In an early-season upset, Douglas Razzano won the senior men's short program at the Liberty Summer Competition with a stirring performance to Debussy's "Clair de lune.""I felt very good, very in control, and very relaxed, which is the key for me," Razzano said. "I just went out there and skated."
Performing to choreography by Shin Amano, the 20-year-old Razzano opened with a strong triple Axel, followed by a good attempt at a quad toe. Although he fell on the move, it was judged to be fully rotated by the technical panel.
"I knew if anything went wrong today, it would be that quad," said the skater, who trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., under Doug Ladret. "It's been working at home, but I've only landed three here this week. I want one in the free skate, though."
The rest of his elements -- including a triple toe-triple toe combination, a Level 4 camel combination spin and high flying sit spin -- were solid. Razzano earned 67.50 points, including the highest technical score of the event -- 39.10.
Skating to Bizet's Carmen, reigning U.S. junior champion Ross Miner placed second with 65.76 points.
The 18-year-old opened with a triple Axel that wobbled a bit on the landing, but he recovered with a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and a strong triple flip. Although his camel combination spin dropped to a Level 1, his other two spins earned Level 4s.
"The camel is just not my best spin," admitted Miner, who trains under Peter Johansson and Mark Mitchell at the Skating Club of Boston. "For me, any form of a back camel needs work."
At first, Miner wasn't too pleased with his coaches' choice of music.
"When Mark told me I would be skating to Carmen, I said, 'Uh, no, I'm not,'" he said. "But, after I started skating to it on a daily basis, I began to like it."
Miner is competing on the Junior Grand Prix circuit this fall, but he will compete at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships as a senior.
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