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Czisny Delivers At Opportune Time

The Associated Press

Published: January 25, 2009

CLEVELAND - Alissa Czisny finally lived up to all that potential.

And how.

Czisny won the women's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night, one year after a dismal ninth-place finish had her re-evaluating herself. When the final results were posted, tears filled Czisny's eyes and a grin spread across her face as longtime coach Julianne Berlin hugged her.

Czisny's program was far from perfect - she fell on one jump and watered down another. But her elegance and maturity were far superior to the up-and-comers who were supposed to turn nationals into their coming-out party. Czisny finished with 178.06 points, more than four points ahead of reigning world junior champion Rachael Flatt.

Czisny has long been considered the most beautiful skater in the country. She skates with the beauty of generations gone by, with stunning lines and a smoothness that masks the difficult tricks she's doing. She seems to float across the ice while really her blades are carving it with the precision of a diamond cutter.

And her spins are simply breathtaking, the kind that remind you of that pretty little ballerina in the jewelry box.

But she sabotaged herself time and again, never able to hold it together when the pressure was greatest. At 21, this is her eighth trip to the senior nationals, yet she has just one medal to show for it. Even working with sports psychologists couldn't help her get out of her own way.

After last year's debacle, though, Czisny took a long, hard look at what she was doing - and why. She started skating for herself instead of the placements. And a funny thing happened: the results started coming.

ICE DANCE: Up-and-comers for so many years, you can call Meryl Davis and Charlie White something else now: champions.

Davis and White won their first ice dance title. Their score of 201.68 points was 20 better than reigning world junior champions Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre were third.

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