Elliana Pogrebinsky

Summary

Elliana Pogrebinsky (born April 22, 1998) is a retired American competitive ice dancer. With Alex Benoit, she is a two-time ISU Challenger Series Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist (2016, 2017), the 2016 Lake Placid Ice Dance International champion, and the 2017 U.S. national pewter medalist.

Elliana Pogrebinsky
Pogrebinsky at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup
Born (1998-04-22) April 22, 1998 (age 25)
Los Gatos, California
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Figure skating career
CountryUnited States
CoachIgor Shpilband, Adrienne Lenda, Greg Zuerlein, Fabian Bourzat
Skating clubPeninsula FSC San Jose
Began skating2000

Personal life edit

Elliana Pogrebinsky was born April 22, 1998, in Los Gatos, California.[1] She is the daughter of Natalia and Vladimir Pogrebinsky, and has an elder brother, Daniel.[2] Her parents moved to the United States in the late 1980s from Odesa, Ukraine.[3] She is Jewish and celebrated her bat mitzvah in 2011.[2]

As a child, Pogrebinsky studied at a ballet school in San Jose, California, and competed in ballroom dancing and in rhythmic gymnastics, winning a Pacific Region title and qualifying for three national championships at three levels.[4] After moving from California to Maryland in 2009, she attended Westland Middle School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.[2][5] In 2016, she graduated from FlexTech Academy in Novi, Michigan.[4] She is now enrolled at the University of San Francisco pursuing a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and has an internship at the athletic department in Strength and Conditioning at USF.

Career edit

Early years edit

Pogrebinsky began skating as a three-year-old in San Jose.[6] From 2005 to 2009,[7] she was coached by Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko in California.[5]

Pogrebinsky teamed up with Ross Gudis in March 2009.[7] They were coached by Alexei Kiliakov, Elena Novak, and Dmytri Ilin in Wheaton and Rockville, Maryland.[8] Making their ISU Junior Grand Prix debut, they placed 6th in Lake Placid, New York, and 11th in Bled, Slovenia in 2012, before placing 5th in junior dance at the 2013 U.S. Championships. In the 2013–14 season, they competed at two more JGP events – finishing 4th in Riga, Latvia, and 6th in Gdańsk, Poland – and placed 5th for the second year in a row at the U.S. Championships.

Partnership with Benoit edit

Pogrebinsky teamed up with Alex Benoit in March 2014 after a tryout in Novi, Michigan, that was suggested by Igor Shpilband.[4][6] Their international debut came at the 2014–15 ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) in Aichi; after placing fifth in Japan, Pogrebinsky/Benoit were sent to the JGP in Zagreb, Croatia, where they finished 8th. In January 2015, they won the junior bronze medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships and were selected to compete at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn. Ranked 12th in the short dance, they qualified for the free dance (14th) and finished 13th overall in Estonia.

During the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix series, Pogrebinsky/Benoit placed fourth in Linz, Austria, and won the bronze medal in Logroño, Spain. They repeated as junior national bronze medalists and were assigned to the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary; they placed fifth in the short dance, fourth in the free, and fourth overall.

Pogrebinsky/Benoit decided to compete on the senior level in the 2016–2017 season.[6] Making their Grand Prix debut, they placed 7th at the 2016 Skate America and 6th at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup. They won bronze at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy and then the pewter medal (fourth place) at the 2017 U.S. Championships.

In their second senior season, the two finished 7th at both of their Grand Prix assignments and took bronze at the 2017 CS Tallinn Trophy before placing 7th at the 2018 U.S. Championships. Their coaches included Igor Shpilband, Adrienne Lenda, Greg Zuerlein, and Fabian Bourzat.[1] In March 2018, Benoit announced his decision to retire from competitive skating while Pogrebinsky said that she would search for another partner.[9]

Programs edit

With Benoit edit

Season Short dance Free dance
2017–2018
[1][4]
2016–2017
[10][11]
Persian legend: Layla and Majnun
2015–2016
[12]
2014–2015
[13][11]

With Gudis edit

Season Short dance Free dance
2013–2014
[8][7]
  • Foxtrot: Pink Panther
    by Henry Mancini
  • Quickstep: Jumping at the Woodside
    by Chacra Music
  • El Conquistador
    by Maxime Rodriguez
  • Para Mi Nicole
    by Esperanza
  • El Conquistador
    by Maxime Rodriguez
2012–2013
[7][14]
  • Hip Hop: Overpowered
    by Róisín Murphy
  • Blues: The Blues
    by Mr. De
  • Hip Hop: Cry Baby
    by Róisín Murphy
2011–2012
[7]
  • Relax Max
    by Dina Washington
  • Party is Over
    by Peggy Lee
2010–2011
[7]
2009–2010
[15]

Competitive highlights edit

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

With Benoit edit

International[16]
Event 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18
GP Cup of China 7th
GP France 7th
GP Rostelecom Cup 6th
GP Skate America 7th
CS Lombardia Trophy 4th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy 4th
CS Tallinn Trophy 3rd 3rd
Lake Placid IDI 1st 3rd
International: Junior[16]
World Junior Champ. 13th 4th
JGP Austria 4th
JGP Croatia 8th
JGP Japan 5th
JGP Spain 3rd
National[4]
U.S. Championships 3rd J 3rd J 4th 7th
J = Junior level
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

With Gudis edit

International[17]
Event 11–12 12–13 13–14
JGP Latvia 4th
JGP Poland 6th
JGP Slovenia 11th
JGP United States 6th
National[7]
U.S. Championships 8th J 5th J 5th J

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Cohen Greyber, Andrea (July 2011). "Called to the Torah". Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley. Jewish Community News. p. 20.
  3. ^ Pogrebinsky, Elliana; Benoit, Alex (September 9, 2015). "Waltzing on the Danube: Ice dancers blog from Linz". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Elliana Pogrebinsky and Alex Benoit". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Amber (January 21, 2013). "Pogrebinsky and Gudis have Junior Worlds in their sights". Ice Musings.
  6. ^ a b c Calder, Anne (June 15, 2016). "Pogrebinsky & Benoit set their sights on long-term goals". ice-dance.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Elliana Pogrebinsky and Ross Gudis". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Ross GUDIS: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014.
  9. ^ Brannen, Sarah S. (March 30, 2018). "The Inside Edge: Krasnozhon avoids major injury". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ a b "Programs". Official website of Pogrebinsky & Benoit. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Elliana POGREBINSKY / Ross GUDIS: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "History". Official website of Pogrebinsky and Gudis. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ a b "Competition Results: Elliana POGREBINSKY / Alex BENOIT". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "Competition Results: Elliana POGREBINSKY / Ross GUDIS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Official website of Pogrebinsky and Gudis at the Wayback Machine (archive index)