Greensboro Bound!

Tomorrow I embark for Greensboro...it feels good to be going back to Nationals (and to take a few days off work). Missing Nationals last year killed me. People who read my blog know...I don't miss Nationals!

So looking at Nationals, things seem fairly up in the air as far as the ladies are concerned. I see it as a 7 lady race...with Alissa Czisny the 2009 Champ and Rachael Flatt the reigning champ coming in as the co-favorites. Czisny is coming off a huge win at the Grand Prix Final and seems to be skating better than ever. Flatt, struggled at the Grand Prix Final while dealing with an injury, says she now healthy and ready to compete in Greensboro. Chasing these two are five other ladies including the 2008 Champ Mirai Nagasu. While she missed making the Grand Prix Final, she did nab a medal in Paris for the first time on the Grand Prix and looks to be skating fairly well. Also in the mix is Ashley Wagner, Agnes Zawadzki, Christina Gao, and Caroline Zhang. Ashley has a shot at winning if she can put her jumps down cleanly rotated and on one foot. Agnes has been stellar in the short program this season only to come undone in the free...she'll need to put to programs together to be competitive. Christina turned heads last season as the junior turned senior on the rise...will she continue her forward momentum? Finally, Caroline has had better days on the ice but she seems to have made great strides artistically...hopefully she's made strides technically as she has attempted to manage a growth spurt.

Dance...barring cataclysmic seismic events...Davis and White should grab the Gold with no trouble whatsoever. They've looked impressive on the Grand Prix with no one even close to be competitive with them. The interesting battle will be the silver/bronze race between the Shibutani's, the Hubbell's, and Chock and Zuerlein. I give the upper hand to the Shibutani's, but Chock and Zuerlein have looked good this season as well. The Hubbell's...some make up work to do.

Later, I'll preview the Pairs and Men.