NYU Figure Skating club capped off its season with a fourth-place finish at the 2024 National Intercollegiate Final. The result adds to its strong record with a third-place finish in 2023 and fifth-place finish in 2022, cementing its status as a force in collegiate skating.

The three-day competition took place from April 12-14 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York. The Violets competed against 15 of the best teams around the country in 43 events, including solo dance, singles and team maneuvers.

NYU Figure Skating club president and second-year graduate student Melody Tso described the season as a “whirlwind of emotions,” marked by highs and lows. However, it ended on a positive note as her team with first-year Grace Perkins and seniors Imani Gomez and Caroline Mura won bronze in intermediate team maneuvers.

“I cried, I was so happy,” Tso told WSN. “All the schools put out stellar elements and they did them beautifully, so it was a nail-biter until the very end. When the announcer called out that we placed third, it was very emotional. I know I can speak on behalf of everyone that we were absolutely relieved and so, so excited.”

At the end of the competition, the Violets accumulated 196 points and won a total of eight gold, silver and bronze medals. Senior Christina Tenzin and sophomore Milly Wasserman secured the team’s two gold medals, winning the novice solo free dance event and the excel preliminary women’s free skate group A event, respectively.

Mura, who competed at five different events said that the Violets faced a tough road to qualify for the competition. After a disappointing fifth place at the Violet Ice Classic in November, the Violets placed second in the New England Intercollegiate Cup in February and fourth in the Northeast Intercollegiate Classic in March. The two improved results helped them place fourth in the Northeast Conference, just above the cutoff for qualification.

“This year has been about facing adversity and building character strength for us as a team, because we started this season with our lowest finish as a team in the last few years,” Mura said. “We were able to qualify for nationals which shows how strong all of our skaters got throughout the season — we went from not being sure if we could qualify to being fourth place in the entire nation which is really special.”

First-year Talia Lerner echoed that placing fourth was a “big accomplishment,” and added that the best part of being on the figure skating team is the strong sense of camaraderie and shared purpose.

“It’s fun since everybody has team spirit, which you definitely don’t get a lot of, especially being at NYU,” Lerner said. “Having everybody like all decked out in purple and cheering for NYU is a rather unique experience that you wouldn’t get otherwise at the school. It’s really awesome.”

Coach Stacie Krinsky said that NYU Figure Skating has grown tremendously in her eight years leading the program. The Violets first qualified for nationals in 2020, and have consistently ranked among the top five figure skating programs for the past three years. Krinsky plans to continue coaching, saying that the team has improved to the point where it is able to attract potential skaters as one of the top collegiate skating programs in the country.

“I’m aware of some skaters who have already contacted me that they will be starting next year, and I look for the team to continue on our trajectory with the ultimate goal to be to win a national title,” Krinsky said. “That is the ultimate goal, whether it happens next year or the year after, I can’t say, but that is the goal.”

Contact Krish Dev at [email protected].