The University of Michigan Synchronized Skating Team is pleased to announce that Erin Donovan will
be the head coach for the 2009-2010 season. An accomplished skater and coach, Erin is currently the director of the Hockettes Synchronized
Skating Program. Erin skated for the Miami Varsity Senior Team for 4 years during her undergraduate years. Our team is looking forward to a
great season with Erin!
Michigan places 7th at Nationals
The Wolverines wrapped up their season in Portland taking
seventh at Nationals this past weekend. Miami University
skated away with the title, scoring 100.63 points to beat
out runners-up University of Illinois by over 14 points.
Place
Name
Points
1 Miami Univ Collegiate(C), Miami University
100.63
2 Univ of Illinois(C), Univ of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign 86.79
3 Michigan State Univ Team(C), Michigan State
University 85.79
4 University of Delaware(C), University of Delaware
FSC 85.36
5 Indiana Univ Team(C), Indiana University
79.64
6 Western Michigan Univ(C), Western Michigan Univ SC
74.29
7 University of Michigan(C), University of Michigan SC
71.75
8 Boston Univ Terrierettes(C), Boston University
71.38
9 The Colonials(C), Colonial FSC 66.20
10 Univ of New Hampshire(C), University of New
Hampshire 61.14
11 Cornell University(C), Cornell University
60.14
12 Ice Effects(C), Oswego State University of NY
57.21
Nationals was a really exciting competition. Many of the
teams scored
much differently than in previous seasons, showing how
quickly the
collegiate division is growing and changing. Our team
practiced great
all week and had a strong skate with one fall. Although we
wish the
marks would have gone more favorably, we are proud of how we
finished
off the season.
-Annie Kirkpatrick
Meet-a-Skater #2: Katie Pynnonen
Click HERE to get to meet
Michigan Senior, Katie Pynnonen.
Announcing: Wolverine Weekend
On Friday, March 20th the Michigan Synchronized Skating Team
will host prospective high school skaters for an inside look
at a day in the life of a collegiate skater. The day begins
with a tour of campus, followed by lunch in a dorm
cafeteria. After lunch, the tour continues with a trip to a
dorm and a sorority house. Skaters will then have an
opportunity to participate in a question and answer session
with the team and head coach, Ashley Diederich. The day
concludes with the Winter Ice Show where perspective skaters
can catch the collegiate team in action at Yost Ice Arena.
If you are a high school skater and are interested in
attending, please send us an
email with your name, grade, and high school
Michigan narrowly edged out Adrian, scoring 68.82, just 0.75
ahead of the Bulldogs to take the Tri-State Competition
Championship in Dearborn, Michigan on Saturday, February
14th. Michigan will next take the ice the first week of
March in Portland, Maine for the National Championships
Meet-a-Skater: Annie Kirkpatrick
Get to know Michigan's Team President a little bit better
through our "Meet-a-Skater"
feature.
Michigan Takes Fifth at Midwestern Sectional
Championships
Boulder, CO--The University of Michigan Synchronized Skating
Team traveled to Boulder, Colorado, finishing in fifth place at the Midwestern
Sectional Championships. For the second weekend in a row,
Michigan State claimed the top spot, scoring 88.38 points.
Just as the weekend before, Western Michigan finished as the
runners up with a score of 81.16. Indiana University and
University of Illinois rounded out the top four.
Michigan received a score of 73.31 to edge out Adrian
College for fifth place. The Wolverines tally included a
four point improvement in the skating skill and artistic
interpretation from their last competition. "The team skated
a great program. Unfortunately the overall marks didn't go
our way," reflected Team President, Annie Kirkpatrick. The
team took a lot out of the competition, she continued, "We
are getting a lot of judge feedback from now until nationals
in order to make the changes we need to score higher."
Michigan will next be in action on Valentines Day (2/14) at
the Tri-State Competition in Dearborn, MI
Michigan Takes Fifth at Mid-America
Competition
Fraser, MI--The University of Michigan Synchronized Skating
Team took fifth place at the Mid American Competition held
in Fraser, MI. It was a return to familiar ice for many
Wolverines, as several have skated for Fraser Skating Club
in the past including Head Coach, Ashley Diederich.
Michigan State posted a score of 89.15 to top the six
collegiate teams in the competition. Western Michigan
finished in second place, 14 points behind the Spartans.
Indiana received a score of 74.56 to round out the top
three.
While the team was disappointed with the fifth place finish,
they remain optimistic for the upcoming Midwestern Regional
Championships as the scores for second through fifth place
were all very close. Although Michigan placed fifth, they
were just five points behind second place WMU.
Next up for the Wolverines is a trip to Boulder, CO to
participate in the Midwestern Sectional Championships
January 29-31. Michigan will compete against Adrian College,
Indiana University, Michigan State University, University of
Illinois, Western Michigan University, and (BYE) Miami
University in the Collegiate Division.
Videos of UMSST in action are now available. Check out the video
from the Kalamazoo Competition, Porter Competition and
Winter Ice Show by
clicking the videos link on the yellow sidebar to the left.
Introducing the President's Podcast!
From time-to-time I will be posting podcasts from Team
President, Annie Kirkpatrick. The first installment is now
available for listening by clicking
here.
UMSST Places 6th in Porter Competition
12/7/2008
Ann Arbor, MI-- The University of Michigan Synchronized
Skating Team finished in sixth place at the annual
Dr. Richard Porter Synchronized Skating Classic held at
the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The competition brought in skaters
from all over the country, representing 161 different teams
competing in 21 different divisions over two days.
Michigan skated to a selection of music from the film,
National Treasure. The routine yielded a score of 72.47.
Miami University, a varsity program, coasted to the first
place title with a score of 101.2. Finishing second and
third were Michigan State and University of Delaware with
scores of 80.01 and 77.33 respectively.
The scores for places 2nd through 6th were very close with
less than eight points separating sixth place Michigan from
2nd place Michigan State. This provided a sign of
encouragement to the team as the prepare for Mid-Americas in
January. "They were pretty close scores, so we're excited to
see how the rest of the season works out," said Team
President, Annie Kirkpatrick after the competition.
The team will have the next month to practice before
competing in Mid-Americas, held at Belle Tire Arena in
Fraser, Michigan. Many Wolverines have links to Fraser, MI.
Kirkpatrick,
Emily Hammond,
Erin Collins, and Head
Coach, Ashley Diederich all
skated for Fraser at some point in their careers.
December Newsletter Now Available
The December newsletter has been distributed. If you did not
receive a copy and would like one, please send me an
email.
I will be archiving all of the newsletters on this site
which you can access via the E-Newsletters link on the left
sidebar.
Media Guide Now Available Online
Those who attended the Winter Ice Show had the chance to
pick up a copy of the 2008-09 UMSST Media Guide. For those
who were unable to attend or no longer have their copy, the
media guide can be accessed here:
Synchro team opens competitive season at
Kalamazaoo Kick-Off Competition
November 22nd, 2008.
Kalamazoo, MI --The
University of Michigan Synchronized Skating Team finished as
the runners up on Saturday evening in Kalamazoo, MI. The
Wolverines finished with 66.78 points, behind the first
place Indiana University's 70.22. The University of Illinois
rounded out the top three, receiving a score of 65.42.
UMSST
thrills fans at Winter Ice Show
The University of Michigan Synchronized Skating Team with
their "I Love the Decades" themed show. The UMFSC officers (Jennie
Bander, Emily Hammond,
Annie Kirkpatrick,
Ann Lesnefsky, and
Katie Pynnonen) began the
show with a Boy Bands/Brittney Spears medley. The 60's were
represented by Chelsea
Lindblad's solo routine skated to "Drive My Car," by the
Beatles. Next up was Courtney
Canada, skating to Journey's "Open Arms."
Juliana Bailey followed
skating a routine to Thurston Harris's "Little Bitty, Pretty
One." To close out Act I, Ann
Lesnefsky performed to "Porgey and Bess" by George
Gershwin.
Act II began with the Synchro Team performing their
competition routine to music from the movie "Natural
Treasure." The next group to go were the sophomores (Baily,
Canada, Jacki Fisscus,
Lindblad, Shannon McDevitt,
and Nikki Wylan). To close out
the show, the UMSST upperclassman (Kiersten
Busse, Erin Collins,
Hammond, Kirkpatrick, Lesnefsky, Pynnonen,
Kristel Travis, and
Mackenzie Vaillancourt)
entertained the crowd to a Tina Turner medley.
Announcing UMSST E-Newsletter
The Synchronized Skating Team will be publishing a bi-weekly
newsletter for all who are interested. The newsletter will
have features on some of the skaters, skater and coach
interviews, as well as alumni updates. This is an excellent
way to stay informed with how the season is progressing. If
you would like to receive the news-letter,
click here.
UMSST to make home season Debut
The Synchronized Skating
Team will be performing during the Michigan vs. Western
Michigan Hockey game 11/14. The team will be previewing a
segment of their competition program between the first and
second periods of the game. Tickets are still available for
the game which will be held at Yost Ice Arena.
Announcing our new
Coach!
Ashley Diederich is the new head coach
of the synchronized skating team. Ashley is relatively new to coaching but she brings with her four years of skating experience with Miami University's Senior Synchronized Skating Team.
Support Michigan Synchronized Skating!
Click on the link below to make a donation to the synchronized skating fund.
Rules
Update:
This season, Collegiate teams
will compete under the new judging system. All rules can be found on
the USFS
& ISU
websites.
Alumni
Network: Former U
of M Synchronized Team and UMFSC members:
please send us your e-mail and/or mailing
address to receive updates on the program.