RAMS ON THE RISE IN OUA FIGURE SKATING
Rams head coach Robyn Doolittle was very proud of her team's performance over the two days, describing the Invitational as a competition of firsts.
"It was the first time we broke the 40-point barrier in overall points; it was the first time we finished in the top five overall; it was the first time we won a gold medal in the last five years, and it's the first time that we won five medals. It was a very successful competition for us."
The duo of Tara Bartolini and Alex Dabkowski won Ryerson's gold medal in the creative dance event. Bartolini and Dabkowski have been skating for three years and had been consistent medal winners in previous competitions, including the Queen's Fall Invitational earlier this season, but had never gotten gold.
"They've always been trading spots on the podium but they've never been able to crack that gold medal," said Doolittle. "This time they finally did."
Joining Bartolini and Dabkowski as medal winners for Ryerson were Jennifer Ji and Katie Docherty with a silver, Justin Peacock with a bronze, and Madeleine Jullian who took home two silvers.
Ji and Docherty won their silver in the junior silver similar dance event, their second silver in that event this year.
Doolittle said that Ji and Docherty have only been skating together for less than a year, and their accomplishments have been amazing.
As where their silver medal at the Queen's Invitational in the fall was a surprise, nobody will be overlooking Ji and Docherty again after their second medal of the year.
Justin Peacock won a bronze in the male freeskate event.
"It's really exciting," said Doolittle. "He had an amazing skate. He skated clean but there is definitely still room for improvement; but an absolutely tremendous skate."
Madeleine Jullian came away with two silvers, one in the novice short event and one in the senior silver dance event.
"Her results were obviously very exciting," said Doolittle. "What's great is Madeleine also has the potential to win both events. Doolittle added that with the top skaters in both Jullian's events, there were toss-ups for the gold."
"Madeleine is a very focused athlete and she definitely has her sights set on the top of the podium."
Ryerson also had skaters in two events who finished just off the podium, in fourth place. Bartolini finished fourth in the gold solo dance event and the duo of Tabitha Copping and Katie Holmes finished fourth in the senior silver similar dance event.
Doolittle was so excited about her team's results because she said that none of them were flukes.
"The teams that we expected to do well and medal, medaled. It wasn't like other teams bombed and we had the skate of our lives. Everyone did their job, everyone followed the plan, and everyone skated the way they've been training."
While the two-day event was a huge success for her team, Doolittle said that there is also room for improvement heading into the OUA championship in February.
"This might sound kind of odd, but what's always good news is there were certainly a lot of places that we could improve in. You never want to be in a position where you're skating your absolute best. We still have a lot of room to grow; we have a lot of events that have potential for getting higher placings."
Moving forward, Doolittle said the Rams will continue to build on their tremendous success at the Invitational and work towards turning some of their silvers and bronzes into golds at the OUA finals.
Final Team Standings:
1. Waterloo
2. Guelph
3. Western
4. Queen's
5. Ryerson
6. Toronto
7. Laurier
8. Carleton
9. McMaster
10. McGill
11. PEI
Source: Ryerson Rams