Kirk has trouble savoring third-place finish

By The Associated Press

Posted 12:50PM on Sunday 11th January 2004 ( 21 years ago )

Jennifer Kirk wasnt able to enjoy her first medal in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.Kirk was battling flu-like symptoms when she took the ice Saturday night, and it showed. She struggled to land a triple flip and fell on a triple salchow.The 19-year-old Massachusetts native recovered to land another triple flip and wound up third behind winner Michelle Kwan and runner-up Sasha Cohen.Hopefully when I get home, I can look back and enjoy the way I skated, Kirk said. But its kind of hard when you dont feel good.Right away, she knew it was going to be tough night.After the warmup, it was hard to focus, Kirk said. I fought really hard through the program.As a reward, shes heading to the world championships for the first time, joining Kwan and Cohen in the American contingent.Kirk was amazed to be on the same team with Kwan, who captured her seventh straight U.S. title and eighth overall.I had only been skating a few months when I saw Michelle Kwan for the first time, Kirk said. I cant believe Im on the same podium with her. Her career is something I can only dream about.___SAVOIES KNEE:@ Matthew Savoie earned a trip to the world championships with his third-place finish.If only his knee will hold up.The 23-year-old Savoie under surgery on his left knee last April, and hes still bothered by nagging pain.Whatever I did here, I had to keep it in the context of continuing my recovery, Savoie said. Im trying to get as healthy as I can for next season.If healthy enough, hell be making his second appearance at the worlds. Savoie was added to the team in 2002 in place of Todd Eldredge, who withdrew after the Olympics.Savoie has been a regular at the national championships, skating for the seventh year in a row. Hes been on the cusp of breaking through since 1999, finishing anywhere from third to fifth.Savoie has plenty of other things on his plate. Hes already graduated with honors from Bradley University and is working on a masters degree in urban planning at the University of Illinois.Once his skating is done, he plans to attend law school.___JUNIOR CHAMPS:@ Kimberly Meissner and Katy Taylor ended up just as they did last year, only one level higher.Meissner won the junior womens title Saturday in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, with Taylor taking the silver. Last year Meissner won the novice title with Taylor finishing second.So will it be 1-2 in seniors next year?OK, Taylor said, giggling.Yeah, thats fine, Meissner chimed in.It might not be so far-fetched. Meissner did a program that was so technically difficult she could have finished in the top five in the senior division. She did two triple lutzes, one in a sequence with a triple toe loop jump, and had all the other triples.But Meissner is more than just a jumping bean. Just 14, she already has the polish and finish of a much more experienced skater.This one means more because Im one level below senior, Meissner said. It helps me feel a lot better going into seniors.Taylor also had a solid program, doing a triple lutz just five seconds before the end of her 3 1/2-minute program. Any other year, she easily would have won the junior competition.Brianna Perry won the bronze medal.Both Meissner and Taylor, also 14, plan to move up to the senior level next season. Meissner has proven she can handle the junior competition, winning one junior Grand Prix event and finishing second in another. Taylor won a silver medal at a junior Grand Prix competition in Slovakia.I had a pretty good year, Meissner said. So Im looking forward to it.___WORLD TEAMS:@ Now that Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto have won their first national title in ice dance, theyve got their eyes on the rest of the world.Belbin and Agostos victory earned them trip to the world championships, which will be held in Dortmund, Germany, in March. They also were selected for the Four Continents Championships later this month in Hamilton, Ontario.This is a goal for the season, Igor Shpilband, Belbin and Agostos coach, said of winning a world medal. They want to do it.Belbin and Agosto have already proven they can match up with the best in the world. They won the bronze medal at last months Grand Prix final, which drew the best teams in the world, and they also won Skate America.The United States hasnt won a medal at worlds in ice dancing since 1985.They definitely are competing at the highest level, Shpilband said.Also named to the world team were: Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Jennifer Kirk (women); Johnny Weir, Michael Weiss and Matthew Savoie (men); Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, and Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash (pairs); and Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov (ice dance).Selected for Four Continents were: Cohen, Kirk and Amber Corwin (women); Weir, Savoie and Ryan Jahnke (men); Gregory and Petukhov (ice dance); and Inoue and Baldwin, Orscher and Lucash, and Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn (pairs).Chosen for the junior world championships, which will be held March 1-7 in The Hague, Netherlands, were: Evan Lysacek, Jordan Brauninger and Dennis Phan (men); Beatrisa Liang, Kimberly Meissner and Katy Taylor (women); Brittany Vise and Nicholas Kole, Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski, and Andrea Varraux and David Pelletier (pairs); and Morgan Matthews and Maxim Zavozin, and Meryl Davis and Charlie White (ice dance).___FALSE ALARM:@ Michael Weiss has been at enough U.S. Figure Skating Championships to know theres always at least one false fire alarm in the competitors hotel. So when he heard the alarm blare Friday morning, he wasnt about to hike down more than 40 flights of stairs.Then his brother-in-law knocked on his door.He had my daughter and he was going to carry her down, said Weiss, who won a silver medal Saturday. So Ive got to go. I picked her up and carried her down on my back _ for 44 floors. Then my wife called when I was on the sixth floor and said, `The elevators are working. Ill meet you downstairs.After 40-some flights, Weiss wasnt about to stop for the elevator. He carried 5-year-old Annie Mae down the last two flights to the lobby.The entire Westin hotel was evacuated after a grease fire in a restaurant. The fire was quickly contained and no one was hurt, but it did cause some inconvenience.I was in a T-shirt and shorts, not the best attire for 30 degrees, bronze medalist Matt Savoie said. I just ran over to McDonalds. I was fine.

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