On Saturday, the Dartmouth figure skating team placed second at the first eastern qualifying meet of the 2002-2003 collegiate season at the University of Delaware.
Dartmouth scored 73 points behind the University of Delaware (89 points) with Cornell University (62 points) in third place.
The competition was neck and neck, as Dartmouth and Cornell were within a few points of one another until the end, when Dartmouth took the lead in the final events.
"The competition was really close all day and we owe it to the skaters who competed at the very end for pulling us ahead," co-captain Ariel Stern-Markovitz '05 said.
The scoring system for collegiate figure skating allows for both team and individual success, as each skater can skate in both individual and team events.
In a given event, a skater can receive anywhere from one point for a fifth-place finish to five points for taking first place. A team's point total determines the placement of the school at the meet.
The Dartmouth team had several highlight performances with co-captain Paola Peacock '03 placing first in the intermediate short program and fourth in intermediate ladies long program.
Stern-Markovitz placed second in both junior short and long programs and first in pre-intermediate B Dance. Katherine Collins '06 won second in Gold Dance and Lydia Gokey '06 and Tricia Shalka '05 won first and second respectively in Senior Dance.
Victoria Lee '05 placed first in pre-intermediate C compulsory moves and second in pre-intermediate C long program.
Other notable performances were Taylor Grant '06, with fourth-place finishes in senior short and long programs and first in pre-intermediate A dance, while Rebecca Bruccoleri '05 took fourth in novice long.
Graduate student Liz Colangelo added a third-place finish in pre-intermediate C compulsory moves, and Meg Thering '05 took third in the pre-intermediate B long program.
The coaches were pleased with the team.
"I really admired the team because we had a long trip, and had skated less before the meet than other teams, but it was a really wonderful performance," Coach Michael McGean '49 said.
His daughter, Loren McGean concurred.
"The Dartmouth girls had a wonderful spirit, and were well disciplined, focused, and worked well as a team."
The team looks forward to the following qualifying meets and Cornell and Boston University winter term and hopes to secure a spot for collegiate nationals to be held at Denver University in Colorado.
The top three teams in the eastern conference go on to nationals, and with Saturday's skate, Dartmouth is in good shape to meet that goal. Only time will tell if the Dartmouth skaters can build on their performance at Delaware and move on to national competition.
Rebecca Bruccoleri '05 is a member of the Dartmouth figure skating team.
