2026 National Intercollegiate Finals
April 10–12, 2026
Salt Lake City Sports Complex, Salt Lake City, Utah
For the first time in more than 20 years, the Stanford Figure Skating Club (SFSC) qualified as one of just 16 teams to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Association's (USFSA) National Intercollegiate Finals (NIF) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The SFSC team of 13 skaters—
Audrey Akkerman,
Katherine Cao,
Kaila Coimbra,
Alea Delmastro,
Jierui Fang,
Elizabeth Hong,
Vic Hempstead,
Rhett Hounsell,
Warwick Lloyd,
Emily Leung,
Gia Mukherjee,
Valentina Juricek, and
Audrey Tai—made a strong showing, earning six individual medals and placing 14th overall among the nation's top programs. This achievement stands out even more given that more than 100 collegiate teams compete nationwide.
The energy was evident as the team arrived at the arena early Friday morning for practice. During the opening ceremony, SFSC Executive Board members—Valentina,
Audrey Akkerman, Alea, Liz, and Warwick—took to the ice to Stanford's fight song, "All Right Now," drawing enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
In the dance events, Rhett placed 6th in the pre-bronze solo pattern dance, receiving two first-place marks from the judges, while Alea also finished 6th in the international pattern dance category with her Tango Romantica. Vic debuted their Dutch Waltz in their first competitive dance event, joined by
Emily Leung and Katherine in the preliminary solo pattern dance.
Jierui Fang,
Emily Leung, and
Audrey Tai brought lively performances to the juvenile solo free dance event. Kaila skated with poise and Warwick with a memorable flair in their respective intermediate free dances. Saturday evening featured the higher-level free dances, highlighted by Liz's standout performance to the Evita soundtrack, which earned the first of her two pewter medals. In the senior free dance, Valentina energized the audience with a crowd-engaging routine to Pitbull's "On the Floor."
In the women's short programs, Kaila earned a pewter medal in the juvenile event with her performance to "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease. Also in the juvenile short program event, Gia debuted a new tango program.
Audrey Akkerman delivered a graceful skate to "Greensleeves" in the novice category. Liz exquisitely performed to "Chasing Cars" (Tommee Profitt & Fleurie) in the senior women's event, placing 6th in a deep field.
In the free skate events, Valentina achieved the team's top placement, earning a silver medal in juvenile women's group B with her program to "Assassin's Tango." Kaila's program to Mamma Mia highlighted her artistry, while
Audrey Tai charmed the audience with her Cinderella program in juvenile women's group A. In preliminary group A, Gia returned strong and placed 8th while skating to "Skyfall" by Adele, and Jierui delivered a confident performance to "Can't Catch Me Now" by Olivia Rodrigo. In Aspire 3, Vic had a great skate to "Jenny Jenkins" by Mt. Joy. Katherine skated well to "What Have They Done to Us" from Arcane in the pre-preliminary category, and
Emily Leung completed clean jumps in her program to Christina Aguilera's "We Remain" in her pre-juvenile free skate. Alea competed in the junior women's free skate with a program set to Coldplay's "O (Fly On)" and "Arrival of the Birds/Transformation" by The Cinematic Orchestra. Liz cleanly executed nine double jumps—including a double axel in combination—in her senior free skate to "Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16," earning her second pewter medal.
In the men's events, Warwick attempted both a triple axel and triple loop, finishing 3rd in the junior men's free skate. Rhett earned the pewter medal in the junior men's championship event with his outstanding program to "Eleanor Rigby."
The final events were the team maneuvers with Stanford's low team of
Emily Leung,
Jierui Fang,
Gia Mukherjee, and
Audrey Tai executing their compulsory elements and placing 12th. The intermediate team of
Valentina Juricek,
Kaila Coimbra,
Warwick Lloyd, and
Audrey Akkerman ended the competition on a high note with their 6th place finish. Stanford topped the 100 point mark, one of its goals for the competition.
After a long three days, the team hugged and cheered as the final results were announced, realizing their accomplishment of earning a bid and skating well at their first Nationals. The USFSA also recognized three SFSC members who are conferring degrees this year–Vic, Gia and Jierui– among the 2026 graduates. Off the ice, the team relaxed by crafting and wearing "Stanford Tree" hats and exchanging friendship bracelets with skaters from other schools, reflecting the camaraderie of the event.
While experiencing Nationals for the first time was challenging physically and mentally, all of the skaters embraced it and put out solid performances. The team reacquainted with former training partners and made new friends among the teams from the East Coast and Mid-West. Skating is a small community and friendships last a lifetime! On the final evening, the team celebrated its success over pizza and ice cream with family members and alumni.
Read more about
Stanford's road to Nationals in a featured article by USFSA. The team extends its gratitude to the University of Utah and Utah State Figure Skating clubs for hosting, as well as to SFSC family members, alumni, and friends who came to support the team in person. Special thanks to Jonathan Ko for supporting the team as its volunteer coach and mentor!
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Come and see this year's SFSC team on their home ice at their
annual skating exhibition on May 24th from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM at Sharks Ice in San Jose (doors open at 2:30 PM). All students are welcome to try out their skating skills at this event that is being co-hosted with Stanford's club hockey team. This fun afternoon will include admission to the figure skating exhibition and hockey scrimmage, ice session, skate rentals, and food!
As the team looks ahead to the next academic year, all students with skating aspirations are encouraged to join the team. Please reach out via the SFSC Instagram page (@stanfordfsc) to find out more about the opportunities to compete or skate recreationally.
Medal Summary (6 total):
Full results:
2026 National Intercollegiate Finals
