By Troy Schwindt
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| Chicago Jazz Photo by Paul Harvath |
2006 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships Results, Recaps and Photos
(2/24/06) - The Chicago Jazz made it three for three on the day with its junior division victory Friday night at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Synchronized Team Skating Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Already champions of the novice and intermediate classes, the green-clad Chicago Jazz juniors executed their free skate to “Alexander” Vangelis inside a highly charged Van Andel Arena. Their combined score of 117.00 vaulted them past short program leader Hockettes, who stubbed their toe in the free skate with a fall.
The Colonials from Acton, Mass., skated last and captured the silver medal with a sparkling effort to a trio of modern-era hits. The Hockettes rom Ann Arbor, Mich., settled for bronze, while Team Braemar of the City of Lakes FSC secured the pewter medal for fourth place.
The victory by the Jazz came after the team won back-to-back silver medals in 2004 and '05.
“They worked hard for this,” said Jazz coach Lisa Darken, who led the Jazz juniors to three consecutive gold medals from 2001-03. "It's nice to be back. They've been fighting for it for two years.”
The Chicago Jazz' long program, Darken said, is the team's strength.
“Their short program is like homework,” Darken said. “In the long they can go out and shine.”
The Chicago Jazz, which leaves on Tuesday night for the ISU World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland, with the Hockettes, turned in an attacking-style program. Their no-center point intersection looked dazzling, as the girls skated through with spread eagles. From that element, they went into a collapsing triangle intersection. The team's moves-in-isolation also earned judge and fan approval.
The Colonials, fourth last year, skated to “Somebody Told Me,” “My Immortal” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” en route to a combined score of 111.31.
The musical selection for the team, coach Merita Mullen said, has a unique story behind it.
“I chose the Killers and Evanesence and Bon Jovi because my daughter was just dumped by her first boyfriend,” said Mullen. “She's 18 and this was the music she was listening to all summer. She went through the sad phase, the grieving phase and then the just mad phase. I heard it so much.
“Last year, we skated to Meatloaf's ‘I Would Do Anything for Love.' So, I thought this year I would poke fun at it, and I did it for my daughter, who is a freshman in college in Maine.”
The Hockettes, skating to “Copocabana,” experienced a fall during an early-program block element, which took the fallen skaters several seconds to recover. They, however, finished well with a series of strong elements. The Hockettes scored a combined 107.67.
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