Greenwich Synchronized Skaters Kick off Season with Top Honors

The Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team is off to a winning start for their 2016-17 competitive season!

At the Essex Synchro Classic in West Orange, NJ, the Pre-Juvenile and Preliminary skaters earned the top spot on the podium wit their gold-medal winning programs, and the Pre-Preliminary skaters earned bronze.

The Junior and Senior Team USA skaters were equally successful at their first competition – the New England Challenge Cup in Marlborough, MA – where they earned Gold and Bronze respectively.

“The skaters came out of the gate with impressive performances,” said Josh Babb, Skyliners Head Coach and Director of Synchronized Skating. “We’ve been working extremely hard to get these programs ready for this competition season.”

Among the skaters are local girls from Greenwich:

Kristen Lewis – Greenwich – Senior line
Madison deBlasi – Greenwich – Junior line
Katherine Elmlinger – Greenwich – Junior line
Whitney Elmlinger – Greenwich – Junior line
Christina Zhang – Riverside – Pre-Juvenile line
Madeline Besgen – Greenwich – Preliminary line
Ellie Block – Greenwich – Preliminary line
Anastasia Pearson – Old Greenwich – Preliminary line
Christina Seibert – Greenwich – Preliminary line
Lily Rose Vallieres – Greenwich – Preliminary line
Ziyi Yan – Riverside – Preliminary line
Emily Duarte – Greenwich – Pre-Preliminary line
Jenny Kessler – Greenwich – Pre-Preliminary line
Nancy Kessler – Greenwich – Pre-Preliminary line
Shining Sun – Old Greenwich – Pre-Preliminary line
Ella Wyman – Greenwich – Pre-Preliminary line

At the Essex Synchro Classic, Skyliners Pre-Juvenile performed their program to music from “The Wiz,” and eased on down the rink to win the gold medal.

“The girls really sowed their talent, skill and teamwork at their first competition,” said Sarah Blosat, Skyliners Director of Non-Qualifying Lines. “They gave strong performances. Their hard work since summer boot camps has really paid off.”

At the New England Challenge Cup, Skyliners Juniors gave an intense and controlled performance for their short program, “Gangster Hip Hop,” and moved into first place with their emotional free skate to the music from “Last of the Mohicans.”

The Senior line performed a graceful short program to “California Dreaming” and took overall bronze after their upbeat Whitney Houston-themed free skate program.

Both the Junior and Senior lines not only earned impressive results at the NECC, but will be representing Team USA at international competitions in early 2017, making Skyliners tenth season representing the United States abroad.