SAN JOSE, Calif. — With a nearly perfect free skate on Friday, the rising star Bradie Tennell won her first national title and almost certainly earned a spot on the American team for next month’s Olympics.
Tennell was spotless in the short program on Wednesday, then as the final skater in the long program she didn’t miss a trick under tremendous pressure. Her top competitors, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen, already had done superb routines.
“I just had to keep calm and focus on what I knew I could do,” Tennell, 19, said. “There’s the initial butterflies, but I kind of start to lose myself and keep going.