And now, my thoughts on the ladies:
chuckiem wrote:
"Ashley had a public hissy fit because the Nationals judges didn't give her PCS scores as high as what she was getting from the international judges. But guess what? Ashley had never performed La La Land before international judges, and was performing it for the very first time ever at Nationals! She decided to do LLL right after SA, and had very little practice time on it before Nationals. The choreography was rather stripped down so she could concentrate on getting the technical elements done, and even then she singled a salchow and URd the lutz. Ashley took a huge risk by putting what could only be described as a "work in progress" on the ice at Nationals, and she shouldn't have been so shocked that the judges found it not up to par (for her)."
Chuckie, since you were in the arena (you lucky dog) you didn't hear the interview Wagner gave to Andrea Joyce on her way in the building. She said, in effect, that the judges were making it clear that she needed to prove that she was capable of doing a clean triple-triple and delivering a clean program, so that's what she was planning to do.
Then what did she do? She went out on the ice, got a UR call on her lutz and singled the salchow. Those mistakes cost her BIG. At Boston she did a clean 3 loop-1/2 loop-3 sal that earned her 12.2 points (11 points plus 1.2 GOE). In San Jose the value of that combination dropped to 6.7 with the popped sal.
Those 5.5 points would have given her the bronze over Karen Chen -- the final score difference between them was 2.4 points.
Or if she'd landed the lutz cleanly, she'd have scored over 6 points (in Boston it got 6.9) rather than the 3.02 she got for the downgraded UR. That, too, would have put her over Chen.
The conclusion is undeniable: if Ashley had done a clean salchow
or a clean lutz she'd have won the bronze and made the Olympic team, period. (Or if she'd had a better short program, of course.) She just made too many mistakes.
Then there are her PCS complaints. I don't think she did herself any favors switching back and forth between two long programs this season, either. Chuckie, your remarks about the program being underdeveloped are right on target. If she'd skated
La La Land at her two GP events (and maybe the final) she'd have been more comfortable with the choreography, would have developed more and might have "sold" it better.
Another thought: I always find that I have to watch Ashley's programs several times before I feel I understand them; they're complex and nuanced. I don't fully appreciate them the first time out. I suspect the judges may not, either, but none of us had gotten to see that program before Nationals, when it mattered most. They might have given her higher scores if they'd seen her lay it down a few times, especially if she laid it down
clean.
No matter which theory you prefer, I think that if Ashley had stuck with
La La Land all season she might have gotten high enough PCS to make up that 2.4 points and make the podium -- and the Olympic team.