Senior skates to U.S. championships

Nearly two years ago, Penn senior Rusty Fein reached a crossroads in his figure skating career.

Having suffered from patellar tendonitis in his right knee for several years, the talented singles skater opted to undergo surgery. He did this knowing that the procedure would all but end his ability to train at a level necessary to be competitive as a singles skater.

But this past week, Fein and his new partner finished fourth at the 2006 U.S. National Championships, which is the qualifying competition for the Olympics. Officially, the two are alternates for the Olympic games in Torino.

After his surgery, with no pairs skating experience and no partner, Fein's career in figure skating -- which began 12 years ago -- seemed to be over.

That's when his competitive spirit, along with a little bit of luck, turned his career around.

Last January, the most decorated female pairs skater at that time -- Tiffany Scott -- announced that her partner of nine years was retiring. This caught Fein's attention not only because of Scott's impressive resume -- she was a 2002 Olympian and U.S. national champion -- but also because she trained in nearby Newark, Del.

But why would Scott take on a kid with no pairs experience, particularly one who was recovering from recent surgery?

Fein contacted Scott and asked for the opportunity to meet her and explain why they would make a good team.

When Scott agreed, she probably did not realize that Fein's explanation would come in the form of a 10-page manifesto detailing the future success of their partnership, titled On Continuing Tiffany's Success.

"I knew there would be other guys calling her -- other guys who had significant pairs experience at the least," Fein said. "I made sure that my report made up for my lack of pairs experience. Tiffany was impressed with my efforts and, after a one-month trial period, agreed to partner with me."

Still, there was significant work to be done before the duo could enjoy any real success.

While most skaters take all of their skating tests over the course of several years, Fein was forced to pass all of the pairs skating tests in a span of two months.

Needless to say, he passed, but the heavy practice time took a toll on his academics. He dropped some of his courses last fall and last spring in order to focus on skating.

"The 2006 Olympics were less than one year away," Rusty says. "While we were far from being even considered for the Olympic Team, we trained like Olympians, and eventually we were taken seriously."

Indeed, all of their hard work is finally paying off. Fein is set to graduate this year with a history major and an economics minor from the College, and his partnership with Tiffany has reached new heights, winning the pewter medal for fourth place last weekend.

At last week's event, Fein suffered an unfortunate fall that cost them a high score in the short program. In the long program, they placed third, with the second-highest score in the technical category.

But success is nothing new to Fein, who accomplished much as an individual skater.

He placed fifth at the 2001 U.S. National Championships at the junior level, which earned him placement on the U.S. International Figure Skating team, composed of the country's top individual skaters. Later, he won the National Collegiate Championships at the junior level and placed second at the National Collegiate Championships at the senior level.

Still, even with his history of success, Fein continues to work hard, commuting to Newark, Del. every day to practice. Unfortunately, he cannot skate at Penn's local Class of 1923 rink because the University has refused to recognize Penn's Figure Skating Club -- which Fein founded in 2003 -- as a club sport.

All in all, Rusty spends nearly two hours in the car each day and several hours in the rink, practicing, and practicing some more.

But for Fein, it is entirely worth it.

"After skating for such a short period of time together, my partner and I just missed making the Olympic Team," Fein said. "But our very successful showing at Nationals last week has emboldened us to continue our ascent in the rankings."

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