Alysa Liu begins defense of her national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, live on NBC Sports on Thursday evening.
The women’s short program headlines the first day of senior competition in Greensboro, N.C.
Action starts with the pairs’ short program at 4:30 p.m. ET for NBC Sports Gold subscribers, with NBCSN broadcast coverage joining in at 5. The women start at 7:30 on Gold, with NBCSN TV coverage starting at 9.
LIVE STREAM: Pairs’ short program -- Gold | NBCSN | Skate Order
LIVE STREAM: Women’s short program -- Gold | NBCSN | Skate Order
Liu, who last year became the youngest U.S. champion in history at age 13, seeks to become the first repeat women’s champion since Ashley Wagner in 2012 and 2013. She has the ability to land a triple Axel and a quadruple Lutz, jumps no other active U.S. woman has thrown in competition.
Liu is too young for senior international competition, meaning 2018 U.S. champion Bradie Tennell and two-time U.S. bronze medalist Mariah Bell are the favorites to earn the two world championships spots this weekend.
Pairs is harder to predict. The last four years produced four different champions, all of whom are in Greensboro competing for national medals and two world team spots.
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc are defending champions and have the highest total score this season among U.S. pairs.
Key Skate Times
6:08 p.m. -- Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Christopher Knierim
6:14 -- Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier
6:34 -- Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy LeDuc
6:41 -- Tarah Kayne/Danny O’Shea
9:13 -- Karen Chen
9:20 -- Gracie Gold
9:33 -- Bradie Tennell
10:29 -- Alysa Liu
10:36 -- Mariah Bell
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NATIONALS PREVIEWS: Nathan Chen | Alysa Liu | Vincent Zhou | Pairs | Dance | TV Schedule
As a reminder, you can watch the events from the 2019-20 figure skating season live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.