Their coach knew the gold was possible. As they came off the ice, Adrienne Lenda was jumping up and down in a frenzy of joyful emotion.
Their win is the highlight of Lenda’s career.
She explained, “I’ve trained Kendra for five years, through a series of partners. She’s a very hard worker.”
In February, Moyle teamed up with Seitz when his long partnership with his sister dissolved.
“We’ve been training all year for this,” said Moyle.
When asked whether they would now move up to seniors, both partners looked blank. “We haven’t even thought about that,” said Moyle.
After the short, they were a mere sliver – 0.03 points – behind the leaders, Butler and Jacobsen, and were the same amount ahead of Vlassov and Meekins in what was a virtual three-way tie.
“Everyone is doing the same elements in the short,” explained Moyle. “The long is where we get separated.”
Moyle and Seitz’s four-minute routine was built around the famous “Jealousy” and “Nu” tangos, the former of which was used by Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier on their way to Olympic gold in 2002.
M
oyle & Seitz’s version was choreographed to snag the greatest number of points without pushing their abilities over the limit, which happened to some of their rivals.
They opened with a double twist, which concluded with Moyle’s arms over her head on the landing. That move was deemed a level 3 and awarded a +0.5 grade of execution, meaning they earned 4.5 points in the first few seconds.
Six of their other eight moves that were awarded levels gained a 3. Their forward inside death spiral was a 4. The only area screaming for improvement was the spiral sequence, which garnered a 1.
This was true of several of the other pairs, including silver medalists Bridget Namioka & John Coughlin (University of Delaware FSC/Silver Blades FSC of Greater KC).
Only three of their 13 elements were given less than the base value of the moves, and those three negative GOEs were for minimal amounts. Their solo jump elements were a double Axel-double toe sequence and a double flip.
Namioka and Coughlin, who took fifth in the Grand Prix final, climbed from fifth after the short to take the silver by only 0.07 points over Vlassov and Meekins.
“This was a lot better than we expected,” said Coughlin. Her partner added, “I was so happy after the short to be lying fifth. Our goal was to make the top five.”
Using music from “The Prince of Egypt” soundtrack, they opened the routine with a tap lasso, which morphed into a carry lift that delighted the audience.
“It was a group 5A lift, which is the highest level possible, and we got level 4 for it, which is the highest level,” Coughlin explained. “It’s the first time we’ve gotten a level 4 for this move. We’ve been working on it so hard.”
Namioka added, “You have to hold the carry position for five seconds. We’ve been trying so hard, but we kept coming down after 4.75. This was so great to actually do what we wanted.”
In addition to the 6.5 base value, they were awarded an extra +1.29 for their GOE. That pushed their reward for this element up to an amazing 7.79.
That helped counter the deficit caused by Namiokta’s fall on the double Axel and a slightly negative GOE on their triple twist.
They ended with a great flourish in which Coughlin lifted his partner up, presenting her to the audience in a stag position.
Vlassov and Meekins were saddled with a 1.0 penalty because Vlassov fell badly onto her hip on their third move – the throw triple loop – which cost them second place. They used music from the soundtrack “Paycheck,” a movie they had seen on one of their many long distance flights to her father’s home in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Kaela Pflumm & Christopher Pottenger (SC of NY/Dallas FSC) used dramatic music from Camille Saint-Saens’ “Samson & Delilah” to retain the fourth-place finish they had established in the short.
Butler
and Jacobsen dropped out of contention after a series of errors put them in seventh place in this section and dropped them to fifth overall. The mistakes were emphasized by their well-known music, the “Warsaw Concerto,” which has served many skaters well in the past.