Miami University
U.S. National Championships
NATIONAL TITLE SATURDAY: Miami Senior Team Wins Gold
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
March 7, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine--Making it a gold medal day for Miami University synchronized skating, the RedHawk senior team inched out a first-place finish at the 2009 U.S. National Synchronized Skating Championships on Saturday evening. It marked the third national title for the Miami senior team and their first since 2005-06.
Earlier in the day, Miami's collegiate team also captured gold, winning their fifth-straight national title and the 11th in overall at the collegiate division. (Collegiate Recap)
Needing a top-two finish at the national championships, the RedHawk senior team has earned their fourth consecutive World Championship berth. Miami and the Haydenettes will represent the United States at the 2009 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, April 2-4.
Despite three falls, Miami still produced the second-best score in the free skate competition, which was enough to hold onto first place by a slim 0.75 points. On Friday, Miami took a commanding lead in the senior division with a score of 77.0 for the short program. For its free skate program, which was skated to the music of Swan Lake, Miami posted a program component score of 62.74 and a technical element score of 67.98. With the deductions, Miami finished with a score of 127.72 for its free skate program, trailing the Haydenettes, who amassed a free skate score of 137.43. The Crystallettes posted a free skate score of 118.32 to finish third.
Miami compiled a combined score of 204.72 for the competition, edging the Haydenettes (203.97). The Crystallettes finished third (184.10).
"The senior team did a fabulous job last night; they were right on their game for the short program," said head coach Vicki Korn. "We were a little tentative tonight. They say it's not over until it's over, and we had two falls in the last 10 seconds of the program, but we were able to pull it out in the end. I think this will drive them to go out and really perform this program when we compete at the World Championships in Zagreb.""In 1992, we competed here (at the national championships) for the first time in the junior division and placed sixth. It is really exciting to be here today winning two gold medals in the senior and collegiate divisions," added Korn on Miami's success at the 2009 U.S. National Synchronized Skating Championships.
