which was clean but on subsequent triple Salchows Kalesavich fell and Parchem put his hand down.  The remainder of the program was completed without incident and despite the errors on the two elements the program overall was well skated at decent speed and with a nice secure presentation.  It certainly was of adequate quality to deserve the silver medal, but that would still depend on how Scott & Dulebohn performed.  Said Kalesavich after their performance, "It felt very good.  That was our goal was to come on and do two really good programs, so we've accomplished that goal no matter what the outcome is."

Scott & Dulebohn started with triple toe loops in which she fell and he two footed the jump.  Their triple twist also had no real catch to speak of.   Following a lasso lift with a one arm air position and a flip out they completed a marginal throw triple toe loop which was landed with a very poor landing edge.  Two elements later at about mid-way through the program their music dropped out for a few seconds but they skated through it.  They completed a nice double Axel into double toe loop sequence and finished strong with a helicopter lift and a nice back outside death spiral.  Eight of the judges placed them second, mainly on the strength of the second mark, giving them the silver medal and an all expenses paid trip to Salt Lake City.   Ending up in third place, Kalesavich & Parchem won the consolation prize, a trip to the Four Continents Championships in Korea.

Making the Olympic Team was a sweet end to a difficult season for Scott & Dulebohn.  In August 2001 Dulebohn suffered a lower back and left hip stress fracture that forced their withdrawal from the 2001 Goodwill Games and their Grand Prix competitions (Skate America and Cup of Russia).  Said Dulebohn, "[This season has been] really, really difficult, that's why it's such an emotional thing for us right now.  This year has been unbelievably difficult for all three of us (including their coach) in so many different ways.  I feel like if we can make it through this, we really can do anything."  He added, "Tiffany and I have a lot of faith in each other and we've been skating a long time together.  Three months ago, we really were in a dark place and it was really difficult to start out from that place and try to make an Olympic Team.  We made a little miracle happen."

Short Program

Free Skate