February 20-22, 2026
2026 DU Open
Magness Arena/Joy Burns Arena, Denver, Colorado

The Stanford Figure Skating Club (SFSC) are officially the 2026 Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Champions as a result of another standout performance at the 2026 DU Open Collegiate Team Skating Competition the weekend of 20-22 February 2026. With a second place victory over UC Berkeley and the University of Denver, the SFSC heads to the National Intercollegiate Finals in Salt Lake City Utah in April 2026, achieving the team's primary goal of the season. The SFSC earned a record 22 individual medals and a first place trophy during the intermediate team maneuvers. Special thanks to the University of Denver for organizing a terrific competition and to SFSC alumnus and team mentor Jonathan Ko for being the team's guiding force behind the boards.

On Friday evening, the SFSC starred in the pattern dance events, with Alea Delmastro earning third place in the international dance category, skating the Tango Romantica, and Valentina Juricek earning a third place medal for her gold dance, the Kilian. Freshman Rhett Hounsell did his best rendition of Clark Kent and won the pre-bronze Fiesta Tango, followed closely by team member Clara Finkelstein in third. Clara had edged out Rhett at the last competition, and he was determined to seal the victory in Denver. Graduate students Katherine Cao, Kaila Coimbra, and Emily Leung all earned medals for the Canasta Tango in preliminary solo pattern dances Groups A and B. Kaila placed first, Emily placed third, and Katherine placed second in their respective groups. 

In the novice women's short program, Audrey Akkerman skated beautifully to "Greensleeves" on piano and placed third. Clara earned 6th in the junior women's short Group A, highlighting her spinning skills to Jackie Evancho's version of "Caruso." Kaila quickly returned to the ice and skated lights-out in the juvenile women's short program to "Hopelessly Devoted To You" from Grease, completing a double-double combination jump and placing first. Elizabeth Hong exquisitely performed to "Chasing Cars" by Tommee Profitt & Fleurie in the senior women's short program. Liz landed a double Axel and flawlessly executed her spins, earning a 2nd place medal in a very fierce group. Stanford ended Day 1 in first place with a six point lead over CU Boulder.

On Saturday, Vic Hempstead started the day's events with a well skated program to "Jenny Jenkins" by Mt. Joy, placing third in the Aspire 3 category. Audrey Tai showed off her edge work as she skated to  "Blue Velvet" by Lana Del Rey in the juvenile solo free dance group, placing 8th. Clara entertained in her "Hip Hip Chin Chin" intermediate solo free dance and placed 7th.

Katherine skated to "What Have They Done to Us" from Arcane, with solid jumps and spins, placing 3rd in pre-preliminary Group B. Jierui Fang's excellent skate to "Can't Catch Me Now" by Olivia Rodrigo earned a bronze medal in the preliminary women's free skate Group A. Always a crowd pleaser, Warwick Lloyd attempted two triple Axels and finished first in the junior men's free skate program.  

Emily Zhu earned high marks from the judges and won gold for her program to "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey in preliminary women's free skate Group B.  Emily Leung showed great energy and performed an excellent combination spin while skating to Christina Aguilera's "We Remain," placing 5th in the pre-juvenile women's free skate. Alea was awarded first place marks from all the judges for her junior women's free skate to a mix of Coldplay's "O (Fly On) and Arrival of the Birds/Transformation by The Cinematic Orchestra," earning the gold medal. Liz's technical consistency and incredible performance allowed her to easily win the senior women's free skate to "Piano Concerto in A minor, Op16." 

Valentina also handily won in juvenile free skate Group A, with her amazing skate to "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," receiving the top score from all 5 judges and a gold medal. Kaila's program to "Mamma Mia" showed off her fantastic artistry as she earned the silver medal in the juvenile free skate Group B. Audrey Tai was enchanting in her Cinderella free skate, placing 9th in the same category. In the last event of the day, Rhett, skating to "Eleanor Rigby," placed third in a very competitive junior men's championship event. At the end of Day 2, Stanford was just 2 points shy of CU Boulder.  

Sunday began with Liz and Neva Hidajat competing in the junior free dance.  In a highly competitive field, Liz placed second, skating to the Soundtrack from "Evita." In her first competition with the SFSC and performing her first ever solo free dance, Neva placed 8th. In the senior free dance, Valentina was on fire skating to Pitbull's "On the Floor, " which earned her the bronze medal.  

With the final placement on the line, Stanford's low and intermediate teams delivered!  The low team of Emily Leung, Jierui Fang, Emily Zhu, and Audrey Tai executed their compulsory elements with confidence and placed 4th. The intermediate team of Valentina Juricek, Kaila Coimbra, Clara Finkelstein, and Audrey Akkerman ended the competition on a high note with their first ever team maneuvers victory. The SFSC finished in second place among the 19 collegiate teams that participated. After a long three days, the team hugged and cheered as the final results were announced! 

Next up is the Intercollegiate Nationals in Utah where the SFSC will mark the first time that Stanford has been represented at Nationals in over 20 years!

Medal Summary (22 medals in total):

• 1st: Valentina Juricek (juvenile women's free skate), Alea Delmastro (junior women's free skate), Rhett Hounsell (pre-bronze pattern dance), Kaila Coimbra (preliminary pattern dance, juvenile women's short program), Elizabeth Hong (senior women's free skate), Emily Zhu (preliminary women's free skate), Warwick Lloyd (junior men's free skate)
• 2nd: Katherine Cao (preliminary pattern dance), Elizabeth Hong (senior women's short program, junior free dance), Kaila Coimbra (juvenile women's free skate)
• 3rd: Rhett Hounsell (junior men's championship), Alea Delmastro (international pattern dance), Valentina Juricek (gold pattern dance, senior free dance), Clara Finkelstein (pre-bronze pattern dance), Jierui Fang (preliminary women's free skate), Vic Hempstead (Aspire 3 free skate), Audrey Akkerman (novice women's short program), Katherine Cao (pre-preliminary women's free skate), Emily Leung (preliminary pattern dance).

Full results can be found here:
https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/nonqual_results/2026/36481/index.html

Pacific Coast Final Standings can be found here: 
https://usfigureskating.org/documents/2026/2/25/Conference_Standings_25-26_-_PC.pdf