TGIF Feature: 14-year old Alysa Liu defending her ice skating title

Alysa Liu is defending her title.

After the short program, figure skater Alysa Liu finds herself in a familiar position. Last year at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship, she was a few points behind leader Bradie Tennell. Alysa went on to win the gold medal on the strength of her long program.

Alysa and US men's figure skating champion Nathan Chen begin the defense of their respective skating titles this week.

Thursday (Jan. 23) at the competition held in Greensboro, N.C., Bradie Tennell leads the women skaters with a record-setting score of 78.96. Alysa is in second with a 75.4 score.

Amber Glenn (73.16), Mariah Bell (73.22) and Karen Chen (70.41) round out the top five.

Last year, when Alysa was just 13, she was able to overcome a short-program deficit to become the youngest US champion in history. She overcame a 2.71-point deficit last year to win by 3.92, landing a pair of triple Axels in the free. 

Alysa has since added a quad Lutz to her arsenal of jumps, which isn’t allowed in short programs. She remains the only active US woman skater to land a triple Axel or a quadruple jump.

"I don't really worry or think about pressure," Alysa told the L.A. Times. "I don't feel pressure that much, right now at least. I don't think I will as it comes closer, either. I'm just excited and I think I've trained enough. I think I'm ready for nationals, and we'll see how I do."

Karen Chen, the 2017 US champion and 2018 Olympian, is in fifth place. Chen, a Cornell student, missed all of the 2018 season due to a stress fracture in her right foot.

Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson.

In the pairs competition, Jessica Calalang, a Filipina American skater from Elk Grove, California, is within striking distance in fourth place with her partner Brian Johnson.

Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov with a score of 65.06 rounds out the top five.

US men's figure skating champion Nathan Chen.

The first two finishers in women's and pairs will represent the US in international competition in the upcoming skating competitions in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

However, If the Oakland-based ALysa Liu finishes in first or second, the third place finisher will join the US team because the 14-year old is too young to compete in international senior competitions.

The long program for women and pairs will be skated Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. 

On Friday Jan. 34, the men's short program will begin the men's figure skating competition where Nathan Chen  -- noted for his quadruple jumps -- is a heavy favorite to repeat as national champion. 

Vincent Zhou is expected to compete for the second spot. The men's finals is slated for Sunday, Jan. 26.

Since Chen's disappointing finish at the 2018 Olympics, the Yale sophomore has been undefeated.

The short program for dance pairs will also be skated today (Jan. 24). Hawaiian Chinese  Madison Chock and her partner Evan Bates are expected to compete for a spot on the US team.

Social media favorites Maia and Alex Shibutani used the 2019-2020 season to take a break. Maia is still recovering from kidney surgery in December.

Updated Jan. 24, 12 p.m., in include more details.