Roth heads to Torino to complete her comeback
Brookdale student to compete at World University Games
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Stephanie Roth, a journalism student at Brookdale Community College, will be representing her school at the World University Games this weekend in Torino, Italy, after capturing the gold medal at the collegiate national championships last August.

With the World University Games being held this week in Torino, Italy, Brookdale Community College is well represented.

Belmar's Stephanie Roth, a 24-year-old journalism student at the Lincroft school, is in Torino to compete in the Ladies Individual Figure Skating event against approximately 30 other skaters from all over the world. Roth earned her spot in the Games - a biannual event for college and university students - by winning the gold medal at the 2006 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championship last August in Anaheim, Calif. Her performance there marked not only one of the highlights of what has been a blossoming career for Roth, but also a return to form after undergoing back surgery just six months earlier.

"I had back surgery last February for a ruptured disc and torn ligament that were the result of long-term overuse and [from] skating," she said. "I didn't have any physical therapy, but I had six weeks of no bending, twisting, lifting or turning. After four weeks, I was able to do everything but jump. It wasn't until April that I was allowed to start jumping again."

After putting together a stellar finish to 2005, which included gold medals at both the 2006 Eastern Sectional Championships in Bethlehem, Pa., and the 2006 North Atlantic Regional Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. (both held in late 2005), Roth looked to take her career to the next level in 2006.

"I hadn't made it to the Eastern Sectionals since 2002, so to make it last year, four years later, and to win it was really unexpected by a lot of people. I was really shooting for a top-four finish," she said.

The surgery then came just three weeks after Roth finished 18th at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, where she could barely walk, much less skate, due to the pain in her back, and left her ability to compete at the collegiate championships in doubt. With just six months to prepare, Roth was concerned whether she'd be able to meet her own expectations on the ice.

"I was second last year [at the collegiate championships], so I wouldn't have been happy with anything other than first," she said. "I went in [to the finals] as the leader, and that has usually had a tendency to throw me off, and I was a little nervous this time because I hadn't had as long to train for this competition. You can almost never expect to win, because anything can happen on any day you're competing.

"There were 30 girls in the qualifying round, when we had to do our long program. It eventually was narrowed down to 15 girls, and everyone has to start fresh. The competition was three days in a row, which I prefer, because when I practice, I don't take time off."

After breezing through the qualifying round, Roth gave a brilliant performance in the short program, scoring a 51.06, well ahead of second-place finisher Erin Reed of the University of Utah (44.62). She then added a 74.46 in the long program, also known as the free skate, to wrap up the title with a total of 125.51 points. Reed finished second with a score of 111.92.

Roth's performance, which was set to music from "Pirates of the Caribbean," included a series of jumps that put her surgically repaired back to the test. Though she fell while attempting a triple Salchow and singled one of her double Axels, she still finished strongly enough to capture the gold.

"The only one I was really excited about was my short program, on the second day, because it was my personal best," she said. "The qualifying round was not my best effort, but I was really nervous and lost my focus a little bit. In the final long program, I did better, still not my best, but it was enough."

Now that she's captured the collegiate championship, Roth, who finished eighth at the 2007 Eastern Sectional Championships last November in Alpharetta, Ga., heads to Torino confident that she's 100 percent recovered from her surgery.

And she'll need to be at her best at the World University Games, which includes some of the top young figure skaters in the world.

"It's the second largest multi-sport event in the world," Roth said. "There are 90 athletes from the United State competing, and I'm the only female figure skater.

"This is a huge step up for me," she added. "I've never competed on an international level, and in the past years some countries have sent some great skaters that have gone on to compete at the Olympic level."

The Games are described as an international sporting and cultural festival, governed by the International University Sports Federation. They share many of the same events as the Olympics - a communal village, sporting conferences, cultural festivals that take place while the games are in progress, and opening and closing ceremonies.

As far as the figure skating competition goes, Roth, who is one of just four community college students to compete in the Games, is anxious to see how she measures up against the competition.

"I don't really know what to expect," she said. "As far as what I'm capable of, I don't know how I'll stack up against the other girls because I don't know who I'm competing against. If I do my best and it puts me in sixth or seventh place, I can't complain. I just want to put it all out there and enjoy the experience."

And she has been working extremely hard in preparing for the event - hitting the ice for three sessions a day, six days a week, while also doing some off-ice conditioning in the morning and evening.

Her trip to Torino marks the pinnacle of a career that has been building steam since its inception, about 20 years ago.

"My mom took me to Winding River with a friend for some group lessons and I just kind of had a knack for it," said Roth, who also teaches skating at the Wall Ice Arena. "I started competing when I was 5 or 6 years old, so I've been competing in various qualifiers for the last 16 years."

Now back at Brookdale, where she received an associate's degree in psychology in 2005, Roth is proud to be representing the school on the international stage.

"Usually when you compete, you're representing yourself or your club, so when I heard 'representing Brookdale Community College,' I thought it was pretty cool," said Roth, who often represents the Skating Club of New York, located in Chelsea Piers.

And while she's understandably excited about skating in Torino, she's also trying to remain focused on her performance.

"I think my mom is more excited than I am," she said. "I'm trying to keep it on a level basis because if I let things get blown out of proportion I'll wind up psyching myself out."

She'll get her first chance to perform on Friday during the short program portion of the competition, and will be back on the ice Saturday for the long program.

Beyond the Games, Roth, who was born in Red Bank and grew up in Wall Township, plans to continue with her skating career, though any thoughts of competing in the next Olympics are unrealistic, at this point.

"The Olympics are too far away, and at my age, with the injuries I've had, I would have to be bio-mechanical to last to 2010," she said. "But it's not something that bothers me. To be a name that's recognized in the skating community, maybe not by the people who just watch competitions on television, but by the people within the community, is a pretty cool thing. I relate it to being a C-list celebrity; I get the invitation, just not the fancy gifts.

"Although I did get my Team USA gear this time, which is very cool."

And most certainly, well deserved.