UD's Kimmie Meissner wins national crown

Kimmie Meissner of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club is now champion of both the world and the United States. Meissner, 17, who won the International Skating Union's world title in 2006, was crowned the new national champion during the 2007 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday in Spokane.

Meissner won the short program to build a lead that stood up when second-place finisher Emily Hughes fell on a triple flip. Meissner scored a total of 181.68 points to 180.86 for Hughes. Alissa Czisny had a strong long program to finish third with 177.74 points.

Meissner, joined by Hughes and Czisny on the U.S. world team, will defend her world title at this year's ISU championships to be held March 19-25 in Toyko.

The senior at Fallston (Md.) High School has been training at the University's internationally renowned Ice Skating Science Development Center since she was 8 and plans to enroll in courses at UD beginning with the fall semester.

She is the University's first ladies national champion and is the first American woman since Barbara Roles-Williams, the 1960 Olympic bronze medalist who is now a coach at the Ice Skating Science Development Center, to win a national championship at the novice, junior and senior levels.

Meissner recognized her UD teammates during ABC's post-championship interview with 1984 Olympic silver medalist Peter Carruthers, who pointed out that during warm-ups someone had yelled out, “Kimmie, you're hot.” She said it is a phrase of endearment among UDFSC competitors, who were heavily represented at nationals. “It's a Delaware thing,” she told Carruthers.

Meissner is scheduled to appear on NBC's Today Show on Wednesday morning.

Also on the U.S. world team will be ice dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, who train at UD and who finished second to Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in the national championships. UD teammates Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre finished fourth and have been named alternates to the international team.

UD junior pairs skaters Bridget Namiotka and John Coughlin, who finished in ninth place in the senior division in nationals, have been named to the international team. Also, UD's Kaela Pflumm and Christopher Pottenger were named international team alternates after finishing fourth in juniors at nationals. The World Junior Championships will be held Feb. 26-March 4 in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Meissner and other world team members, plus international skaters such as world ice dance champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria, who train at UD, will be featured in a world send-off exhibition to be held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, March 3, at the University's Fred Rust Ice Arena. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $12 for senior citizens 62 and older, children 18 and younger, and UD faculty and staff. Tickets are $10 for groups of 10 or more. Call (302) 831-6038 to make group arrangements.

Tickets can be purchased at UD box offices at the Trabant University Center or the Bob Carpenter Center, or through Ticketmaster [www.tickemaster.com]. Tickets also will be sold at the arena the day of the show, if available.

Media contact: Neil Thomas, (302) 831-6408, [nfttwo@udel.edu]
January 30, 2007