Champs Face A Test

They say life is never easy at the top. Right about now, Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison might be inclined to agree.
The defending national senior pairs champions, so wildly successful during the fall Grand Prix season, have some serious work ahead of them at the BMO Canadian figure skating championships. And not just to retain their crown.
After an error-filled short program on Friday night at Pacific Coliseum, Dube and Davison stand a shocking fifth — two places below where they need to be just to make the Canadian team for the world championships in March in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The mountain isn't overly steep, mind you. With 54.32 points, Dube and Davison are 2.69 back of the couple who currently hold third, Toronto's Kyra and Dylan Moscovitch (57.01). In between are Montreal-based Jessica Miller and Ian Moram (55.61).
"We can still make it," said Davison, 21, of Cambridge, Ont. "There's still room for us to come up. We're going to need to skate really well but we're still confident."
The Canadian title? That'll involve a much heftier climb. Anabelle Langlois of Hull, Que., and Cody Hay of Dawson Creek, B.C. hold the lead at 62.73 points.
"That's going to be a little tougher," Davison said about retaining their national crown. "We're going to worry about world team first and then go from there."
Trouble started for the champs when Dube doubled her half of their side-by-side triple Salchows. Later, she fell on a throw triple loop.
"I usually land (the throw) with no problem, so I have no idea what happened there," said Dube, 20, of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que. "I found myself on the ice."
Added Davison: "Really, the big surprise was more what happened on the throw because that doesn't happen too often. But that's okay. It's an experience and we've got to learn from it. Just move forward."
There isn't much time to recover. The pairs free program goes Saturday morning. And for the first time in awhile, Dube and Davison won't skate in the final group.
"It was a rough skate tonight," said Davison. "That's all I can say. We didn't skate our best. We've been practising well all week. We've just got to look forward to (Saturday) and hope we can put a really, really good skate out there."