The new Greek pairs team of Jessica Crenshaw and Chad Tsagris finished 17th at the 2009 European Championships in January, their first ISU championship competition.

"That is the most amazing experience I have had in skating," Crenshaw said. "It has opened up my eyes about skating at the top level. It has made both of us want to train hard and get as good as we can be."

The couple then finished 20th at the 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

"We would like to qualify for the Olympics," said Tsagris. "We would like to compete at the Olympic Games and to prove that Greece has a spot in skating."

Tsagris, who is 23, competed for Greece last year with Ariel-Fay Gagnon, placing 15th at Europeans and 19th at worlds. "I felt that Ariel and I had come to a plateau, but I enjoyed my time with her," Tsagris said.

The new couple started skating together last summer. "We became a team after our coaches set up a try-out in Mt. Laurel, N.J.," Tsagris explained. "Josée Picard, my coach, coached Isabelle Brasseur, Jessica's coach. Jessica decided to put school on hold and start skating with me after she skated in Montreal for a week in May."

"Chad is a good match for me because we instantly had a connection," Crenshaw stated. "On our try-out, we were able to find each other's rhythm, so we easily did all of the pair elements. Chad and I also have the same work ethic."

"I decided to skate for Greece because I have a great opportunity to travel the world while doing something I love," she continued. "I am very grateful to the Greek federation for giving me this amazing opportunity."

Crenshaw and Tsagris train in New Jersey with Brasseur and Rocky Marval.

"We train five to six days a week, four hours on the ice and an hour to two hours off the ice," Tsagris said. Tsagris also goes cycling, while Crenshaw runs.

"We are working on side-by-side triple toe and triple Salchow and also triple twist," Tsagris said. "We are also working on making our lifts harder and more interesting."

"I can do throw triple Salchow and triple loop, and we are working on throw triple flip," Crenshaw added.

Arseniy Markov choreographed the couple's 2008-09 short program, which they will change for 2009-10. They skated to "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones in 2008-09 but have not selected new music yet.

Uschi Keszler choreographed their long program. The music included Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, "While Thinking About Her Again", "After the Destruction" and "Runaway, Search and Return" from the soundtrack of "Cinema Paradiso" by Ennio Morricone. They plan to use the same program for next season.

"Jessica suggested it because it was something she wanted to skate to for a long time, and Josée and I enjoyed it as well," Tsagris said.

"We like to skate to something we both connect to, which is why it can take a long time to find music," Crenshaw said. "I like classical music," Tsagris said. "I love Mozart and would like to skate to Mozart sometime."

"I like most kinds of music," Crenshaw added. "My favorite is any kind of violin music. I wish I could play an instrument, but I unfortunately do not."

Tsagris first skated at five because everyone in his family played hockey, but he enjoyed figure skating after he took a class to improve his skating skills. By the age of 13, he was doing pairs in Canada with a succession of partners, placing as high as 12th in junior pairs in 2007.

Crenshaw started in sports as a gymnast when she was three. She first went on the ice when she was eight. "My step-father from Rochester, N.Y., played hockey at Miami University of Ohio when he was younger and took my mother and I ice skating. I started in group lessons and then got a private coach." When she was nine, she had to choose between gymnastics and skating.

The 19-year-old landed her first triple jump, a triple toe loop, about three years ago. "I landed my first throw triple before I landed my first triple, but that happens to a lot of pair girls," she said. She competed in singles up to the senior level, finishing eighth in senior ladies at the 2008 North Atlantic Regional Championships.

"I started skating pairs when I was 13 years old," she continued. "Danielle Hartsell and Steve Hartsell first taught me how to do pairs. I moved by myself from Richmond, Va., to New Jersey when I was 15 to skate with Tyler [Harris] and train with Brasseur and Marval."

"I like pairs rather than singles because I love skating with someone else," she said. "It just feels natural to work with someone else to become a unit. I love the feeling of being thrown and lifted. It's funny because I have never been much a daredevil, but for some reason I have never been scared of anything in pairs."

Crenshaw previously skated pairs in the United States with Ryan Berning and Tyler Harris. "Tyler and I placed fifth at the 2006 Eastern Sectionals in novice pairs," she said.

Off ice, Crenshaw likes to shop and enjoys trying new restaurants and traveling. "I collected rocks and foreign money when I was younger, but since the introduction of the Euro that has become difficult," she said. "I have started collecting postcards and random objects from competitions now."

"I like romantic comedies because usually when I watch a movie, I want to relax and not have to think about it too much," Crenshaw said. "However, Chad, being a film major, has introduced me to other genres of film which I have learned to appreciate."

"I like to cook anything, as long as I have a recipe," she continued. "But my favorite thing is baking. I usually make a mess but it's well worth it in the end."

She also enjoys designing costumes. "I used to design all of my costumes for singles and pairs," she said.

Off ice, Tsagris enjoys photography, watching films and reading, especially biographies. He is studying film and photography at Concordia University.

"I plan on going back to school after I finish skating," said Crenshaw, who graduated from high school at 16. "I attended Columbia University in New York City last year. I was on the Dean's List both semesters last year. I am still enrolled but on a leave-of-absence indefinitely. I had not declared a major before I left, but I think it would probably be European history with a minor in education. I would also like to live and possibly teach abroad, and maybe go to law school."