Being in sync with someone can be challenging, but skating in sync is even tougher.

Doing it on ice adds another degree of difficulty, but for two redhawks, it’s all part of their chase for a national championship.

Learning to ice skate can be slightly difficult. Especially learning how to skate synchronized with ten other people.

The skill for this can be extremely tough to master with many synchronized ice skaters starting at a young age.

“I started skating when I was 4,” sophomore Karina Grokhovskaya said.

For Grokhovskaya and junior Athena Tseng, that skill has led them to the I-S-I synchronized skating competition in Boston on Saturday.

The competition was delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to higher anticipation within the team.

“I think I’m really excited but our team is also really excited to get to compete at a higher level this year as well,” Tseng said. “We are just excited to just get out there and see other teams.”

For synchronized skating coach Lisa Cushley, seeing the girls grow in their pursuit of first place in the competition, has been a fun part of the process.

“The best part of teaching the team is when you start out the program at the beginning of the season and the girls just look at you as if you’re crazy we are never going to get that,” Cushley said. “Now we’re at the stage where they’ve got it all together and it’s looking really good.”

Winning is often the ultimate goal, but the joy of skating comes from something else.

“I think my favorite part is probably just skating with your friends,” Grokhovskaya said.