By Gina Capellazzi, Team FSO website administrator
Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Kaplan
Figure Skaters Online has started a new series to introduce fans to the new pair teams who will be making their debut during the 2025-26 season. For this series, we recently chatted with Gabrielle “Gabby” Kaplan and Carter Griffin, who are a new junior pair team for the U.S. Gabrielle is 15-years-old and is originally from Northbrook, Illinois. Carter is 20-years-old and calls Scottsdale, Arizona his hometown, but has been training in Irvine, California for a few years now. The two teamed up in February and were added to the International Selection Pool (ISP) in August.
Tell us about your individual skating journeys, including any early special memories.
Gabby: I started skating at the age of 2 and fell in love that day. I began competing singles when I was 5. I started skating pairs with my coaches in Chicago in 2023. My first partner was Matthew Soifer for the 2023-2024 season.
Carter: I started skating at age 2 when my mom would take me to public skate and teach me the basics. I continued skating because my older sister skated pairs. Previously, I partnered with Taisiya Shapovalova (2025), Audrey Park (2022-24), Alissa Korytek (2019-22) and Jordyn McNeill (2016-19).
What drew you to pairs? Did you compete in singles before and if so, how long did you skate and compete as a single skater, and are you still doing singles?
Gabby: What drew me to pairs was watching it on the TV and just being amazed. I competitively skated singles until the beginning of the 2024-2025 season, however I continue to train and practice singles everyday.
Carter: My first coach was Tiffany Vise, who competed in pairs. My older sister also skated pairs, so I was naturally drawn to it. I skated singles until I was 17. Just like Gabby, I still practice singles everyday.
Tell us how your partnership started.
Carter: A mutual friend had said Gabby and I would make a great pair. So we reached out to set up a tryout. She was right because I knew instantly that we would work well together.
Gabby: My mom and I came to California for a week-long tryout with Carter. We immediately knew it would work. So we wound up doing a 2-week trial period. It went great and there was no denying it was a great fit.
What is it that you already like most about skating with your new partner?
Carter: What I like the most about Gabby is that she puts up with my shenanigans and how hard working she is. She just goes for it.
Gabby: I like most that Carter is always willing to try new things. Also, he makes me laugh on the ice.
What has been the biggest adjustment for each of you so far in the partnership?
Gabby: Timing was definitely an adjustment. As well as having to adjust to jumping with a lefty partner.
Carter: The biggest adjustment so far in our partnership has been learning what works for lifts and twists. Each partner may have been taught those things with different technique than what I am used to.
Tell us about your training site.
Gabby and Carter: We train in Irvine, California at Great Park Ice Rink. It’s a great facility. We love being able to train with so many great pair teams.
Who are your coaches? Did either or both have to relocate? If so, tell us about the move(s).
Gabby: Our coaches are Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, Brandon Frazier and Christine Binder. Carter was already training in Irvine, so I did have to relocate (from Illinois), but I go home every month to see my family and friends, and my mom comes here for a week a month. My singles’ coaches back home are Denise Meyers, Dana Hult, and Douglas Haw. Here, I still train with Douglas on Zoom and in-person with Sean Rabbitt. Carter works with Michel Brezina and Team Raf (Rafael Arutyunyan). The relocation has been great and I feel so lucky to do this.
Who is choreographing your programs. Is someone else arranging your music? If so, please share those experiences.
Gabby and Carter: Yura Min created our short program, but we picked our music together. Our long program was done by Brandon Fraizer and Hugo Chouinard created our music for it.
What are you skating to this year?
Gabby and Carter: Our long program is a James Bond medley. It’s cool because it doesn’t sound like James Bond until the end. And our short program is “Rock This Joint”, which shows a totally different side to our skating.
If you could have a lesson with any pair skater past/present, who would it be? Why?
Gabby: Two-time Olympic Champions Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov because their skating was mesmerizing and flawless.
Carter: Olympic Champions Maxim Trankov and Tatiana Volosozhar because they are one of the best pair teams to ever live.
What is each of you looking forward to most this skating season? What will be your biggest challenge(s)?
Gabby: I am looking forward to hopefully going to our first international together, and just enjoying our first season together. Our biggest challenge is to constantly up our levels. I love good challenges.
Carter: Me too. I am definitely looking forward to our first international together. Our biggest challenge is getting our twist bigger everyday and to get a throw triple.
Tell us about your debut competition this season?
Gabby and Carter: Our first competition was at the Glacier Falls Summer Championships (National Qualifying Series event – NQS) at the end of July, where we had a lot of fun putting our programs out there. It was good for us to see how the other teams compete. It was a good start and we can’t wait to continue to grow as a team.
(Editor’s Note: Gabby and Carter also competed at the Golden West Championships in Irvine at the end of August and since they are in the ISP, they are waiting to hear what their next event will be.)
What are your goals for this season?
Gabby and Carter: Getting an international and making the top 6 at Nationals would be amazing.
Please share anything you would like our readers to know about you as a team.
Gabby and Carter: We have a lot of fun on the ice and there’s never a dull moment. We both love performing and making progress. Big things ahead!
