Skaters enthrall Ice Rink crowd

Hundreds of starry-eyed children and equally impressed adults filled the University's Class of 1923 ice rink Thursday night to witness PennSkate 92, an exhibition of 15 international and Olympic figure skaters. Besides a team of amateur skaters based in the Delaware Valley, PennSkate also featured the 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Nancy Kerrigan, and the 1992 U.S. National Pairs Champions, Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval. "It was like a dream for me," said Robin Hummel, 12, an aspiring skater. "Rocky and Calla were my inspirations during the Olympics, and they were tonight also." The skaters performed their traditional competitive routines during the first half of PennSkate, and concluded with their show routines. As a finale, the performers skated together to Neil Diamond's "Coming to America." Urbanski and Marval received the first standing ovation of the night after their performance to a James Brown medley. The second ovation occured after Kerrigan's routine to an En Vouge mix, after which four-year-old Shieva Zandi, the youngest PennSkate performer, presented her with flowers. "Nancy Kerrigan is my favorite skater," said Ashley Ricken, 6, who drove almost two hours to see PennSkate. "After watching her, I started practicing three times a week." Also warmly received by the audience was Heather Hughes, the only PennSkate performer from the University. "PennSkate was really a different kind of experience for me," said Hughes, a College junior. "It's always exciting, but the hardest thing is that you can never let go of your confidence." According to Hughes, PennSkate serves as a stepping stone to her goal of competing in international events during the 1993 season. Hughes is currently taking a break from competition, having already competed in national competition during the last two years. Many of the skaters agreed that PennSkate proved to be a helpful warm-up for the upcoming season, and a low pressure way to revive their competitive attitudes. "This was our first time using this routine," said Marval of his first performance. "We just trying to get a feel for the program and get back into the routine." Pairs skater Katie Wood said she viewed PennSkate as useful practice for her upcoming season of international competition. Wood and her partner McKeever will represent the U.S. in Skate Canada next month. While PennSkate may have been good practice for the skaters, PennSkate Organizer Jocelyn Cox hopes that the event will become an annual one. Having spent the majority of her summer vacation planning PennSkate, College sophomore Cox plans on its success growing every year. "I was really pleased with the way things turned out," said Cox. "I thought that the crowd was great, and the skaters were definitely on."