Highlights of the weekend include first-place finishes from multiple Big Green skaters. Katherine Kalaris '07 placed first in the junior ladies' long program, and Nicole Newman '08 won the senior ladies' long program. Both events are considered among the most difficult in the competition. Graduate student Cynthia Chen won the novice short program, Hallie Damon '08 finished first in the intermediate long program, and Tegan Vey '07 placed first in the preliminary free skate. In ice dancing, Dartmouth dominated the long program, with Holly Ponichtera '07 finishing first and Vay coming in second.
"I'm really pleased with the way we have been skating," Kalaris said. "There was a lot of pressure with this being on our home ice. I was really impressed with everyone."
"There were no surprises, which is a good thing," Newman said of the results of the competition. "The team worked hard and came out placing where we wanted to be. I guess me winning was a surprise."
"Nicole and I were really shocked and surprised that we won," Kalaris said.
With their respective victories, Kalaris and Newman will be inducted into Dartmouth's prestigious Wearers of the Green, a society formed in 1984 to honor the College's best athletes.
The intercollegiate championships is the annual culminating event in college figure skating, in which the three best teams from each of the nation's three conferences compete. Dartmouth qualified for the championship by placing first in the Eastern Conference. The other Eastern Conference colleges competing were Delaware and Boston University. From the Midwestern Conference, Indiana, Michigan State and Miami University competed; the University of Denver, California-Berkeley and San Jose State competed from the Pacific Coast Conference.
"We hadn't competed against Indiana all season, since they are not in our region," Newman said. "I was surprised to see them do so well."
Typically, Dartmouth would have to travel to compete in the national championships, but the team was blessed to have the event held in Hanover for the first time.
"It's been wonderful not having to travel," Kalaris said.
"At first, I was nervous having it held here, but now I realize that the people just want to cheer us on," Newman said.
"For the '07s, it's nice having our last competition here," Kalaris said.
"You also appreciate, with this being the first competition at Dartmouth, all of the effort that goes into holding a competition," Newman said. "We had two jobs this weekend, competing and hosting."
Having the competition at Dartmouth also meant that Coach Mike McGean '49 would be able to watch his team compete for the title.
"Because of his health, Coach McGean couldn't travel with us this season," Newman said. "The fact that he could be here really makes a difference. Every national championship is special, but this one is more special."
"We're skating for him," Kalaris said of Coach McGean.
The competition included freestyle skating on Saturday, followed by ice dancing on Sunday. The main difference between the two types of skating is that freestyle skating allows spins and jumps, which are not permitted in ice dancing. Freestyle had seven separate levels of competition at the championship, and ice dancing consisted of eight.
The top five finishers at each level would earn points for their respective teams, with more points going to higher finishes. A panel of five judges evaluated the skaters.
The Dartmouth figure skating team was formed in 1997 and has taken less than a decade to become the premiere collegiate skating team.
"Dartmouth has attracted a lot of strong skaters, people who really love skating and want to keep skating in college," Kalaris said.
The team has qualified for the national championships every year since 2000, with its first victory coming in 2004, though the competition has increased over recent years.
"Every year, there are more and more skaters," Kalaris said. "A lot more teams are forming."
For now, however, Dartmouth figure skating remains the team to be beaten and will vie for a fifth straight title in 2008.
