Madison Chock and Evan Bates took their first national title in Greensboro North Carolina. They have the ability to sell any program, masking technical errors, and make up for any lack of technical skills in the difficult lifts and showmanship. Sometimes the step sequences are less than stellar with small technical mistakes that can be missed by judging panels because they don't appear to stumble. It is clear that Chock and Bates are a force to be reckoned with at the World Championships this year. The question is, will they be able to beat Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada? They couldn't do so at the Grand Prix Final, but it is a real possibility for them.
Maia and Alex Shibutani finished in second place behind Chock and Bates with a significant lead on Hubbell and Donohue and only a few points behind Chock and Bates. However, their programs this season lack true spark. The programs aren't anything special, they don't stand out from the crowd, even though these two are capable of more than they are given this season. It seems that Marina Zoueva is spread too thin, with too many teams and not enough focus on teams like she had in the past with Virtue and Moir and Davis and White. Though the Shibutanis are one of her top teams, they don't seem to have the attention from Marina that they deserve. It seems that it is time for them to leave Marina to move onto better things with a different coaching staff to reach their full potential because they are capable of much more than their programs this season.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue managed to squeeze into third place ahead of Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker though their skate in the free dance was not as clean. They were sloppy and had more than one significant stumble. They received generous program component scores that did not reflect the performance they had. Personally, I have never been a fan of their free dance, though different from others, the hip-hop elements do not translate well to the ice, and their performances always seem rough with the attempt to give the program the illusion of the dance style. It seems as though the program, though an interesting concept, never translated perfectly to the ice.
Kaitlin Hawayek Jean-Luc Baker the shock of the night was when these two fell below Hubbell and Donohue after the spectacular free dance. Their free dance was performed seamlessly. They fell behind only marginally in both the short and free dances. The short dance was one thing, but the difference in quality of the programs was clear. Hawayek and Baker were near flawless, they have smooth, deep edges like only the top teams can manage. Though they beat Hubbell and Donohue in the technical elements score, but it is clear the judging panel did not appreciate their clean skating style as much as they did the unique, though sloppy, style of Hubbell and Donohue.
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