The 2021 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships welcomed more than 70 collegiate athletes from across the country to vie for a spot on the podium and a chance to earn scholarship money toward their academics. The two-day competition featured triple Axels, challenging spins and skater camaraderie on and off the ice.
Senior Ladies
In the largest field of the competition, Paige Rydberg took the gold with 175.25 points in her collegiate debut. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs student scored 110.12 points in her free skate to "Broken Vessels" by Hillsong Worship, which featured two Level 4 spins and a Level 4 step sequence.
"To come here and enjoy the experience was what my goal was and to see what it was all about," the 21-year-old said. "It was also my first time putting myself on because it was hard for my coaches to be here ... I think I learned a lot about that and myself."
Also making her Collegiate Championships debut is silver medalist Emma Coppess, who scored 143.16 total points. The rising sophomore at Long Beach City College opened her free skate to music from
Tales From The Loop and
Downton Abbey with a triple toe loop-double loop combination. The 19-year-old scored all positive grades of execution and earned Level 4 on two spins in her 97.30-point free skate.
"I feel proud that I went out there and accomplished what I needed to do in order to feel good about it," she said.
Bronze medalist Anna Li also made her collegiate debut at the event. The University of Texas at Austin incoming freshman scored 126.84 total points. Her 83.13-point free skate set to a waltz from
Anna Karenina scored all positive grades of execution.
"I felt a little nervous before I got on the ice, but once the music started playing I felt like I could enjoy it more," the 18-year-old said.
Kristine Levitina from Florida International University scored 126.56 total points to capture the pewter medal.
Senior Men
Suffolk University rising senior Ryan Dunk earned the gold medal with 193.31 points in his U.S. Collegiate Championships debut. In his 124.75-point free skate to music by David Bowie, the 20-year-old fell on his opening triple Axel but rallied to earn Level 4 marks on all three spins and his step sequence.
"I'm a little upset because I can do a lot better, but it got better as it went on, so I'm glad that I didn't give up," Dunk said. "I try to do well for myself first and foremost."
2019 U.S. Collegiate champion Joonsoo Kim captured the silver medal with 188.85 total points. Representing UCLA, the 21-year-old opened his free skate to "Nuages... en montagne" by Pierre Porte with a triple flip and earned Level 4s on two spins and his choreographic sequence to score 126.43 points. While Kim was disappointed in his free skate performance, he was grateful for the opportunity from U.S. Figure Skating to earn scholarship money toward paying his tuition.
"I'm not super pleased," Kim said. "This was the first time I was competing in a long time, so considering that, I have to take what I got."
Bronze medalist Luke Ferrante scored 112.49 points in his free skate to "Exogenisis" by Muse to score 164.92 total points in his Collegiate Championships debut. The 20-year-old opened with a three-jump double Axel combination and earned Level 4 marks on all three spins.
"I felt really proud of what I did," the University of Notre Dame rising junior said. "It's been two years since I've competed, so I was pleased to have gotten through a pretty clean program."
Paul Yeung (University of California Irvine) took the pewter medal with 164.03 total points.
Junior Ladies
Boston University rising sophomore Lily Rauh took the junior ladies title with 114.34 points in her Collegiate Championships debut. Despite falling out of a spin, the 20-year-old landed two double Axels and notched the highest technical score of the field to earn 69.60 points for her free skate to music from
The White Crow.
"I lost focus for a second, but then I tried to do my best to finish," she said. "But it feels good, especially since it's my first time."
Also making her Collegiate Championships debut was silver medalist Olivia Tennant, who scored 103.60 total points. The University of Delaware sophomore's 64.65-point free skate to music from
Romeo and Juliet featured two Level 4 spins and earned the highest program components mark of the event.
"It was nice to get back after COVID and after starting school, trying to balance doing work, doing skating and freshman year," the 18-year-old said. "Getting back on the ice and training was really fun."
Maya Jones, a student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, clinched the bronze medal with 103.18 points. The 20-year-old's free skate to "The Dying Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns scored 66.55 points. The program opened with a double Lutz-double toe loop combination and featured two Level 4 spins.
"It felt good. I just had one minor mistake," Jones said. "I competed two years ago at the last Championships and I had a lot of fun there. I got fourth there so I wanted to improve my placement."
Madelyn Lyons from Utah State University earned the pewter medal with 96.44 total points.
Junior Men
Goku Endo took home the gold medal with 159.21 points. The UCLA incoming freshman opened his 108.20-point free skate with a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and ended his program to "Cry Me a River" by Michael Buble with a Level 4 combination spin.
"I wanted to have fun since it's my first collegiate competition," he said. "Some teammates cheered me on, so that lifted my mood a lot."
Representing Thomas Nelson Community College, Kenneth Thomsen grabbed the silver medal with 82.93 total points. His 55.99-point free skate to "Melodramma" by Andrea Bocelli opened with a Level 2 change-foot camel spin and ended with a Level 2 flying sit spin.
"It was pretty good," he said. "I wanted to see myself improve since the last time I competed here. I definitely improved, particularly my double Axel."
Novice Ladies
In her Collegiate Championships debut New York University rising sophomore Caroline Mura earned the novice ladies crown with 94.16 total points. In her free skate to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, the 18-year-old landed three combination jumps and earned Level 3 on two of her spins to score 59.02 points.
"There are a few things I'm not completely satisfied with, but I'm happy with a lot of the things that I put out there today," Mura said.
Representing the University of Connecticut, Grace Perrino scored 90.41 total points to secure the silver medal. She opened her 57.40-point free skate with a double flip-double toe loop combination and earned a Level 4 on a change foot combination spin.
Bronze medalist Lana Van Note earned the bronze medal with 84.70 total points. The MIT student's free skate featured two Level 4 spins, which helped her earn 56.08 points.
Theresa Miller from the University of Delaware captured the pewter medal with 83.75 points.
Novice Men
Antonio Maravilla took the novice men's title with 118.79 points. Representing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the 18-year-old (who turns 19 on Aug. 3) opened his 79-point free skate with a triple Salchow and earned positive grades of execution on all but one element.
"I"m so thrilled," the rising sophomore said. "It's been such a year, and I'm really excited to have gotten back on the ice to be able to skate. Having this opportunity to compete has been a blessing."
Representing Rutgers University New Brunswick, Haydn Gock captured the silver medal with 116.31 total points. His 73.02-point free skate opened with a triple flip and featured a Level 4 change foot camel spin.
Bronze medalist Codie Hazen scored 92.01 total points. The University of Delaware student earned Level 3 on all of his spins to help him score 58.40 points in his free skate.
Intermediate Ladies
Kathryn Larsen took the intermediate ladies title with 63.79 total points. A recent Utah State University graduate, Larsen scored 40.55 points in her free skate to music from
An American in Paris, which featured a strong double flip-double toe loop combination and two Level 2 spins.
"I had a lot of fun," Larsen said. "This is my last collegiate competition so I put myself out there and gave it everything I had."
Representing the University of Delaware, Amanda Renshaw scored 56.71 points to capture the silver medal. Her 36.67-point free skate featured a Level 2 layback spin and an Axel-Euler-double Salchow jump sequence.
Find the full results from the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships
here. Videos from the event will be available on-demand on the
U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone's video corner.
