Medal Ceremony (4)
Short Program (9)
Long Program (6)
Exhibition (1)
Backstage (1)

Meissner won the matchup of world champions with Miki Ando even though she was second Sunday to the Japanese skater in the free skate. Both competitors, along with third-place Caroline Zhang, were downgraded in several areas by the judges.

"The callers are a lot more strict with everything," Meissner said of the technical specialist who determines which moves a skater has done. "On jumps, and especially on the sit spins if they are not at a certain degree. You have to be sure about what you put in the programs.

"I was surprised to see how much they downgraded all the skaters."

Still, the U.S. champion and 2006 world gold medalist, was thrilled to edge Ando overall. It was strikingly similar to Saturday's men's event, when Japan's Daisuke Takahashi won even though U.S. champion Evan Lysacek took the free skate.

"It wasn't perfect, but I am so excited, it's my first Grand Prix win," Meissner said. "It's good to know what I have to work on. I will be better for nationals."

More | Comments

Americans Kimmie Meissner and Caroline Zhang brought the crowd to its feet before reigning world champion Miki Ando closed it out.

Meissner, the 2006 world champion, skated a near flawless program to score 59.24 points. Ando is second with 56.58, one-tenth of a point in front of the 14-year-old Zhang, the 2007 world juniors champ.

“I thought it was a pretty good, solid start to the competition and the season,” Meissner said.

American Emily Hughes, who stands in fourth, skated between Zhang and Meissner. Because of a few flaws in her jumps, Hughes didn’t receive the same ovation or number of stuffed animals tossed to ice after her performance.

First Zhang skated an elegant, graceful, yet daring program to “Spanish Gypsy” that started with a triple flip followed by a triple toeloop.

Meissner skated an energetic program to “The Feeling Begins” that included a triple lutz followed by a triple toeloop.

Ando, the defending Skate America champion, landed all her jumps but caught a toe on the ice and fell doing her straight-line step sequence in the final minute of her program.

The ladies free skate, which starts today at 4, concludes the competition portion of 2007 Skate America.

Meissner received only Level 1s on both her layback spin and straight-line step sequence.

"I was very pleased with it (performance) since it's the first time out," Meissner said of her program, which earned a score of 59.24. "I'm happy with it."

Meissner said she heard the roar of the crowd for Zhang, but tried to block it out as she took the ice.

"I was just trying to stay in my own little zone," she said. "This is certainly a great competition."

This year, her home-away-from-ice is the University of Delaware, where fewer distractions mean a clearer focus for the 18-year-old freshman — good grades and a consistent skating season.

“Last year was hard for me,” said Meissner. “I had a lot going on with school, graduation. I felt really shaky. I feel a lot more calm this year. It’s definitely a fresh start, and I’m ready to go.”

Saturday is the start of a new season for Meissner, who won the 2006 world title in Calgary. The defending U.S. national women’s champion will be joined by defending national men’s champion Evan Lysacek in Skate America at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa. — just a short trek from her Bel Air home.

“It’s close to home, so it’s nice,” Meissner said. “I don’t have to go on a plane.”

Driving is more appealing now that Meissner has a BMW. But the rest of her season will require flights — with stops in Cleveland, Chicago and Paris among others.

Despite her national title and a solid fourth-place finish in last year’s worlds, Meissner — who also won the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs and placed third in the prestigious Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris — feels she can improve her performances by focusing less on results and more on consistency.

“I want my [performances] to be consistent throughout the entire year,” Meissner said. “I would like to win nationals again, but I learned last year that I made too much about placements.”

She says school is going well, although she’s learning that a lot of college is about time-management. Throw in training, and Meissner has a pretty tight schedule.

“It’s so much harder than high school,” she said. “There is so much more work.”

Meissner, the 2006 world champion who won the U.S. crown in January, not only knows who her main competition will be at the first Grand Prix series event, but she's eager to see how they are doing.

More | Comment

The 18-year-old from Bel Air, Maryland, will skate Saturday and Sunday in the 2007 Skate America competition in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The event is the first stop on the Grand Prix circuit and Meissner will again face Miki Ando, the Japanese skater who succeeded her as world champion. The field also includes U.S. skaters Emily Hughes and Caroline Zhang.

Meissner continues to train at the University of Delaware, where she is also enrolled in three classes.

"Business," said Meissner, replaying both roles in the story with great relish.

"Business?" asked the guard as she stared at the skater's passport. "What do you do?"

"Figure skating," said Meissner, her grin getting bigger.

"Well, you keep practicing and maybe someday you'll get to the Olympics," the guard said, waving Meissner through.

Meissner enjoys telling the story and the point it makes. Even with a sixth-place finish at last year's Olympics and world and national titles on her resume, the 18-year-old from Bel Air mostly flies under the radar.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering the hectic pace last year that left her and coach Pam Gregory running on fumes by the world championships in March.

With a packed Tokyo venue screaming for hometown sweetheart Mao Asada, Meissner finished fourth and relinquished her world title to another Japanese skater, Miki Ando.

"That was huge pressure for both of us," Gregory said. "We'd never been in that position. But I think with every experience, we grow. ... She was very nervous and still managed to do a very respectable job. I don't think No. 4 in the world is too shabby."

More | Comment