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Michelle Kwan skated one of her best programs in recent years. The excitement and the energy in the arena built as Kwan wove her way through high, technically superior elements with a sense of controlled unbridled joy. As she sat in the kiss and cry awaiting her marks, telling the audience that it was her coach Scott Williams' birthday, the look of happiness on her face was clearly apparent.
"I had a lot of energy," Kwan said. "The audience was really into it. I've been to so many nationals, I ought to be used to it, but I still always get the jitters. That's why I like it so much. The adrenaline -- you can hear your heart beating. It feels it's stuck in your mouth. That's why you gotta hate it, but love it. It's a love-hate relationship."
Sasha Cohen In the Hunt
In second place is Sasha Cohen, who skated a flawed performance stumbling on her double toe on the end of her triple Lutz-double toe combination. A fluky slip on the Sasha Spiral almost had her falling, and her straight-line footwork veered a little off course. Nevertheless, high presentation marks in the 5.7-5.9 range were enough to take second from all nine judges.
"It's always difficult to come back after a bobble," Cohen said. "It wasn't the perfect performance. I took off kind of funny [on the Lutz] and saved the jump. I landed all my Lutzes pretty well this week. That one kind of came out of nowhere, but you gotta adjust. I'm still in the top three, and I'm just going to really focus in on the long."
Sarah Hughes Debuts New Short Program
Sarah Hughes took third with a clean, but not technically perfect effort. Hughes squeaked out the landings of both her triple Lutz-double toe jumps as well as the landing on the triple flip. Although her free leg never touched, it was sheer determination that kept the other leg off the ice.
"I actually forgot the steps going into the triple Lutz, so it was off going in," Hughes said. "This is the first time I've ever performed my short program. Even though I had a terrific warmup, I felt a little wobbly. Determination got me through. The short program certainly is not my strength in my eyes, especially not a program as difficult as this one."
Hughes' coach Robin Wagner added that she was "extremely pleased with the work we've done in the last month. We were very thoughtful and disciplined in our training. I know it wasn't her best, but she realized here the importance of competing throughout the year."
Kirk's Princess Performance
In fourth place after the short is Jennifer Kirk, who skated a delightful program to "The Princess Diaries." Kirk floated from element to element as the audience seemed to hold its collective breath. After a triple Lutz-double toe, a triple flip, and a beautiful circular footwork sequence highlighting the music, Kirk's smile began to grow. After nailing her double Axel, even those in the upper deck could see the ear-to-ear grin. She received the first standing ovation of the evening.
"It felt good to skate well. This has been a tough season -- kind of on and off at my competitions," Kirk said. "The thing I'm most proud of is that before my warmup and during my warmup I was kind of nervous and still I did it. It feels so good to get the short out of the way."
The competition ended on a high note as Yebin Mok performed a lyrical program to "The Swan." A clean triple Lutz-double toe, a triple loop out of three turns, and a double Axel were accompanied by laybacks with unusual positions. The audience stood again.
Rounding out the top six is Ann Patrice McDonough. She opened with a nice triple Lutz-double toe but then fell on her double Axel. Her triple flip was fine and her other elements clean, but McDonough lost some of her spark after the fall.
"I wanted to skate a clean program, that's it," McDonough said. "I prepared the same, felt good coming in but didn't get it done. There's nothing that I can do now except to go out and skate well in the long."
The ladies free skate takes place Saturday night and will be broadcast live on ABC. Michelle Kwan drew first in the final group, something she has a habit of doing. Sarah Hughes will close the competition.
by Michelle Wojdyla