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ATLANTA - The names may change in U.S. pairs skating, but the sloppy programs don't.
Defending national champions Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn were first in the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday night, but only because somebody had to be. There were more spills and splats than a Three Stooges convention, with only two clean programs the entire night.
And one of those was a watered-down program that would barely cut it at the junior level.
"It wasn't our best," Dulebohn said. "But we're still in contention, and we still have a whole long program left."
Rena Inoue and John Baldwin were second, and Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash were third. The free skate, worth two-thirds of the final score, is Friday night.
The United States hasn't been a major power in pairs in years and it doesn't look as if this season is going to be any different. Marks in the 2s and 3s are rare for the seniors at nationals - these are the best in the country, after all - but the scoreboard was littered with 3s by the end of the night. A few 2s, as well.
Every couple made a mistake. Scott and Dulebohn botched their side-by-side triple toe loop jumps. Inoue landed on her stomach and went skidding across the ice on a throw triple loop, and he put his hand down on their side-by-side triple toes.
Orscher and Lucash were actually relatively clean, with their only visible error him flipping out of their side-by-side triple toes. Their throw triple salchow was huge, easily the best of the night, and they had a nice double twist. But their program didn't have enough energy to justify the judges putting them higher.
"At nationals, there's always a lot of pressure. I don't think that Rena and I felt that pressure," Baldwin said. "I think what we did tonight is take it for granted. Believe it or not, maybe we got a little too loose out there."
Scott and Dulebohn are old pros at this, finishing second at nationals three times before winning their first U.S. title last season. But this was hardly one of their best performances - certainly not what they should be putting out at the biggest competition of the year.
They were technically solid, with difficult footwork, good unison and deep edges. Their lift was one of the best of the night, smooth and controlled, and their throw triple salchow was nice.
But something was definitely missing. They didn't have their usual speed or spark, and they looked almost somber. Not exactly the right look for the light and happy "Farandole."
"I think that we had been skating so well in practice, I thought I had to skate perfectly," Scott said. "I knew I felt tight."
Added Dulebohn, "Usually we pull through a situation like that. But it's not the end of the world."
They also had a major error. On their side-by-side triple toe loops, she fell and he had to put his hand down to stay off the ice.