Lady Flames figure skating qualifies for nationals for fifth year in a row

Friday, March 14

Newark, DE

5:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Delaware

Liberty honored its five graduating senior figure skaters (from left) Katie Williams, Greta Snukis, co-captains Rachel Berger and Emma Richards, and Shae Stewart over the weekend at Delaware. (Photo by Ken Kalbach)

Lady Flames figure skating qualifies for nationals for fifth year in a row

3/24/2025 2:33:00 PM | Figure Skating

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Liberty moved up from fourth place to second out of 24 teams represented at the third and final Southeast Sectional competitions on the third and final day at Delaware.

Gallery: (3-24-2025) Figure skating from Delaware

Liberty University's figure skating team competed at the Blue Hen Classic hosted by the University of Delaware at Fred Rust Arena over the weekend of March 14-16 and finished in second place out of 24 teams overall with 243 points.

The team finished the regular season ranked second overall in the Southeast Section, behind only the Blue Hens, which won the sectional competition with 287 points, and ahead of the University of Pennsylvania (third, 234 points) and Penn State University (fourth, 231.5). Those four universities qualified for the U.S. Figure Skating National Intercollegiate Finals to be hosted by the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., from April 11-13.

At Delaware, sophomore Rachel Duncan captured a gold medal in the Pre-Preliminary Free Skate, winning that event in all three Southeastern Conference Competitions this season.

Lady Flames sophomore Amber Banghart took first place in Group A of Juvenile Solo Free Dance and senior Rachel Berger landed in third in Group B while all of the Liberty skaters who were competing in Aspire 3 finished on the podium. Junior Dani Martinez placed third in Group A, and juniors Emma Zajonc and Anna Holloway finished first and third, respectively, in Group B. Senior Greta Snukis placed third out of eight skaters in the Juvenile short program and third out of nine in Group A of the Juvenile Free Skate division.

"This weekend highlighted the huge improvement Greta has made from last season to this season," Liberty Head Coach Courtney Kirschke said.

Freshmen Ava Basler and Macy Clemons excelled in Preliminary Plus Free Skate, earning gold and bronze medals,, respectively. Senior Emma Richards finished runner-up out of seven skaters in the Intermediate short program.

At the beginning of the third and final day of competition, Liberty was sitting in fourth place before surging into the second position with a series of solid performances. Banghart and freshman Maggie Duhaime both won gold in Preliminary Free Skate Groups B and C, respectively, and Richards won the Intermediate Free Skate. Berger also won Group B of the Juvenile Free Skate. In the very last event of the competition, the Intermediate Team Maneuvers quartet featuring Berger, junior Taylor Nordquist, Richards, and Snukis won gold for the first time this season, securing Liberty's second-place team finish.

"Our starts for the day thrived under the pressure, proved their consistency, and brought in a good amount of points" Kirschke said.

In preparation for nationals, Liberty's individual skaters and team maneuver teams are working on increasing the difficulty of their programs and polishing some inconsistent elements that Kirschke and her staff observed over the weekend.

By Amory Doyle/Staff Writer