Alissa Cizsny Seized the U.S. Title

The smile-beauty Cizsny was elegant and gorgeous, and a joy to watch Saturday when the audience responded to the returning U.S. Champion with standing ovation. In the 2011 U.S. National Cizsny finally pulled off the combination of artistic expressiveness and technical ability that had in the past evaded her.

With a total score of 191.24 Cizsny brushed off both Mirai Nagasu, the spotlighted star in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Rachael Flatt, the defending U.S. Champion, defying a long standing doubt fixed in the minds of public since her downfall at the 2009 World Championship.

Rachael Flatt, the reigning U.S. Champion, also returned strong sending a message that she remains competitive among the U.S. contenders. Regardless of how Flatt would eventually score by the judges in the upcoming Worlds, Flatt turned on her own show.

Mirai Nagasu, the indisputably leading skater of the current U.S. ladies, came too short to please her coach Frank Carroll. Nagasu, since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, has been languid in her lackadaisical outings, unable to shake off the nerve that constantly held her back in every competition.

Now that Czisny claimed the 2011 U.S. title, and Rachael reserved another go for the Worlds with Christina Gao and Ashley Wagner for substitute in tow, some might as well speculate any chance for the podium. However, still the podium can be a dimming hope as yet because the 2011 World championship is likely to be another showdown of Mao Asada of Japan and Yuna Kim of South Korea, the two mega stars of the day.

In Vancouver last year both Nagasu and Flatt put up a good fight in the unprecedented, star-studded field such as Kim, Asada and Rochette. Despite the duo's heroic efforts, the wall seemed too high to reach when the national champ Rachael Flatt's more-than-decent performances were shunned by international judges.

It was a low tide for the U.S. with no one to turn to, except Mirai Nagasu, an emotional junior. The painful humiliation had been set, even before the game even started, in decadence since the golden era of Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen, unable to present any realistic medal contenders.

Cizsny, who almost quit skating last year, even excluded from the Vancouver Olympic team while her comrades Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt competed with the world top ladies, has successfully opened another chapter of her career with three consecutive successful performances, and in March, she is about to face another test, which will determine a roadmap for the U.S. figure skating for the next five years.