The figure skating club finished in fifth place at the 2010 Intercollegiate Figure Skating championships that were held at the University of Delaware in April.

DU was one of only nine teams that qualified for the championships.

Captain and junior Jenna Walton, senior Cristina Tuso and junior Hannah Falvey were outstanding performers on the team  who competed against schools with stronger and more intense figure skating programs.

“The best teams we competed against were Boston University, which won the national title this year and the University of Delaware,” said Walton. “Those teams function like varsity sports, so for our team, one that focuses on having fun, to be able to hold our own against them was a great achievement for us.”

In addition to Boston and Delaware, the Pioneers competed against Dartmouth College, University of Miami of Ohio, University of Wisconsin, Colorado College, North Lake College and Indiana University.

The championships were held over two periods, requring competitors to spend more than 20 hours at the rink, according to Falvey. The team competed in short, long, ice dance and team maneuvers.

“It is the best placement in the history of our team,” said Walton about DU gaining fifth place. “Our athletes gave some of their best performances and the competition itself was a great bonding experience.”

One of the members of the skating club is Karen Scarpela, a 48-year-old graduate student who is working on a doctorate in social work. About two years ago Scarpela had a stroke and since has used skating as physical therapy.

“She has said that skating has been the best thing to happen to her since the incident,” said Falvey. “She is always eager to get out there on the ice to practice and help out with any part of our team.”

Falvey also said that Scarpela is a great asset on and off the ice because she adds leadership and a veteran element that inspires the younger skaters.

As a team leader, Walton should have shouldered most of the leadership burden, however she says that the team had several leaders who made her job easy.

In fact, the captain had a hard time naming one contributor, or star performer.

“So many girls stepped up to the plate to bring the team together,” said Walton. “It’s hard to pick out a few ‘star athletes’ when everyone really did their part to make us as competitive as possible.”

Of the team’s 20 members, only 16 are active to compete in competitions and most members  practice on their own.

The individuality of figure skating makes team training almost impractical. According to Walton, every member of the team trains at different times and at different intensities.

“Most girls skate every day of the week for at least one hour, if not more,” said Walton. “Many girls do off ice training in the gym and for the most part, improvement and growth is something that is very individual.”

Despite the individuality of the sport, one of the elements behind the team’s success is strong team unity, said Walton.

According to Falvey, most of the girls on the team had been skating individually before coming to college.

“Figure skating is an individual sport,” said Falvey. “Now having 15 other teammates is a new and exciting experience.”

“We get along so well, the figure skating team is really like a family,” said Walton. “All of the girls are friends on and off the ice, this sense of cohesion really helped motivate the girls to strive for the same goals and help each other along the way.”

Although the team will lose several members to graduation, there will be 12 women who will return  next season.

 The returning members are Walton, Hoberecht, Falvey, Jessica Williams, Kailaini Smith, Lisa Moore, Alicia Prince, Eungie Kwon, Claire Delahorne, Chelsea Rebro, Paulina Filus and Sam Fenwick.

The large group that returns holds the responsibility of building off what this year’s team accomplished at the figure skating championships.

According to Falvey the loss of the seniors will give the underclassmen the ability to step in and fill some leadership roles that are now vacant.

“All we have to do is stay focused on our training so we can be as prepared as we can be for all our competitions,” said Falvey.