2017 U.S. SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
MASTERS
Back row (l-r) DC EDGE’s Kelly Adams, Erika Nizborski, Emily Bank, Diane Miner, Caitlin Roman, Kerry Monaco, Lisa Burnham, Kim Menhinick, Kristin Huppi, Miia Rasinen, Michelle Daichman; front row (l-r) Lindsay Ferrer, Lyn Witt, Rebecca Lambeth, Shira Selis, Christine Burke, Alix Szostak
‘ENERGY AND SASS’
DC EDGE claims
gold again BY MICHAEL TERRY
Performing to a Blues Brothers theme, DC
EDGE skaters (Washington FSC) repeated as masters champion with a 5/1 majority. “Our performance was absolutely the best skate of the season,” coach Jennifer DeSimone said. “Te skaters really got into the character and sold the program. Tey performed with a ton of energy and sass, and it was so much fun to watch. I could tell they were having fun out there and enjoying their moment, which is all you can ask for as a coach.” DeSimone said that this season has been one of ups and downs, with typical adult issues such as babies and job relocations, but that the team came together in the last few weeks after a
slow start to the season. “We’ve really gelled as a team and found some consistency [recently],” skater Lindsay Ferrer said. “We peaked at the right time.” Ferrer has been skating since she was a child, but this was her first year back on the ice after having a baby. Allegro! won the silver medal, earning eight second-place or higher ordinals by bring- ing reality television to the ice, skating a cleverly choreographed program depicting the popular television show “Te Bachelor.” “We knew that we had a strong male
skater and we wanted to tell a story this year,” coach Carrie Brown said of the program. “It was
a great skate. It was everything we wanted and trained for all year.”
Te team carried the theme with them off the ice too, awarding roses to each practice’s best skater and using the theme at various team functions.
ty.
Teir season, too, was not without adversi- After starting the campaign strong, two
Allegro! skaters suffered injuries, one being the team’s lone male skater, who was the center of the program. Christopher Klaft took off the month of December. “We didn’t even know as of [Midwestern
Sectionals] if we would be able to compete with a full team,” Brown said. “In the last month, we have really gelled so we’re thrilled.” Mandy Fox, who has been skating syn-
chronized for 11 years, enjoyed skating on the national stage. “It was amazing,” Fox said. “Te crowd
was awesome and the ice was great. We’ve been looking forward to this for so long.” Team Delaware (University of Delaware
FSC), coached by Megan O’Donnell and Wen- dy Deppe, earned the bronze medal with five fourth-place or higher ordinals. Team Delaware performed to a girl power-themed program. “We worked hard this season to create a
program for our skaters that would entertain not only the judges, but the audience as well,” O’Donnell said. “It was so nice to see [the team] go out at nationals and skate with guts, heart and determination.” Esprit de Corps (Hayden Recreation Cen-
tre FSC), skated a party program and finished fourth with five fourth-place ordinals or higher.
SKATING 25
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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