Danny Neudecker

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Danny Neudecker
Nica Digerness, Danny Neudecker - 2018 Skate America - 3.jpg
Neudecker and Digerness in 2018
Born (1996-03-02) March 2, 1996 (age 28)
Seattle, Washington
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
Partner Grace Hanns
Coach Drew Meekins
Skating clubSeattle Skating Club
Began skating2001

Danny Neudecker (born March 2, 1996) is an American pair skater. With his former partner, Nica Digerness, he is the 2017 U.S. national junior champion and placed 10th at the 2017 World Junior Championships. Since May 2022, he has been partnered with Grace Hanns. [1]

Contents

Personal life

Neudecker was born on March 2, 1996, in Seattle, Washington. [2] His mother, Tammie, taught at an elementary school in Seattle before the family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. [3] He was raised with a sister, Valerie. [4] After graduating from Cheyenne Mountain High School, he enrolled at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, pursuing a degree in communications and counseling. [4] [5] He has an interest in languages and is proficient in Russian. [3]

Career

Early years & Beginning of Partnership

Neudecker began learning to skate when he was five years old after an ice rink opened near his home in Seattle. [3] [4] Competing in men's singles, he skated for two seasons on the juvenile level, two as an intermediate, and two in the novice ranks. He competed as a junior in the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 seasons. [6]

Pair skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield introduced Neudecker to Nica Digerness, who was also a single skater at the time. [3] The two teamed up in January 2015 and decided to train under Sappenfield at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. [5] They placed 7th in novice pairs at the 2016 U.S. Championships.

2016–2017 season

Digerness/Neudecker dropped plans to continue in the novice ranks after obtaining good junior results at summer club events. [7] In September 2016, they debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, placing 7th in Saransk, Russia. The following month, the pair finished 13th in Dresden, Germany.

In January, they won the junior title at the 2017 U.S. Championships, having placed first in both segments, and were named in the U.S. team to the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. [8] [9] Ranked 13th in the short program and 9th in the free skate, the pair finished 10th overall in Taipei.

2017–2018 season

Digerness/Neudecker began competing on the senior level. They placed 9th in the short, 11th in the free, and 11th overall at the 2018 U.S. Championships. They received no international assignments. Following the U.S. Championships, the pair focused on skating skills and choreography for several months while Neudecker recuperated from three bulging disks in his back and joint issues. [10]

2018–2019 season

Making their senior international debut, Digerness/Neudecker placed fourth at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series competition in September. U.S. Figure Skating invited them to a Grand Prix event, the 2018 Skate America in October. They placed sixth. They placed eighth at the 2019 U.S. Championships.

2019-2020 season & New Partnership

Digerness and Neudecker competed at the 2019 Warsaw Cup, where they placed fourteenth. They then competed at the 2020 U.S. Championships, where they placed ninth. On March 28, Neudecker announced that the pair had split. [11] A couple days later, it was revealed that his new partner was Alexandra Fakhroutdinov. [12]

2020-2021 season & New Coach

On July 2, 2021, Neudecker announced his and Fakhroutdinov's coaching change to Drew Meekins. [13]

Programs

(with Digerness)

Season Short program Free skating
2019–2020
2018–2019
[2] [10]
2017–2018
[7] [4]
2016–2017
[14]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Pairs with Hanns

International [15]
Event 22–23 23–24
GP Skate America WD
John Nicks Challenge 5th7th
National [15]
U.S. Championships 9th
U.S. Pairs Final2ndWD
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Pairs with Fakhroutdinov

National [16]
Event 20–21
USCS Massachusetts 5th
USCS Nevada 6th
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Pairs with Digerness

International [17]
Event 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20
GP Skate America 6th
CS Lombardia Trophy 4th
CS Warsaw Cup 14th
International: Junior [17]
Junior Worlds 10th
JGP Germany 13th
JGP Russia 6th
National [4]
U.S. Championships 7th N1st J11th8th9th
Midwestern Sectionals 1st J
Pacific Coast Sectionals 1st N
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior
TBD = Assigned

Ice dance with Levinsky-Carter

National [18]
Event 20–21
U.S. Championships 11th V
Midwestern Sectionals 4th V
Levels: V = Juvenile

Men's singles

National [6]
Event 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15
U.S. Junior Champ. 13th V17th I17th I
U.S. Collegiate Champ. 1st J
Midwestern Sectionals 8th N5th N
Pacific Coast Sectionals 6th J8th J
Southwestern Regionals9th V2nd V3rd I3rd I3rd N1st N
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice; J = Junior

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References

  1. Hanns, Grace [@gracehanns] (May 12, 2022). "I'm so excited to announce my new partnership with Danny!" via Instagram.
  2. 1 2 "Nica DIGERNESS / Danny NEUDECKER: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Nanette (February 15, 2017). "Broadmoor Spires resident natl. skating champ". The Gazette (Colorado Springs) . Archived from the original on September 18, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nica Digerness and Danny Neudecker". U.S. Figure Skating . Archived from the original on September 18, 2018.
    "Earlier versions: 2016–2018". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. 1 2 Woodcock, Claire (November 10, 2016). "Once is luck". Boulder Weekly. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Danny NEUDECKER". rinkresults.com.
  7. 1 2 Thayer, Jacquelyn (September 20, 2017). "Digerness and Neudecker Focused on the Steady Climb". twofortheice.com.
  8. Wood, Tommy (January 19, 2017). "Greeley native Digerness wins junior pairs title at U.S. Figure Skating Championships". Greeley Tribune. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018.
  9. Wood, Tommy (March 11, 2017). "Skating away: Greeley native Nica Digerness heads to Taiwan with pairs partner in pursuit of figure skating world championship". Greeley Tribune. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Pederson, Marissa (October 20, 2018). "A Blessing in Disguise: Nica Digerness and Danny Neudecker's Road to Skate America". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018.
  11. Neudecker, Danny (March 28, 2020). "With much heart felt respect, I would like to thank you Nica for being such a great partner and light in my life for the past five years" (Instagram).
  12. Fakhroutdinov, Sasha (March 31, 2020). "practicing social distancing with @nannydeudecker" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  13. Neudecker, Danny (July 2, 2021). "Sasha and I recently started working with Drew Meekins at World Arena [in Colorado Springs, Colorado]" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  14. "Nica DIGERNESS / Danny NEUDECKER: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. 1 2 "Competition Results Evelyn Grace HANNS / Danny NEUDECKER (USA)". International Skating Union.
  16. "Alexandra FAKHROUTDINOV / Danny NEUDECKER". SkatingScores.
  17. 1 2 "Competition Results: Nica DIGERNESS / Danny NEUDECKER". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018.
  18. "Jordyn LEVINSKY-CARTER / Danny NEUDECKER". SkatingScores.