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April 8, 2002
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MIAMI TO REPRESENT U.S. AT WORLD SYNCHRONIZED CHAMPIONSHIPS: With a silver-medal finish at February's Chevrolet U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships, held in Lake Placid, N.Y., Miami University's synchronized skating team has earned the right to represent the United States in the International Skating Union's World Synchronized Championships for the fourth time in five years.
Miami, which will be making its fifth overall appearance at the World Synchronized Championships since 1996, garnered the honor by finishing second to the two-time defending U.S. Champion Haydenettes.
The Red and White led off with a strong showing in the short program, meriting seven second-place and two third-place ordinals from the panel of nine judges to finish close behind the Haydenettes. The Haydenettes garnered all nine first-place ordinals in the short program.
Despite a solid performance in the free program, Miami could not overcome a stellar performance by the Haydenettes that netted all nine first-place ordinals in the long program, completing a perfect showing at the competition. Miami, which has finished in the top three at every U.S. Championship since 1994, netted scores ranging from 5.6 to 5.9 in the program while capturing five second-place, three third-place and one fourth-place ordinal in the final event.
MIAMI VERSUS THE WORLD: Miami's synchronized skating team made its first appearance in world competition in 1996 and is making its fifth appearance overall. Miami cracked the top 10 for the first time in 1998 with an eighth-place finish at Bordeaux, France, and earned its highest finish in 1999 when it placed sixth in the world at Goteborg, Sweden.
Miami is the only varsity college team competing at the senior level and the only college team to compete in the world championships. Last season's competition in Helsinki, Finland, drew at total of 21 teams from 16 nations. This year's competition is going to upstage that mark with 24 teams.
MAKEUP OF A WORLD CONTENDER: Miami's 2001-02 synchronized skating team is a diverse group that has united to form what is arguably one of the best teams in the program's history. In all, 11 different states, ranging from as far south as Florida, as far west as California and as far east as Massachusetts, are represented on Miami's roster. Ohio is the most well-represented state on the RedHawk roster with six natives competing, while Michigan has five representing its borders.
WHERE TO FIND RESULTS?: The RedHawk faithful can find results of this weekend's ISU World Synchronized Championships on two sights on the World Wide Web. Complete results are available at www.isu.org, while Miami-specific results will be linked at Miami's website, www.MURedHawks.com.
LOOKING AT THE 2001-02 SEASON: Head coach Vicki Korn and assistant Bonnie Grosel have guided Miami to two first-place finishes this season, including this weekends' berth at the world championships.
The Red and White opened the season with a dominant win at the seventh annual Dr. Richard Porter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich. Miami finished in front of seven of the top teams in the U.S., including four which compete on the international circuit.
The month of January also was fruitful for Miami as it claimed another first-place showing, this time at the Mid-American Competition in Dearborn, Mich. The RedHawks won the event, hosted by the Dearborn Figure Skating Club, by finishing second in the short program and dominating the long program.
From there, Miami endured its lowest finish at its first international competition of the season, placing eighth at the French Cup International in Rouen.
After its disappointing performance in France, Miami concluded its season on American soil at the Chevrolet U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. The RedHawks qualified for their fourth world championship appearance with a second-place showing at the U.S. Championships. Also representing the U.S. in Rouen, France are the Haydenettes.
In all, Miami returns 12 skaters from last season's team team that earned the silver at the U.S. Championships. The entire team, including its five newcomers, has attained gold-medal classification in at least one realm of the figure skating structure.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Taking over the captain duties this season for the RedHawks is a triad of accomplished skaters in senior Carla DeGirolamo (North Royalton, Ohio/Holy Name), junior Sarah Danielson (Princeton, N.J./Princeton Day) and sophomore Heather Paige (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich). DeGirolamo is serving her second term as captain, while both Danielson and Paige are captaining for the first time in their Miami careers.
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