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UD’s Meissner captures silver, named Olympian 5:39 p.m., Jan. 15, 2006--Kimmie Meissner of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club has been named to the U.S. Olympic team and will compete in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Meissner, 16, was named to the team after winning the silver medal at the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a stellar performance in the free skate Saturday night, Jan. 14, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. The Fallston (Md.) High School student was in fourth place after the short program but came on strong in the free skate to overtake Emily Hughes, who won the bronze. Sasha Cohen won the gold. In addition to Meissner, the Olympic team includes Michelle Kwan, who bowed out of nationals because of an injury but who was selected for the team nonetheless, and Cohen. The U.S. Figure Skating International Committee named Hughes a first alternate and Katy Taylor a second alternate. “The International Committee considered all of the relevant information and picked the best possible U.S. Olympic Team to represent the United States,” International Committee Chair Bob Horen said. “We believe that Sasha, Kimmie and Michelle will compete in a manner that will make our country proud.” “It’s just crazy,” Meissner said of earning a spot on the Olympic team. “I’ve been dreaming about this for a very long time. It’s just awesome.” “Kimmie skated great,” Jeff Schneider, athletic trainer at UD’s Ice Skating Science Development Center who was on hand at the Savvis Center, said. “She was very excited about her performance. Her goal was to go out there and skate the best she could, and let her performance determine her fate. She did a great job with it.” Meissner, who is coached by Pam Gregory, is scheduled to appear Monday morning, Jan. 16, on The Today Show on NBC. All around, the 2006 national championships were a rousing success for the UD team, which sent 31 competitors to St. Louis. In addition to Meissner winning silver in the senior ladies competition, UD’s Christine Zukowski finished sixth and earned a berth on the U.S. Junior World Team. UD had two other competitors in the senior ladies field, with Megan Williams-Stewart finishing 10th and Megan Oster finishing 14th. Also named to the U.S. Junior World Team were Geoff Varner, who won bronze in the junior men’s competition, and the pair team of Bridget Namiotka and John Coughlin, who won silver in the junior pair event. UD’s Jordan Miller won silver in the junior men’s competition. In competition Friday, UD’s Tiffany Scott and Rusty Fein finished fourth in the senior pair event with a strong free skate program, and Melissa Bulanhagui won bronze in the junior ladies event. |
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