Rockne Brubaker

Rockne Lee Brubaker, II[1] (born June 21, 1986) is an American former competitive pair skater. With Keauna McLaughlin, he is the 2010 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2007 World Junior champion, and a two-time (2008–2009) U.S. national champion. With Mary Beth Marley, he is the 2012 Four Continents bronze medalist and 2012 U.S. silver medalist.

Rockne Brubaker
Davis/Brubaker in 2013.
Personal information
Full nameRockne Lee Brubaker II
Country representedUnited States
Born (1986-06-21) June 21, 1986
St. Louis, Missouri
Home townAlgonquin, Illinois
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Former partnerLindsay Davis, Mary Beth Marley, Keauna McLaughlin, Mariel Miller, Stephanie Freitag
Former coachJenni Meno, Todd Sand, John Nicks, Dalilah Sappenfield, Lei Ina McLaughlin, Tom Zakrajsek
Former choreographerChristine Binder, Sarah Kawahara, Dalilah Sappenfield, Lea Ann Miller
Former skating clubAll Year FSC
Former training locationsAliso Viejo, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado
Began skating1991
Retired2014

Personal life

Rockne Brubaker Jr was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His younger brother Collin Brubaker is a competitive ice dancer.[2] He was named after his father, Rockne Brubaker Sr., who had been named after Knute Rockne.

Brubaker graduated from Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin, Illinois. He is a student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs majoring in business administration and sports marketing.[3]

Brubaker became engaged to Italian pair skater Stefania Berton on February 2, 2013.[4] The couple married on June 5, 2015, in Wisconsin.[5]

Career

Early years

Rockne Brubaker began skating at the age of five or six.[6][7] He originally competed as a single skater, reaching the level of novice. He competed as a pair skater at the same time and eventually gave up singles to focus on pairs around age 12.[6] At 17, he left Chicago and moved to Colorado Springs to train with top pairs coach Dalilah Sappenfield.[6]

With partner Stephanie Freitag, he placed 5th at the novice level at the 2001–2002 season Midwestern Sectional Championships.[8]

In September 2003, Brubaker began skating with Mariel Miller, with whom he competed on the junior level.[9] They won bronze medals at the 2004–05 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and the 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the junior title at the 2005 U.S. Championships. While originally intending to compete at the senior level at the 2006 U.S. Championships, Miller & Brubaker announced their split in December 2005 due to a lack of height difference that could lead to injury.[7] They were coached by Dalilah Sappenfield and Tom Zakrajsek.

Partnership with McLaughlin

Sappenfield teamed up Brubaker with Keauna McLaughlin in May 2006.[7] They were coached by Sappenfield and Lei Ina McLaughlin in Colorado Springs.[3] The pair went undefeated in their first competitive season together (2006–07). In that season, McLaughlin and Brubaker competed on the 2006–07 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and won both their events and the Junior Grand Prix Final. They went on to win the junior title at both the 2007 U.S. Championships and the 2007 World Junior Championships. McLaughlin and Brubaker were the fourth American pair team in history to win the World Junior title.[10][11] Because of the age difference between McLaughlin and Brubaker, this was their only junior-age-eligible season.

McLaughlin and Brubaker began the 2007–2008 season on the Grand Prix circuit at the 2007 Cup of China, where they won the silver medal. They won a second silver medal at the 2007 NHK Trophy. Their success at these two competitions qualified them for the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final, but they withdrew after the short program due to an injury to Brubaker.

Later that season, they competed at the 2008 U.S. Championships and won the senior national title, becoming the first U.S. pairs team in 51 years to win consecutive junior and senior national titles.[12] Despite winning the U.S. title, McLaughlin and Brubaker were not assigned to the World Championship or World Junior Championship team due to ISU age restrictions. McLaughlin was too young for senior ISU championships and Brubaker was too old for the World Junior Championships. McLaughlin and Brubaker's win, combined with the wins of Jessica Rose Paetsch & Jon Nuss on the junior level, and Brynn Carman & Christopher Knierim on the novice level, gave their coach Dalilah Sappenfield a sweep of national pair champions for 2008, an accomplishment which led to Sappenfield being named Coach of the Year.[13]

McLaughlin and Brubaker began the 2008–2009 season at the 2008 Skate America, where they won the silver medal. A week later they competed at the 2008 Skate Canada International, where they won the bronze medal. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, McLaughlin and Brubaker successfully defended their national title, which resulted in them being selected to compete at the 2009 Four Continents and the 2009 Worlds. They placed 5th at Four Continents and 11th at the World Championships.

In April 2009, Brubaker had hernia surgery to repair muscle tears in his lower abdomen.[14]

In May 2009, McLaughlin and Brubaker changed coaches to John Nicks[15] and relocated to California.[16]

McLaughlin and Brubaker began the 2009–2010 season at the 2009 Cup of Russia, where they won the bronze medal. They continued their season at the 2009 Skate America, where they placed 4th. As the top American pair team on the international circuit, McLaughlin and Brubaker entered the 2010 U.S. Championships as the favorites to win their third consecutive national title and secure one of the two pair skating berths on the U.S. Olympic team. Despite several days of strong practices, they delivered an uncharacteristically rough short program, including falls on a triple salchow and a freak fall on a death spiral, leaving them in 7th place.[16] The pair was able to move up to 5th place after the long program but it was not enough to win a place on the Olympic team.[17]

Determined to rebound from their national result, McLaughlin and Brubaker competed at the 2010 Four Continents less than ten days later. There, they recorded a personal best score in the short program and ultimately won the silver medal.

In June 2010, McLaughlin and Brubaker announced the end of their partnership.[18]

Partnership with Marley

Brubaker was uncertain whether to continue skating competitively but his coach arranged some tryouts.[19] In August, he had a two-day tryout with Mary Beth Marley and he was impressed enough to cancel his other tryouts,[20] although she had no pairs experience.[2] Marley relocated to Aliso Viejo, California,[20] and they began training together in earnest in September with coach John Nicks.[2][21] Their first international competition was the Toruń Cup in Toruń, Poland, where they earned the minimum technical scores required to compete at an ISU Championship. They placed fourth at the 2011 U.S. Nationals and were named as alternates for Four Continents. They were assigned to the event after an injury led Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett to withdraw.[22] Jenni Meno and Todd Sand became their main coaches for the 2011–12 season and Nicks also continued to work with the pair.[23][24]

In the 2012–13 season, Marley and Brubaker were assigned to 2012 Skate Canada International and 2012 NHK Trophy, however, on August 14, 2012, the pair announced the end of their partnership.[25] Brubaker said he planned to continue in competitive figure skating.[25] In late August, he had a tryout with Amanda Evora, which did not result in a partnership because neither of them could move.[26] Brubaker said he would not compete in the 2012–2013 season.[26] In January 2013, he confirmed he had moved back to Chicago and was continuing his partner search.[27]

Later career

On February 19, 2013, Brubaker announced his partnership with Lindsay Davis.[28] They competed together for one season. In March 2014, he became the skating director at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Illinois.[29]

Programs

With Davis

Season Short program Free skating
2013–2014
[30][31]

With Marley

Season Short program Free skating
2011–2012
[32]
2010–2011
[33]

With McLaughlin

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2009–2010
[34]
2008–2009
[35]

2007–2008
[36][37]
2006–2007
[36][38]
  • Romeo and Juliet
    by Sergei Prokofiev
  • Romeo and Juliet
    by Nino Rota
    choreo. by Dalilah Sappenfield

With Miller

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2005–2006
[39][40]
2004–2005
[9][41]
  • Grease

Competitive highlights

Pair skating with Davis

International[42]
Event 13–14
GP Rostelecom Cup7th
GP Skate Canada International6th
Nebelhorn Trophy5th
National[31]
U.S. Championships9th

Pair skating with Marley

International[43]
Event 10–11 11–12
World Championships10th
Four Continents Champ.8th3rd
GP Skate America7th
Cup of Nice3rd
Toruń Cup1st
National[44]
U.S. Championships4th2nd

Pair skating with McLaughlin

International[45]
Event 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10
World Champ.11th
Four Continents Champ.5th2nd
Grand Prix FinalWD
GP Cup of China2nd
GP Cup of Russia3rd
GP NHK Trophy2nd
GP Skate America2nd4th
GP Skate Canada3rd
International: Junior[45]
World Junior Champ.1st
JGP Final1st
JGP Hungary1st
JGP Taiwan1st
National[46]
U.S. Championships1st J.1st1st5th
J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

Pair skating with Miller

International[40]
Event 03–04 04–05 05–06
World Junior Champ.4th
JGP Final3rd3rd
JGP Bulgaria1st
JGP France1st
JGP Romania2nd
JGP Slovakia1st
Triglav Trophy1st J.
National[47]
U.S. Championships2nd N.1st J.
Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior

Pair skating with Freitag

Event 01–02
Midwestern Sectionals5th N.[48]
Upper Great Lakes Regionals2nd N.[49]

Single skating

Event 01–02 02–03 03–04
Midwestern Sectionals13th N.15th N.7th N.
Southwestern Regionals2nd N.
N. = Novice level

References

  1. "2001–2002 Midwestern Sectionals Novice Men's Free Skating and Final Results". U.S. Figure Skating.
  2. Price, Stephanie (January 7, 2011). "Competitive Ice Skating Runs Thick in Brubaker Blood". Algonquin Patch. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  3. Mittan, Barry (April 20, 2009). "Health Problems Don't Hamper U.S. Pairs Champs". Golden Skate. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  4. Brannen, Sarah S.; Meekins, Drew (February 13, 2013). "The Inside Edge: Brubaker engaged to Berton". IceNetwork.
  5. Brannen, Sarah S. "The Inside Edge: Pairs skaters say 'I do' in droves". Ice Network. Ice Network. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  6. Shinn, Peggy (January 14, 2010). "Making Team USA: Rockne Brubaker and Keauna McLaughlin". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  7. Mittan, Barry (January 3, 2007). "Brubaker Back on Top with New Partner". SkateToday.
  8. "2001-2002 Midwestern Sectional Championships". U.S. Figure Skating.
  9. Mittan, Barry (April 24, 2005). "U.S. Junior Pairs Champs Just Miss Junior Worlds Podium". Skate Today.
  10. Zanca, Salvatore (28 February 2007). "McLaughlin and Brubaker Skate Away with World Junior Pairs Title". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  11. "World Junior Figure Skating Championships: ISU Results: Pairs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-04. (10.5 KB)
  12. Schneider Farris, Jo Ann (16 February 2008). "McLaughlin, Brubaker believe in themselves". IceNetwork. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  13. "U.S. Figure Skating and PSA Announce Coaches of the Year". U.S. Figure Skating. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  14. "Brubaker sidelined by hernia surgery". Associated Press. April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  15. "Two-time U.S. Pairs Champions McLaughlin and Brubaker Announce Coaching Change". U.S. Figure Skating. May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  16. Hanel, Marnie (January 20, 2010). "Psyched Out: Pairs Skaters Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker's Disastrous Olympic Trials". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  17. Blanchette, John; Trimmer, Dave (January 17, 2010). "Brubaker, McLaughlin left off team". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  18. "Two-Time U.S. Pairs Champions Keauna McLaughlin And Rockne Brubaker Announce End Of Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. June 22, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  19. Rosewater, Amy (October 25, 2010). "Marley, Brubaker have eyes on Greensboro". IceNetwork.com. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  20. Hersh, Philip (January 22, 2011). "Unlikely Chicago-area pair could surprise at nationals". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  21. Ainsworth, Alexa (October 8, 2010). "Brubaker eyes podium with new partner". Universal Sports. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  22. Hersh, Philip (February 12, 2011). "U.S. pair Marley & Brubaker going places fast". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  23. Rutherford, Lynn (October 21, 2011). "Savchenko, Szolkowy tackle throw triple Axel". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  24. Rutherford, Lynn (January 26, 2012). "Rink notes: Marley, Brubaker 'different team now'". Ice Network.
  25. "U.S. pairs skaters Marley, Brubaker end partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. Icenetwork. August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  26. Hersh, Philip (September 1, 2012). "Pairs skater Brubaker will sit out season; 11th-hour attempt to find new partner falls through". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  27. Brannen, Sarah S. (January 31, 2013). "Brubaker remains hopeful amid partner search". IceNetwork.
  28. Brannen, Sarah S. (February 19, 2013). "Brubaker finds his match, pairs up with Davis". IceNetwork.
  29. Druley, Kevin (July 22, 2014). "Fox Valley Ice Arena skating director's past includes international pairs figure skating". Kane County Chronicle.
  30. "Lindsay DAVIS / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2013/2014 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. "Lindsy Davis / Rockne Brubaker at U.S. Figure Skating". Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved 2013-10-11.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  32. "Mary Beth MARLEY / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2011/2012 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. "Mary Beth MARLEY / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2010/2011 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. "Keauna MCLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2009/2010 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  35. "Keauna MCLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2008/2009 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  36. "Programs at the official website of Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker". Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved 2014-09-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  37. "Keauna MCLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2007/2008 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  38. "Keauna MCLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2006/2007 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on April 29, 2007. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  39. "Mariel MILLER / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2005/2006 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  40. "MILLER Mariel / BRUBAKER Rockne at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  41. "Mariel MILLER / Rockne BRUBAKER: 2004/2005 at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on February 11, 2005. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  42. "Competition Results: Lindsay DAVIS / Rockne BRUBAKER at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  43. "Competition Results: Mary Beth MARLEY / Rockne BRUBAKER at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  44. "Mary Beth Marley / Rockne Brubaker". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved 2011-08-01.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  45. "Competition Results: Keauna MCLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER at the International Skating Union". Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  46. "Keauna McLaughlin / Rockne Brubaker". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved 2014-09-16.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  47. "Mariel Miller / Rockne Brubaker". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-01.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  48. "2001–2002 Midwestern Sectional Championships Novice Pairs Free Skate and Final Results". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  49. "2001–2002 Upper Great Lakes Regional Championships Novice Pairs Free Skate and Final Results". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 22 May 2009.

Media related to Rockne Brubaker at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.