The American ice dance team of Maia and Alex Shibutani has plenty of pizzazz. The siblings have personality and are happy to do interviews that put their sport in a positive light.
However, on nights that they are performing, they are serious and their personalities don't always come through as brightly. That was not the case Sunday night (Eastern Time) when the "Shib Sibs" came through with a strong performance in the ice dance short dance program.
The Shibutanis skated with confidence and flair, and they earned a score of 77.73.
NBC ice dance analyst Tanith Belbin, who was part of the silver-medal winning ice dance team with Benjamin Agosto in 2006, gave the Shibutanis her verbal "thumbs-up" in her analysis of their performance.
"That's the best I've seen them in the short program," Belbin told the NBC audience. "They have found their fire."
When the Shibutanis were interviewed by NBC's Andrea Joyce, they were quite satisfied. "That was the skate I was looking for," Maia told the NBC reporter.
"We had a lot of fun out there," brother Alex added.
Figure skating analyst Jackie Wong gave his approval to their performance.
The Shibutanis were also praised by NBC skating analysts Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. Lipinski told NBC host Mike Tirico that the "Shib Sibs were on fire."
Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated shortly after the Shibutanis, and they came through with a fine performance, but Wong noted a key mistake.
They completed all the key elements in their ice dance and scored a 75.45. Ice-dance.com said those two skaters had a "good connection."
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were the third American team, skating in the final group. They edged out the Shibutanis with a 77.75 score.
The three American teams are in third (Hubbell/Donohue), fourth (Shibutanis) and seventh place (Chock/Bates) going into Monday night's ice dancing finals.
Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have the lead in the competition with an 83.67.
from Bleacher Report - Front Page http://ift.tt/2o9E9sQ
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