events

Team USA in Finland for Junior Grand Prix Final

Kimmie Meissner
Photo by Paul Harvath

(12/2/04) � Fifteen U.S. athletes are competing this weekend in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Helsinki, Finland, Dec. 3-5. The U.S. team consists of two ladies, one man, five pairs and one ice dancing team.

The JGP Series concluded with the U.S. Figure Skating Team winning 31 medals, well ahead of second-place Russia, which earned 22, and Canada, which earned 13 medals. Five U.S. pairs teams will compete in Helsinki, surpassing the 2000-2001 season when four teams qualified. In addition, the nine total entries eclipses last season, when seven U.S. entries qualified for the final.

In last year's competition three-time World Junior silver medalist Evan Lysacek took home the gold while Morgan Matthews & Maxim Zavozin captured the bronze.

Helsinki was founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden in 1550 and in 1917 became capital of the independent Republic of Finland. The city served as host of the Olympic Summer Games in 1952. The JGP Final will be held at the Helsinki Ice Hall which has a smaller, 500-seat rink connected to the main arena.

Ladies
In ladies, 2004 World Junior silver medalist Kimmie Meissner will look to improve on her fifth-place finish at the 2003 JGP Final. She is well on her way after capturing silver at her JGP Series events in Long Beach and France. Danielle Kahle will skate in her second straight JGP Final, finishing sixth behind Meissner in 2003. Kahle finished second at her event in Germany and third in Long Beach.

Men
Dennis Phan, the 2003 U.S. junior champion, will compete in his first-ever JGP Final. In his third JGP Series Phan competed well, capturing gold in Long Beach and silver in Ukraine.

Pairs
In pairs, 2004 U.S. novice gold medalists Julia Vlassov & Drew Meekins will compete in their first JGP Final. The duo took home the gold from their first-ever JGP event in Belgrade and captured the bronze at the Ukraine event. 2004 Triglav Trophy junior champions Mariel Miller & Rockne Brubaker skated well in their first JGP Series. The 2004 U.S. novice silver medalists earned gold in France before garnering silver in Romania. Brittany Vise & Nicholas Kole travel to Helsinki to compete in their second straight JGP Final after finishing sixth in 2003. The talented pair captured silver in Germany and placed fourth in Long Beach. 2003 U.S. novice gold medalists Sydney Schmidt & Christopher Pottenger will compete in their first JGP Final after placing fourth in Germany and first in Hungary. The team of Aaryn Smith & Will Chitwood qualified for the JGP Final in their first season competing in the JGP Series. The duo earned silver at their events in Serbia and Montenegro and Long Beach.

Ice Dancing
In ice dancing, two-time U.S. junior champions and 2004 World Junior bronze medalists Morgan Matthews & Maxim Zavozin return to the JGP Final after earning the bronze in 2003. The talented duo will look to earn the gold after placing first at events in Long Beach and France.

2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
Helsinki, Finland
Dec. 2-5

U.S. Qualifiers: (Hometown/Training Town)

Ladies
Danielle Kahle (Thousand Oaks, Calif./El Segundo and Simi Valley, Calif.)
Kimmie Meissner (Bel Air, Md./Newark, Del.)

Men
Dennis Phan (Indio, Calif./Riverside, Calif.)

Pairs
Mariel Miller (Chapel Hill, N.C.) & Rockne Brubaker (Algonquin, Ill./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Sydney Schmidt (Dallas, Texas) & Christopher Pottenger (Coppell, Texas/North Richland Hills, Texas)
Aaryn Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) & Will Chitwood (Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Brittany Vise (Colorado Springs, Colo.) & Nicholas Kole (Littleton, Colo./Colorado Springs and Littleton, Colo.)
Julia Vlassov (Manchester, N.H.) & Drew Meekins (Wellesley, Mass./Lowell, Mass.)

Ice Dancing
Morgan Matthews (Fairfax, Va.) & Maxim Zavozin (Ashburn, Va./Ashburn, Va.)