“Figure skating doesn’t have to end after high school. In fact, thousands of dedicated figure skaters across the country represent their colleges and universities as they continue to progress through their personal skating journeys ― some even going on to promising post-graduate careers with Team USA,” – U.S. Figure Skating

When choosing a small school such as Nazareth College you may think that synchronized figure skating isn’t an option. However, Thomas Creek Figure Skating Club located in Fairport, NY at the Rochester Ice Center has developed an opportunity for college students in the western and central NY area to further their skating careers at a competitive level with the help of the head coach, Jessica Stratton. In addition to the six other youth and adult teams that run through the skating club, the Mirror Images open-collegiate synchronized skating team was developed in 2015 and transitioned to a more competitive level, collegiate in the 2019 season.

The Mirror Images teams are staffed by four coaches and have a general manager as well as individual team managers to keep the program running smoothly. The following levels were offered for the 2019-2020 season with youth ages 6 to adults in their 60s: synchro skills 1, synchro skills 2, pre-juvenile, intermediate, collegiate, adult, and open masters. Click here to see a description of the 18 levels offered through U.S. Figure Skating: https://usfigureskating.org//sites/default/files/media-files/Synchronized%20Skating%20Team%20Definitions.pdf

The Mirror Images Collegiate synchronized skating team (coached by Jessica Stratton) is one of 12 teams in the country at this level. This team is unique compared to the others because it accepts skaters from any college or university in western or central NY, including Nazareth College! Following U.S. Figure Skating requirements, the team consists of 12-20 skaters who have passed juvenile moves in the field test and are full-time students. These tests are a foundation of U.S Figure Skating and determine a skater’s competition level. Collegiate synchronized skating teams can compete at qualifying competitions with the opportunity to advance and compete at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. U.S. Figure Skating permits skaters to skate on up to two teams depending on the levels. This season four skaters from the collegiate team (3 from Nazareth College) are crossover skaters and have trained and competed on the collegiate team as well as the adult team this season.

The 2019-2020 Mirror Images Collegiate Team skates to “The Sparkling Diamond” from Moulin Rouge and represents athletes from 8 different schools: Andrea Auer (Nazareth College), Martina Auer (Grand Canyon University Online), Jenna Berry (SUNY Geneseo), Kennedie Brown (Nazareth College), Weston Costello (University at Buffalo), Samantha DeGrandis (SUNY Geneseo), Aletheia Delancey (Rochester Institute of Technology), Gabriella Dignitti (SUNY Geneseo), Paige Ensby (Nazareth College) Tyler Farber (Rochester Institute of Technology), Lauren Miller (Niagara County Community College), Meredith Ramin (Nazareth College), Samantha Ruiz (The College at Brockport), Lea Sposito (Rochester Institute of Technology), Olivia Sutton (St. John Fisher College)

For all seven teams, the competitive season begins in August and ends in February. This season the Collegiate team attends the following U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned competitions and shows including: 

All 7 Mirror Images teams will also be participating in the National Send-Off Performance on February 23rd, 2020 at 6:30pm located at Rochester Ice Center. The teams will be showing off their accomplishments for the season and will be honoring the collegiate team who has qualified to attend the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship on February 26th-29th, 2020. All are welcome to attend to see what the program is all about!

Here are highlights from the 2019-2020 season skaters who are Nazareth College students and professors and why they love to be a part of this program:

Carly Alicea, Assistant Professor in CSD Department (Mirror Images Open Masters Team):
“I got back into skating synchro this year after not skating at all in college or grad school. I’m also a Naz alum, but there was no collegiate level team when I was a student!)Being back on the ice is great – skating on the Open Masters team has been a fun way for me to de-stress and stay active. I also love knowing that there are other Naz community members on other Mirror Images teams. It’s fun to see Naz students at competitions or shows, and skating with Mirror Images has been a great way to meet students who I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. It has broadened my Naz community both on- and off-campus!”

Andrea Auer ‘20 MSOT Program (Mirror Images Collegiate & Adult Teams / Coach for Synchro Skills 2 Team):
“This team has been a part of my college career at Nazareth College. When applying to Nazareth College I thought I had to sacrifice skating to attend Nazareth’s occupational therapy program. Thomas Creek Figure Skating Club has allowed me to pursue my skating and coaching career at a competitive level, develop my leadership skills, and make lifelong friends through skaters at Nazareth College and other schools.”

Kennedie Brown ‘20 Public Health (Mirror Images Collegiate and Adult Teams):
“As an incoming freshman I was grateful to have the opportunity to continue my passion that makes me feel like everything else can be put on hold while I do what I love. I am very proud to compete and represent Naz. As a senior now, I will look back at the times spent on the ice and cherish them forever! Naz gave me the opportunity to get my degree and continue to skate and I couldn’t be more thankful for that!”

Samantha Clark ‘23 Nursing and Public Health (Mirror Images Pre-Juvenile Team):
“Skating with the Mirror Images team has been an amazing experience that has helped me meet new people that share my passion for skating and challenged me to do my best physically and mentally.”

Paige Ensby ‘21 DPT Program (Mirror Images Collegiate and Adult Teams):
“Having the opportunity to compete with this team for the past 5 years has been a great outlet for me when I need a break from the rigorous PT program and I have enjoyed doing it so much! Being able to skate on this team helped me make my final decision to come to Naz!”

Meredith Ramin ‘22 English Adolescent Inclusive Education (Mirror Images Collegiate Team)- “The Mirror Images teams have allowed me to continue to do something I have always loved, while meeting different people from all around Rochester, NY!”

The Mirror Images Collegiate Synchronized Skating Team provides a great opportunity for any college student, including those at Nazareth College! This team has a manageable practice and competition schedule with college courses. The practices are located at Gene Polisseni Center at Rochester Institute of Technology, a central location in Rochester NY where all skaters can travel to. It is truly a fun atmosphere to meet and share experiences with students from Nazareth College and other schools in the area. Ultimately it allows skaters to be a part of a larger family of teams through Thomas Creek Figure Skating club where they support each other throughout the season and at various competitions.

Interested in being a member on one of the Mirror Images synchronized figure skating teams for the 2020-2021 season? There is a team for everyone! Contact us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), our website or at mirrorimagesteams@gmail.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MirrorImagesSynch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirrorimages.synch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/misynch?lang=en

Website: https://www.mirrorimagessynch.com/