World silver medalists Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) danced to the lead in the Rhythm Dance as Day 2 of Skate America concluded in Everett on Saturday. Italians Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri finished second, followed by Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia.
Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)
Hubbell/Donohue turned in a characteristic Tango to “Alevara” and “Tangata del Alba” by Astor Piazzolla, picking up a level four for the twizzles and the curve lift. Their Tango Romantica Pattern Dance merited a level three and two. The U.S. champions collected 78.43 points. However, they lost two points for a costume failure and for Donohue losing his balance in the closing pose, which counted as a fall. “Overall, we were happy with the day and I got a little overly passionate and fell on top of Zach at the end,” Hubbell said. “Everything is a learning experience. Obviously, it’s not an ideal short dance, but we take a lot of knowledge and learning moving forward. I learned how flexible I am, not as much as I thought,” Donohue joked.
Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)
Guignard/Fabbri’s dance to the three Tango pieces “Miedo a la Libertad”, “La Chanson des Vieux Amants” and “Tanos” was highlighted by a unique stationary lift and strong twizzles. The couple from Milan scored 75.01 points and seem poised for their first Grand Prix medal. “We were feeling very good when we stepped on the ice, then unfortunately we had a couple of really small mistakes, so we are not a 100 per cent happy with our performance. We can perform better. But it’s the first major event of the season and it was a good starting point,” Fabbri said.
Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)
Performing to “Besame Mucho”, Zagorski/Guerreiro earned a level four for their twizzles, their straight line lift and the second Tango Romantica Pattern to score 73.30 points. “Today was our first competition of the season, so of course it was our first time presenting our program. We are more or less happy with how we performed today. Of course, there are a lot of things to work on and to improve, but overall, we’re pretty happy with what we put out on the ice today,” Zagorski said.
The 2016 world junior champions Lorraine McNamara/Quinn Carpenter (USA) were edged out of the top three by less than one point and remain within striking distance of the podium on 72.44 points. Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) ranked fifth (64.71 points).
