Photo : Susan D. Russell

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won the silver medal in pairs Friday at the 2018 Autumn Classic International figure skating competition.

World championship bronze medallists Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France dominated with 210.21 points, followed by the Canadians at 176.32 and Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. at 164.43.

Both Moore-Towers and Marinaro fell once during the program performed to a Pink Floyd medley

‘’We lack mileage and that’s why some of the things went a little funny today,’’ said Moore-Towers. ‘’These things tend to sort out once we have a better handle on our program.’’

Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., were fifth.

‘’We were hoping to fare better today after some strong practices leading in,’’ said Matte. ‘’We need to learn from this.’’

In women’s competition, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. caused a big upset to win the gold with 206.41. Ninth at the at the Olympics last season, Tennell finished ahead of two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia second at 204.89. Mae Berenice Meite of France was third.

Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., moved from ninth to sixth overall with the sixth best free skate.

‘’It came from heart,’’ said Pineault. ‘’I feel like when you can only focus on what you love to do and perform only for yourself then it shows in competition.’’

In ice dancing, world championship bronze medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are first after the short dance with 76.53. Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain are second at 67.35 and Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver are third at 65.38.

‘’This program came very natural to us,’’ said Weaver. ‘’The music was an easy choice, the choreography just started to flow together and tango is probably our favorite rhythm. It’s something we felt very passionate about doing.’’

Soucisse and Firus met their expectations.

‘’It was good,’’ said Soucisse. ‘’For the first event of the year we wanted to brings something solid that we can build on.’’

Molly Lanaghan and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., are sixth.

In the men’s short program, two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan earned 97.74 with Junhwan Cha of South Korea second at 90.56 and Jason Brown of the U.S. third at 88.90.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is fourth at 78.14 Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam B.C. sixth at 68.37 and Bennet Toman of Brampton, Ont., seventh at 67.58.

‘’This was my first competition since nationals last January so I was nervous,’’ said Sadovsky, who fell on his triple Axel but landed his two quads. ‘’But I think I handled it really well.’’

Reynolds two-footed his triple Axel in an otherwise clean routine.

‘’I’m very happy with it,’’ he said. ‘’The score didn’t reflect what I felt about the performance but other than the jumps being a bit tighter in terms of quality, I thought I was able to connect with the audience and do the steps and spins the way I wanted.’’

Competition ends Saturday at the Sixteen Mile Sport Complex with the free dance and men’s free skate.

Full information and results: Skate Canada – 2018 Autumn Classic International

World championship bronze medallists Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France hold the lead with 73.81 points. Moore-Towers and Marinaro, the first skaters to perform, are second at 64.73 and Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. third at 61.91.

‘’We’re still at a point to find out where we can get our marks and build on that,’’ said Moore-Towers, sixth with her partner at last season’s worlds. ‘’We’re comfortable with the style but our transitions are difficult.’’

Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Lévis, Que., are fifth with a program that featured a perfect throw triple loop.

‘’Some things were great and others so-so,’’ said Matte. ‘’We still have a lot of work to do based on the levels we got. It’s a new program so we wanted to enjoy and learn from it.’’

In women’s competition, two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia is first, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. second and Mae Berenice Meite of France third.

Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., is ninth.

‘’I was really surprised with how comfortable I was on the ice,’’ said Pineault. ‘’There were a few unexpected mistakes but I was happy with the performance.’’

Competition continues Friday at the Sixteen Mile Sport Complex with the pairs and women’s free skates, the short dance and men’s short program.

Full information and results: Skate Canada – 2018 Autumn Classic International