OAKVILLE, Ont. — Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro followed-up on a solid short program to pick up silver in pairs at the Autumn Classic International figure skating competition on Friday.
Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., sat in second after their short routine Thursday and finished with a total score of 176.32 following their free skate Friday.
The Canadians fell short of world championship bronze medallists Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France, who had the best short program and topped out at 210.21 points after the free.
Americans Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier came in third at 164.43.
Moore-Towers and Marinaro chalked up some bumps — including a fall — in their short program, which was performed to a Pink Floyd medley, to a lack of reps.
"We lack mileage and that's why some of the things went a little funny today," said Moore-Towers. "These things tend to sort out once we have a better handle on our program."
Fellow Canadian duo Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., came in fifth.
"We were hoping to fare better today after some strong practices leading in," said Matte. "We need to learn from this."
In women's competition, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. upset two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia to win the gold with a score of 206.41. Medvedeva was in second at 204.89. Mae Berenice Meite of France was third.
Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., jumped to sixth from ninth on the strength of her free skate Friday.
"It came from heart," said Pineault. "I feel like when you can only focus on what you love to do and perform only for yourself then it shows in competition."
In ice dancing, world championship bronze medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are leading after receiving top marks in the short dance with 76.53.
"This program came very natural to us," said Weaver. "The music was an easy choice, the choreography just started to flow together and tango is probably our favourite rhythm. It's something we felt very passionate about doing."
Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain had the second-best score of 67.35, while Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver sit in third at 65.38. Molly Lanaghan and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., are in sixth.
In the men's competition, Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is the top Canadian in fourth after the short program with a score of 78.14. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam B.C., and Bennet Toman of Brampton, Ont., are in sixth and seventh at 68.37 and 67.58, respectively.
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan received the top score of 97.74. Junhwan Cha of South Korea is in second at 90.56 and Jason Brown of the U.S. third at 88.90.
Sadovsky, who fell on his triple Axel but landed his two quads, admitted he had some apprehension ahead of his routine.
"This was my first competition since nationals last January so I was nervous," he said.
''But I think I handled it really well.''
The competition wraps up Saturday with the free dance and men's free skate.
The Canadian Press
