Kimmie Meissner, UD skaters in two shows Jan. 28

2:27 p.m., Jan. 20, 2006--Figure skating fans can see U.S. Olympic Team member Kimmie Meissner and other top competitors from the University of Delaware during a special Winter Games Figure Skating Preview, to be held Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Fred Rust Ice Arena.

The shows will be held at 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for the general public and $15 for UD students, faculty and staff, as well as for senior citizens and children 12 and under. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster and at UD box offices at the Bob Carpenter Center and the Trabant University Center.

Meissner, who represents the UD Figure Skating Club, won the silver medal at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, alongside national gold medalist Sasha Cohen and past champion Michelle Kwan.

Joining Meissner in the exhibition will be other members of UD’s national and junior world teams who train at the University’s internationally renowned Ice Skating Science Development Center. The center is directed by Ron Ludington, a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

The shows will open with 9-year-old Andrew Nagode, junior national juvenile boys silver medalist, and 11-year-old Holly Alexander, South Atlantic juvenile girls champion and junior national team member. They will be followed by Meg Byrne and Nate Bartholomay, national novice pairs pewter medalists, and Craig Ratterree, fifth-place finisher in the national junior men’s competition.

Next on the ice will be Megan Williams-Stewart, national championship ladies competitor and international team member, and Shaun Rogers, national championship men’s team member.

Closing out the first half of the shows will be Tiffany Scott and Rusty Fein, national championship pairs pewter medalist, and Meissner.

After intermission, skaters will be Kaela Pflumm and Chris Pottenger, national junior pairs pewter medalists; Geoffry Varner, junior men’s bronze medalist and junior world team member; Melissa Bulanhagui, national junior ladies bronze medalist; and Jordan Miller, national junior men’s silver medalist.

They will be followed by Bridget Namiotka and John Coughlin, national junior pairs silver medalists and junior world team members; and Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, who finished fifth in dance at the national championships.

Scott and Fein will then take to the ice for a second time, with Meissner capping the exhibition.

Recognized during the show but unable to skate will be Christine Zukowski, sixth-place finisher in the national championship ladies competition and junior world team member who will be competing in the Four Continents Championships, to be held Jan. 23-29 at Colorado Springs, Colo.

The show is sponsored by the University of Delaware, the News Journal and Skatebuys.

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