Teams skate to national honors

The University’s Figure Skating Team placed second and the Collegiate Synchronized Skating Team took a bronze medal in separate national competitions this year.

The figure skating team, which placed second out of 17 East Coast schools in the Boston University Open in February, hosted a competition in March at the Fred Rust and Gold ice arenas. At the home competition, UD again placed second, qualifying for the 2007 U.S. Intercollegiate Team Skating Championships, held April 17 at Dartmouth College.

The intercollegiate nationals draw many of the nation’s strongest collegiate skaters for two days of intense competition. The nine teams that competed represented the top three finishers in each of three intercollegiate figure skating conferences.

Dartmouth won the national competition, followed by UD in second place.

The University’s Collegiate Synchronized Skating Team finished third at the 2007 U.S. National Synchronized Skating Championships, held Feb. 22-25, in Colorado Springs.

The Blue Hens skated a flawless program to music from the musical Wicked, according to Megan O’Donnell, the team’s coach. She says the team excelled in its presentation from the moment the skaters got onto the ice until their exit.

“Delaware’s technical elements were just as strong, and the skaters have worked hard to improve the most difficult elements,” she says.
The team is the reigning Eastern Sectional champion and has earned three national medals during the past four years.