Background
Alexa Scimeca was born June 10, 1991 in Addison, Illinois.
Alexa Scimeca was born June 10, 1991 in Addison, Illinois.
She became engaged to Chris Knierim on April 8, 2014, and their wedding date is set for June 26, 2016. Early in her pair skating career, Scimeca competed with Ivan Dimitrov, with whom she trained in Connecticut. Scimeca teamed up with Chris Knierim in April 2012.
They train together in Colorado Springs, Colorado under coaches Dalilah Sappenfield and Larry Ibarra.
They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents Championships but withdrew just before the event — Scimeca injured her right foot in practice. Scimeca/Knierim were named to the United States. team for the 2013 World Championships after Caydee Denney / John Coughlin withdrew.
They placed ninth in their World Championships debut. 2014–2015 season
They were assigned two Grand Prix events, placing fourth at both 2014 Skate America and 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.
At the 2015 United States. Figure Skating Championships, Scimeca and Knierim captured their first national title, setting new United States. record scores in both the short program and the free skate.
They also became the first American pair team to perform a quadruple twist in competition. At the 2015 World Championships, the pair placed seventh. Scimeca and Knierim earned new personal best scores of 127.87 in the free skate and 192.09 total, setting new records once again for the highest scores ever recorded by a United States. pair team in international competition.
2015–2016 season
They are the first United States. pair since 2007 to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
They earned new personal best scores of 140.35 in the free skate and 207.96 total, which are the highest scores ever recorded by a United States. pair team in international competition. (with Knierim).
With partner Chris Knierim, she is the 2016 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2014 Four Continents bronze medalist, and the 2015 United States. national champion. The pair won gold at their first international event, the 2012 Coupe de Nice. After a number of withdrawals, they received a Grand Prix assignment, the 2012 Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai Trophy, where they finished fourth. Scimeca and Knierim won the silver medal at the 2013 United States. Championships. Scimeca and Knierim won the gold medal in their first International Skating Union Challenger series event at the 2014 United States. International Figure Skating Classic and won the bronze medal at 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy. At the 2015 Four Continents Championships, Scimeca and Knierim placed fifth and earned new International Skating Union personal best scores of 124.44 in the free skate and 187.98 total, setting new records for the highest scores ever achieved by a United States. pair team in an international event. They then competed at the 2015 World Team Trophy, finishing fourth in the short program and third in the free skate, which ultimately helped Team United States of America win the gold medal. Scimeca and Knierim began their season at 2015 Nebelhorn Trophy where they won the silver medal behind reigning Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. The team then competed at 2015 Skate America where they won the silver medal. They earned a new personal best short program score of 69.69, setting a new record for the highest score ever achieved by a United States. pair team in international competition. The following week, they won the gold medal at 2015 Ice Challenge in Graz, Austria. Scimeca and Knierim went on to win the bronze medal at 2015 Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai Trophy which helped qualify them for the 2015-2016 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, where they placed seventh. The pair entered the 2016 United States. Figure Skating Championships as the heavy favorite for the title, but won the silver medal after costly errors. At the 2016 Four Continents Championships, Scimeca and Knierim won the silver medal in their best competitive outing to date.
