Members of the Lady Flames synchronized skating team pose with their second-place poster flanked by Head Coach Hannah Pulley (left) and Assistant Coach Haley Gram (right).
Synchronized skaters excel at Eastern Sectional Championships in New Hampshire
1/23/2024 2:32:00 PM | Synchronized Skating
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Liberty placed second to Syracuse out of seven teams that included Princeton, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Vermont in its final Collegiate Open competition of the 2023-24 season.
Liberty University's synchronized skating team placed a strong second out of seven teams at Saturday's Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championships in Durham, N.H.
Skaters show their newly minted silver medals.
The Lady Flames finished second in the standings behind Syracuse and ahead of Princeton, New Hampshire, Mirror Images (an alumnae team from various collegiate programs), Maryland, and Vermont.
"Our skaters put their best foot forward this weekend and we are very proud of what they have accomplished at the Eastern Sectional Championships," Assistant Coach Haley Gram said. "This (event) had a different feeling as we were going into it, and we know God was with us through the entire weekend. With every step we took, we saw our God in the little and big things."
The Lady Flames had a large cheering section on hand that included several of the skaters' family members as well as founding figure skating and synchronized skating Head Coach Tatiana Payne, who now lives in the New England area.
Liberty second-year Head Coach Hannah Pulley said team members returned from their Christmas Breaks a few days early for four spring bootcamp practices at the LaHaye Ice Center, advancing their program and sharpening their skating skills in preparation for the Eastern Sectionals Championships.
Pulley and Gram pose with Tatiana Payne (center).
"These girls are one of a kind and are Champions for Christ on and off the ice," Pulley said. "I am very proud of the skate our skaters put out on the competition ice this past weekend in New Hampshire. Our team had the correct mindset going into this competition … by being intentional with every on- and off-ice run through. The most memorable moment this competition season for me was when we huddled up as a team and announced the competition results together. I will always remember the excitement and joy on the skaters' faces."
Saturday's event was the last competition of the season, and final of the careers of seniors Emma Rietveld and Jackie Hagar, since there is no U.S. Figure Skating Collegiate National Championships in the Open Collegiate division. The Lady Flames will perform again during an intermission of Liberty's ACHA Division I men's hockey team's game against Adrian College on Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center.
They will showcase their skills one last time in the spring semester during the annual PraiseFest on Ice on April 20 at 7 p.m. in the LIC.
Team members don some of the 14 knotted blankets they made for kids at Spring Boot Camp to give to The Linus Project Association.
