Nicole Della Monica/Matteo Guarise ITA
2018 World Championships free skate
Coming into this season, they had never finished in the top 10 at a World Championships before. They hadn’t even earned a Grand Prix medal in their seven seasons together. But both of those changed last season for Nicole Della Monica/Matteo Guarise, first with a bronze at Internationaux de France, then with a top five finish at home at Worlds.
Their performance at Worlds was a testament to just how much they have improved as a pair just over the past year. They had always been strong skaters individually, but they gelled immensely as a pair, developing their own style (along with a penchant for matching unitards).
This free skate wasn’t perfect, but it felt like they were flying across the ice like never before, bolstered by the incredible support from the home crowd.