1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

{{Short description|Figure skating competition}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox Figure Skating Competition

| title = 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

| image = File:1994_U.S._Figure_Skating_Championships_Poster.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption =

| comptype = National Championship

| startdate = January 4

| enddate = 8

| skatingseason = 1993–94

| location = Detroit, Michigan

| host =

| venue = Joe Louis Arena

| championmen = Scott Davis

| championwomen = None

| championpairs = Jenni Meno
and Todd Sand

| championdance = Elizabeth Punsalan
and Jerod Swallow

| previouscomp = 1993 U.S. Championships

| nextcomp = 1995 U.S. Championships

}}

The 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice. The event was used to determine the U.S. teams for the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1994 World Championships.

The competition was famous for the return of previous Olympians Brian Boitano and Elaine Zayak, as well as the pre-competition attack on Nancy Kerrigan by associates of skater Tonya Harding. Harding subsequently was stripped of her ladies' championship title after she pleaded guilty to failing to report the assault to the police after the fact, although she maintains that she had no knowledge of the attack beforehand.

Medalists

=Senior=

class="wikitable"
Event

| align="center" bgcolor="gold" | Gold

| align="center" bgcolor="silver" | Silver

| align="center" bgcolor="#cc9966" | Bronze

| align="center" bgcolor="#d1c571" | Pewter

MenScott DavisBrian BoitanoAren NielsenTodd Eldredge
LadiesNo champion{{ref|no-champ|†}}Michelle KwanNicole BobekElaine Zayak
PairsJenni Meno / Todd SandKyoko Ina / Jason DungjenKaren Courtland / Todd ReynoldsNatasha Kuchiki / Rocky Marval
Ice dancingElizabeth Punsalan / Jerod SwallowSusan Wynne / Russ WitherbyAmy Webster / Ron KravetteWendy Millette / Jason Tebo

{{note|no-champ|†}} In June 1994, U.S. Figure Skating voted to no longer recognize Tonya Harding's 1994 win.{{cite news | title = U.S. Title Is Taken Back From Harding | agency = Associated Press | newspaper = The New York Times | date = July 1, 1994 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70710FD3C5D0C728CDDAE0894DC494D81 | accessdate = Sep 28, 2010}} The gold medal position was left vacant; the other competitors did not move up one position.

=Junior=

class="wikitable"
Event

| align="center" bgcolor="gold" | Gold

| align="center" bgcolor="silver" | Silver

| align="center" bgcolor="#cc9966" | Bronze

| align="center" bgcolor="#d1c571" | Pewter

MenJere MichaelJason SylviaJohnnie BevanMatthew Kessinger
LadiesJennifer KarlAmanda WardLisa BellChrisha Gossard
PairsNicole Bateson Rock / Keith TindallCheryl Marker / Todd PriceSara Ward / J. Paul BinneboseDanielle Hartsell / Steve Hartsell
Ice dancingLaura Gayton / Oleg FediukovCarissa Green / Gregory MaddaloneEve Chalom / Mathew GatesNicole Dumonceaux / John Repucci

Senior results

=Men=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Scott Davis

21
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Brian Boitano

12
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Aren Nielsen

53
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Todd Eldredge

34
5

| Mark Mitchell || 6 || 5

6

| Shepherd Clark || 4 || 6

7

| Rudy Galindo || 9 || 7

8

| Michael Weiss || 7 || 8

9

| Damon Allen || 8 || 9

10

| Dan Hollander || 11 || 10

11

| Colin VanderVeen|| 10 || 11

12

| Gig Siruno|| 12 || 12

13

| John Baldwin Jr. || 18 || 13

14

| Paul Dulebohn|| 16 || 14

15

| Mel Chapman|| 15 || 15

16

| Glenn Armstrong|| 18 || 16

WD

| Steven Smith||13 ||

WD

| Larry Holliday ||14 ||

=Ladies=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="pink"

| align="center" | DSQ

| Tonya Harding

DSQDSQ
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Michelle Kwan

32
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Nicole Bobek

23
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Elaine Zayak

44
5

| Tonia Kwiatkowski || 6 || 5

6

| Michelle Cho|| 7 || 6

7

| Lisa Ervin || 5 || 8

8

| Jessica Mills || 8 || 7

9

| Teresa Aiello|| 11 || 9

10

| Amanda Farkas|| 10 || 10

11

| Lisa Matras|| 13 || 11

12

| Keri Anne Thomas|| 9 || 13

13

| Denise Long|| 15 || 12

14

| Lisa Talbot|| 16 || 14

15

| Jennifer Verili|| 14 || 15

16

| Patricia Mansfield|| 18 || 16

rowspan="2" | WD

| Jenna Pittman || 12 ||

Melissa Ann Nelson17

=Pairs=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Jenni Meno / Todd Sand

11
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Kyoko Ina / Jason Dungjen

22
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Karen Courtland / Todd Reynolds

33
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Natasha Kuchiki / Rocky Marval

44
5

| Stephanie Stiegler / Lance Travis || 7 || 5

6

| Tristen Vega / Joel McKeever || 6 || 6

7

| Calla Urbanski / Joseph Mero || 5 || 7

8

| Jennifer Perez / John Frederiksen || 8 || 8

9

| Aimee Offner / Brad Cox|| 10 || 9

10

| Sharon Carz / Troy Goldstein|| 12 || 10

11

| Holly Benson / Steven Moore|| 11 || 11

12

| Tracey Damigella / Doug Williams|| 14 || 12

13

| Laura Murphy / Brian Wells || 13 || 13

14

| Robin Heckler / Jeff Tilley|| 9 || 15

15

| Erin Moorad / Richard Gillam || 16 || 14

WD

| Dawn Piepenbrink / Nick Castaneda|| 15 ||

=Ice dancing=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! CD1

! CD2

! OD

! FD

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Elizabeth Punsalan / Jerod Swallow

2111
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Susan Wynne / Russ Witherby

3432
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Amy Webster / Ron Kravette

4343
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Wendy Millette / Jason Tebo

5564
5

| Tamara Kuchiki / Neale Smull|| 7 || 6 || 5 || 5

6

| Galit Chait / Maxim Sevostianov|| 6 || 7 || 7 || 6

7

| Julia Bikbova / Robert Peal|| 8 || 8 || 8 || 7

8

| Christina Fitzgerald / Mark Fitzgerald|| 9 || 9 || 9 || 8

9

| Cheryl Demkowski / Sean Gates|| 11 || 10 || 10 || 9

10

| Mica Darley / Michael Sklutovsky|| 12 || 11 || 11 || 10

11

| Elizabeth Buhl / Augustine DiBella|| 10 || 12 || 12 || 12

12

| Tiffani Tucker / Collin Vail Sullivan|| 13 || 13 || 13 || 11

13

| Sian Matthews / Yovanny Durango|| 14 || 14 || 14 || 13

14

| Melissa Boney / Gerald Miele|| 15 || 15 || 15 || 14

WD

| Renee Roca / Gorsha Sur || 1 || 2 || 2 ||

Junior results

=Men=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Jere Michael

11
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Jason Sylvia

23
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Johnnie Bevan

52
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Matthew Kessinger

64
5

| Eric Bohnstedt|| 4 || 5

6

| Trifun Zivanovic || 3 || 6

7

| Derrick Delmore || 8 || 7

8

| Roman Fraden|| 7 || 8

9

| Derek Stedingh|| 9 || 9

10

| Jamie Loper|| 11 || 10

11

| Eddie Gornik|| 12 || 11

12

| Michael Edgren|| 10 || 13

13

| Erik Rockwell|| 13 || 12

14

| Michael Demetrius Orr|| 13 || 14

=Ladies=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Jennifer Karl

41
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Amanda Ward

32
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Lisa Bell

14
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Crisha Gossard

63
5

| Angela Nikodinov || 2 || 5

6

| Amy D'Entremont|| 7 || 6

7

| Brittney McConn || 5 || 7

8

| Amber Corwin || 8 || 8

9

| Emily Freedman|| 10 || 9

10

| Jaime Lea Lund|| 11 || 10

11

| Serena Phillips|| 9 || 12

12

| Kristy Venasky|| 12 || 11

=Pairs=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! SP

! FS

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Nicole Bateson-Rock / Keith Tindall

11
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Cheryl Marker / Todd Price

22
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Sara Ward / J. Paul Binnebose

43
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Danielle Hartsell / Steve Hartsell

34
5

| Celina Taylor / Mel Chapman|| 5 || 5

6

| Ari Blank / Jeb Gerth|| 8 || 6

7

| Nicole Perry / David Delago|| 6 || 7

8

| Anne Ramos / Benjamin Oberman|| 9 || 8

9

| Lauren Weldon / Jim Peterson || 7 || 9

10

| Kristen Youlden / Fred Palascak || 10 || 10

11

| Melanie Lambert / Robert Van Uitert|| 11 || 11

12

| Erin Fisher / Eddy Zeidler|| 16 || 12

13

| Erin Covington / Brandonb Powell|| 12 || 14

14

| Akemi Kawaguchi / Ron Brilliant|| 15 || 13

15

| Allison Rochford / Robert Rochford|| 13 || 15

16

| Breanne Heldman / Jeremiah Jackson|| 12 || 16

=Ice dancing=

class="wikitable"
Rank

! Name

! CD1

! CD2

! OD

! FD

bgcolor="gold"

| align="center" | 1

| Laura Gayton / Oleg Fediukov

1111
bgcolor="silver"

| align="center" | 2

| Carissa Green / Gregory Maddalone

2222
bgcolor="cc9966"

| align="center" | 3

| Eve Chalom / Mathew Gates

3333
bgcolor="#d1c571"

| align="center" | 4

| Nicole Dumonceaux / John Repucci

5544
align="center" | 5

| Jayna Cronin / Jonathan Nichols

4455
align="center" | 6

| Tami Tyler / Stith Letsinger

6666
align="center" | 7

| Kari Downey / Garrett Brockert

7777
align="center" | 8

| Kristina Feliciano / Alex Jacoby

8888
align="center" | 9

| Jamie Coffey / Kurt Dreger

99910
align="center" | 10

| Dawn Ponte / Paul Frey

1310109
align="center" | 11

| Michelle Poley / Kevin Spada

10111112
align="center" | 12

| Darlin Baker / D.J. Gray

12121211
align="center" | 13

| Daniela Lopez / Andres Lopez

15141413
align="center" | 14

| Celia Cohen / Shawn Jellse

14151314
align="center" | 15

| Jenny Dahlen / Sergei Lihachov

11131515

Reinstatement of professionals to amateur status

Amateurs who turned professional had been banned from returning to compete as amateurs. This ban was removed and Brian Boitano and Elaine Zayak sought to compete in order to go to the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Having retired from competitive skating after winning Olympic gold in 1988 and the 1988 World Championships, four time men's champion Brian Boitano announced a comeback and would compete to get a place on the 1994 Olympic team. This was highly controversial as he had skated professionally for many years and fought to get former professionals reinstated for amateur competitions. He placed second behind Scott Davis and made the Olympic team as the United States had 2 spots.{{cite web |title=FIGURE SKATING; Golden Boy Boitano Settles for a Second (Published 1994) |website=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824130315/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/07/sports/figure-skating-golden-boy-boitano-settles-for-a-second.html?scp=2 |archive-date=2019-08-24 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/07/sports/figure-skating-golden-boy-boitano-settles-for-a-second.html?scp=2&sq=brian+boitano+davis&st=nyt}}

Kerrigan–Harding controversy

{{main|Assault of Nancy Kerrigan}}

The January 6, 1994, attack on 1993 champion and Ladies gold frontrunner Nancy Kerrigan preceded the event. The widely publicized attack took place during a practice session for the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Tonya Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt,{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2007 |title=Player in attack on Kerrigan dies at 40 |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071215/ap_on_re_us/obit_griffith |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218172722/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071215/ap_on_re_us/obit_griffith |archive-date=December 18, 2007 |website=Yahoo! News |agency=Associated Press}} hired Shane Stant to strike Kerrigan on the knee, though Stant actually struck Kerrigan's thigh a few inches above the knee. Kerrigan's injury forced her withdrawal, and Harding won the event.

After Harding admitted to helping to cover up the attack, the USFSA and United States Olympic Committee initiated proceedings to remove her from the 1994 Olympic team, but Harding retained her place after threatening legal action.{{cite web|url=http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=3 |title=Mass Moments: Skater Nancy Kerrigan Assaulted |accessdate=2009-04-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126033602/http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=3 |archivedate=2010-11-26}} She finished eighth in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, while Kerrigan, who recovered from her injuries, finished second.{{Cite web|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/tonya-harding/1994/02/1994_winter_olympics_tonya_har.html|title = 1994 Winter Olympics: Tonya Harding finishes 8th in women's figure skating|date = 26 February 1994}}

Collision

During a warm-up, ice dancer Renée Roca was skating backward and collided with the team of Galit Chait and Maksim Sevostyanov, fracturing a bone in her left arm. Two hours later, she returned from the hospital with her arm in a cast and decided to try to compete. She and partner Gorsha Sur placed second in the rhumba, however, Roca was unable to secure a firm grip with her left hand, and had to withdraw from the rest of the competition.

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/06/sports/olympics-roca-ice-dancer-breaks-arm-but-comes-back-to-skate-on.html | title = OLYMPICS; Roca, Ice Dancer, Breaks Arm But Comes Back to Skate On | first = Jere | last = Longman | date = January 6, 1994 | accessdate = September 7, 2011 | work = The New York Times}}

}}