DALLAS -- So much for that big upset in ice dancing.

Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev overcame a stumble in their free dance and held their place at the top Friday, winning their fifth title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, who caused a stir by winning the original dance, couldn't pull off the upset. They also slipped up in their footwork, and that was too big an error to justify a seismic shift in the standings.

''Obviously it was a very large mistake,'' Belbin said. ''Definitely the mistake made the difference.''

Lang and Tchernyshev join three other dance couples with five U.S. titles, including three-time world bronze medalists Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert.

''I still don't believe it,'' Tchernyshev said. ''It was a real fight today, like we hadn't had in the United States for a while.''

Real change rarely happens in ice dance. Oh, sure, couples move up in the standings, but usually not until the teams ahead of them retire.

There's so little movement that results often can be predicted long before a competition begins.

That's what made this week so exciting. The top U.S. couple since 1998, Lang and Tchernyshev normally would have breezed through the competition despite only being on the ice for six weeks because of a cyst on her Achilles' tendon.

But up-and-comers Belbin and Agosto stunned them in the original dance, winning easily.

''It is not pleasant losing to the team that was behind you the last three years,'' Tchernyshev said. ''But Tanith and Ben skated an awesome program, and we were not as sharp as we should've been.''

That set up a showdown in the free dance. Skating first to Scorpions' ''Still Loving You,'' Lang and Tchernyshev weren't nearly as dynamic as in the past. They did have some unusual lifts, including one where he was bent on one leg with the other extended, and she was facing him, balancing on his thighs.

But they had a major mistake in their footwork, with Lang skating into Tchernyshev while he slid on his knees. She stumbled, but covered the error quickly.

Still, she looked disappointed when they finished. Their marks ranged from 5.4 to 5.7 for technical merit, and 5.7 to 5.8 for presentation -- plenty of room for Belbin and Agosto.

Lang knew they'd given the youngsters a chance, flopping down on a couch backstage and looking dejected as Belbin and Agosto took the ice.

Belbin and Agosto put on a lively and entertaining show to an Elvis medley -- complete with Agosto in a white sequined jumpsuit, a la the Las Vegas Elvis. Their lifts were spectacular, and they had the crowd oohing and aahing as he did a shoot the duck while carrying her across his knees.

But they made two mistakes, including one everyone in the arena could see. During their circular sequence footwork near the judges, they bumped into each other.

''It was like a fluke. Unfortunately it happened during the competition,'' Belbin said. ''We were just a little bit off.''

They got 5.5 to 5.7 for technical merit and 5.6 to 5.9 for presentation, but it wasn't enough. Lang and Tchneryshev won with a 5-4 split.

''I think it would have been a good opportunity (to move up at worlds), but now they are the second team and it was a missed opportunity,'' said Igor Shpilband, Belbin and Agosto's coach. ''To beat the national champs, it takes a better performance.''

Lang still was sitting on a couch when Belbin and Agosto's scores were posted. When she saw the second mark and realized she and Tchernyshev had won, she scissor-kicked in the air in celebration and slapped high-fives with several people around her.

''When I saw the results, I picked up anything I could find and threw it in the air,'' Lang said with a wide smile. ''This was a really stressful week for us and it's been a stressful season. It was really emotional for us.''