Castelli and Shnapir win figure skating pairs

Posted January 11, 2014 2:21 pm

Associated Press

BOSTON — Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir have won the pairs title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

With a James Bond-themed routine to the music from Skyfall, Castelli and Shnapir totaled 205.71 points. Their only deduction Saturday was for a fall on her landing on a quad salchow.

Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay finished second with 201.72. Caydee Denney and John Coughlin moved up to third after winning the free skating portion.

Skating in front of their home crowd, Castelli and Shnapir led after the short program. The Bostonians earned the inside track to a spot on the U.S. team for the Sochi Olympics next month.

The Olympic figure skating teams will be announced Sunday. The top three in dance and top two in pairs are expected — but not guaranteed — to get spots.

Among area skaters from the Chicago suburbs, Alexa Scimeca (Addison) and Christopher Knierim finished fourth overall. Daniel O’Shea (Gurnee) and Tarah Kayne were fifth, DeeDee Leng (Naperville) and Timothy LeDuc were seventh, Rockne Brubaker (Algonquin) and Lindsay Davis finished ninth, and Jessica Noelle Calalang (Glenview) finished 11th.

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