PEORIA, Ill. – The Trine University Collegiate Synchronized Skating Team broke another school record at the 2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, placing fourth against the country's best and earning the title of National Pewter Medalists in their final competition of the season.
This is a huge step forward from last year's eighth place ranking and is even more impressive considering this is only the team's third season competing in the Collegiate division.
The team travelled by bus to Peoria and had strong unofficial practices on Thursday and Friday before competition on Saturday. Their official practice on Saturday morning was composed and confident, setting them up for a great performance later in the evening.
"When it came time to compete, the team was ready" said Head Coach Rachel Franchock, "The girls took the ice with pride and confidence because we prepared diligently for this exact moment. I believe the team was able to execute such a strong performance under national pressure because we took training more seriously this season, and clearly their effort paid off!"
A crowd of Trine supporters cheered them on from the stands as they set in their opening position for their James Bond themed program. Skating to a melody of songs from those classic movies, the Trine Collegiate Team executed their program to the best of their ability. They earned full calls on many of their elements, including level four and level three intersections and earned an impressive total of 90.58 points – a personal best for team.
"Skating our program on National ice felt amazing because we had worked so hard to skate fully unified as a team this season" shared Senior Elizabeth Carley, "Standing in the kiss and cry, holding our breath, waiting to see if we made our goal for the season is a moment I will never forget. When they finally announced our scores, and we saw that we accomplished what we set out for, the happy tears started streaming and everything felt like it fell into place."
This year has marked many record accomplishments for all Trine University's Synchronized Skating Teams. All three medaled at the Midwest Sectional Championships (Open-Adult second, Open-Collegiate fourth, and Collegiate third) with Collegiate earning their first sectional medal and Open-Adult earning their highest placement in program history.
There is still one more opportunity to see The Thunder's synchronized skating stars in action this year. The Trine Skating Ice Show & Senior Night is set to be held on Saturday, April 22 and will be open to the public. There will be performances from the synchro teams as well as individual skaters and a several small group numbers.
2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships final scores:
Miami University: 104.61
University of Michigan: 92.61
Western Michigan University: 91.43
Trine University: 90.58
Adrian College: 90.48
University of Delaware: 87.70
Michigan State University: 81.11
Team Excel: 79.82
University of Illinois: 70.47
Boston University: 59.13
Boston College: 55.39
University of Massachusetts: Withdrew