DALLAS -- There were no surprises in the compulsory dance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Not that anyone expected there to be.

Four-time defending champions Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev finished first on 15 of the 18 marks for the two compulsories, the Quickstep and the Tango Romantica. The remaining three first-place votes, two in the Quickstep and one in the Tango, went to the other highly rated duo, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto.

Lang and Tchernyshev, 11th at the Salt Lake City Olympics and ninth at the 2002 world championships, were making their season debut. Lang has been sidelined by a cyst on her left Achilles' tendon.

''Tonight, I was actually feeling it a little bit,'' she said. ''But I'll be fine, it is not hurting my skating. Before they found the cyst, they said I would be in a cast. That's why I am so excited to be here.''

They looked particularly smooth on the Quickstep, earning marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.8 out of 6.0. Compulsories are worth 20 percent of the total score.

Belbin and Agosto were second at nationals last year, won the 2002 World Junior Championships, and were 13th in the senior worlds. They are the rising dance couple in America.

The top two dance teams here will qualify for worlds at Washington, D.C., in March.

Wednesday is the original dance, worth 30 percent of the total score, and Friday is the free dance, worth 50 percent.