The Skyliners highlighted the second day of competition at the 2020 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Providence, Rhode Island, as they took home their fourth consecutive junior title at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Additionally, Ice Mates won the intermediate title and the Haydenettes lead the senior field after the short program.
JUNIOR
The Skyliners (SC of New York) crushed their previous season’s best in their winning free skate, scoring 129.83 to top their previous best by over nine points. The four-time reigning U.S. junior champions cracked the 200 mark, tallying 200.51 points overall. Their free skate to music from Moulin Rouge scored six Level 4 elements, with grades of execution ranging from 1.43 to 2.60 for their eight elements. The Skyliners cleared the field by over 16 points.
“I think it went really well,” said Skyliners skater Mia Sparks. “At each competition this season we have done one thing better, but we still have been working on our past mistakes and I think here it all culminated together. Everything we worked hard for and everything we have been working for in our practices finally came together.”
Teams Elite (Individual Member) rallied from their third-place short program to win the silver medal in Providence. They also had a season’s best free skate, scoring 122.46 to collect 184.08 total points. Their rendition of “The Sound of Silence” notched four Level 4 elements and had solid grades of execution ranging from 1.26-2.14. In just their second year at the junior level, the team has collected bronze (2019) and silver (2020) medals.
Both the Skyliners and Teams Elite will represent the U.S. at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2020 next week in Nottingham, Great Britain.
Winning the bronze medal, the Starlights (Individual Member) scored 115.41 for their free skate and 177.81 points overall. Their free skate inspired by “Cinderella at the Ball” received all positive grades of execution and four Level 4 elements.
Also rallying back after the short program, the Lexettes (Hayden Recreation Centre FSC) finished third in the free skate with 119.19 points to jump from sixth to fourth place and secure the pewter medal with 174.04 points overall. Their season’s best free skate to “Music Was My First Love” by John Miles received a program components score of 60.50.
INTERMEDIATE
The Ice Mates (Hayden Recreation Centre FSC) won their second straight intermediate title on Friday afternoon in Providence. The Massachusetts-based team scored a season-high 72.55 points, crushing their score from the Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships (64.90). In their free skate titled “We are the World,” they received three Level 4 elements, including a traveling wheel which was their highest scoring element (5.90).
“I think my biggest takeaway is that if you work really hard, you will get the outcome that you want,” said Katie Chen, an Ice Mates skater. “Throughout this year (my teammates) inspired me to work harder. Every single practice it felt like we got something done, so being able to put it together today was really awesome.”
In second place, the Capital Ice Chips (Bismarck FSC) scored 67.84 points to win the silver medal. Last season, the North Dakota-based team missed the top three by just .08 point. Their season’s best skate with an “Amber Alert” theme earned 29.95 points for program components and was awarded Level 4 marks for the traveling wheel, no-hold and move elements. They received all positive grades of execution.
Teams Elite (Individual Member) won the bronze medal with 65.01 points. Skating to a Queen medley, the Illinois-based team opened with a strong Level 4 move element that received 7.80 points and was the highest scoring element. Last season, Teams Elite finished second in Plymouth, Michigan.
Winning the pewter medal, the Starlights (Individual Member) scored 52.82 points for their free skate, which had a “Battle of the Genders” theme. The team closed their program with a Level 4 traveling circle.
SENIOR
The Haydenettes (Hayden Recreation Centre FSC) lead after the short program with 73.68, a new season’s best. The 27-time U.S. champions skated to “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion and received Level 4 marks for four out of five elements. Their opening intersection received 9.96 points and was their highest scoring element. The Haydenettes have a five-point lead going into Saturday’s free skate.
“I think it went really well,” said Haydenettes skater Cameron Feeley. “I think (the program) showed our strength, our power and our growth since French Cup. We skated well there, but I think we were really looking to give that really passionate skate again like we had at California Cup. I think we were able to do that tonight and we improved on our technical score as well.”
In second place after the short program, the Skyliners (SC of New York) scored 68.45 points for their Warrior-themed skate. The 2019 U.S. silver medalists had all positive grades of execution and received 34.55 points for their program components. Their Level 3 intersection received 8.73 points and was their highest element.
The Crystallettes (Dearborn FSC) are in third place with 67.59 points following the short program. Their program to “Amen” by Natalie Taylor was awarded Level 4 marks for three elements, including their closing no-hold-step sequence that received 8.36 points.
Miami University Senior Varsity (Miami University) sits in fourth place with 64.49 points. They skated to "Amazing Grace" by J2 featuring Chelsea Caroline and closed their program with a Level 4 traveling circle and Level 4 no-hold element.
Adrian College Varsity (Adrian College) is in fifth place with 61.62 points.
The 2020 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships concludes tomorrow with the juvenile, adult, collegiate and senior free skates. The collegiate and senior competition will be live and on-demand on NBC Sports Gold’s Figure Skating Pass, while the juvenile and adult competition will be available on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone’s Video Corner.
Full Results
