It was a huge win — even in defeat.
Benedictine University in Lisle played Rockford University in the first collegiate women’s flag football game in Illinois on Saturday at the Chicago Bears’ Walter Payton Center at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
“It was an incredible spectacle of an event,” said Benedictine coach Caroline Schwartz, the Deerfield High School product and former Lane Tech flag coach. She joined Benedictine in April 2024 but was hired full-time in January.
“The Bears made a huge deal of it and made it super, super special for these girls,” said Schwartz, who led Lane Tech to the 2023 state title in flag football’s last year as an Illinois High School Association emerging sport before it gained sanctioning last year.
The Bears being a huge proponent for girls flag football in Illinois, Bears President Kevin Warren and player personnel coordinator Ashton Washington welcomed the teams, Washington flipping an honorary coin toss.
Benedictine University junior receiver Madison Stevens, a St. Charles North graduate, gains yards after a catch against Rockford University. Courtesy of Mark Black/Benedictine University
The Benedictine Eagles include Glenbard North’s Leanalyn Figueroa, Fenton’s Leilani Garcia, Downers Grove North’s Jacqueline Garro, Schaumburg’s Teresa Puchalski, Aurora Central Catholic’s Hannah Pripusich and St. Charles North’s Madison Stevens.
Schwartz, though, said only team co-captains Marilyn Myrick of Bolingbrook and Saniya Shotwell of Oak Park brought previous playing experience.
“A lot of these girls are starting for the first time. But they’re athletes,” Schwartz said.
Playing a Rockford squad with a full recruiting class under its belt, Benedictine lost 32-0, but the coach said, “we learned a lot.”
It’s Game 1 of a 12-game schedule that continues March 21 in Rockford against Bryant & Stratton College of Wisconsin.
“It wasn’t about who won or lost, it was a huge win for women’s flag football as a sport, and for all of the athletes in general,” Schwartz said.
Truly Elite
Twenty figure skaters achieved something never before seen.
Teams Elite, a synchronized figure skating program that trains primarily at the Northbrook Sports Center, took first place Saturday at the World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships at Frölundaborg arena in Gothenburg, Sweden.
It was the first time any United States synchronized skating team earned a gold medal at a world championships at any level, according to U.S. Figure Skating.
“It’s a first for us, it’s a first for our country, it still feels quite surreal,” said head coach Danielle Ostrower of Wauconda. A Buffalo Grove High School graduate, Class of 2006, she’s been with Teams Elite since 2012 and juniors head coach seven years.
It’s a large group of Teams Elite juniors, between 14 and 18 years old, who contributed:
Leena Bader of Alsip, Sophia Bayraktarov (Park Ridge), Natalia Binczycki and Tamaki Shinohara (Schaumburg), Emma Chung (Bolingbrook), Zsofia Katona and Evie Stuckey (Arlington Heights), and Addison Keith, Emma Martinelli, Celine Pechyoni and Hannah Yang of Northbrook.
Also: Sophia Kracht (Libertyville), Marissa Lee (Vernon Hills), Quinn McCormick (Antioch), Lyric O’Neal (Lindenhurst), Maddie Ortiz (Franklin Park), Sophia Papageorgiou (Buffalo Grove), Ashley Qiu (Kildeer), Kiley Scoleri (St. Charles), and Shannon Urey of Chicago.
“Honestly it’s really insane,” said Stuckey, a Prospect High School senior and team cocaptain with Katona, a senior at Rolling Meadows.
“You dream about moments like this, but when it actually happens it’s kind of surreal. All of our hard work paid off, all the late-night practices and weekends paid off, and it’s all really worth it,” she said.
Stuckey skates about four hours weekly on top of the program regimen of between 9-10 hours on the ice and four hours off the ice doing ballroom dance, flexibility or ballet, strength and conditioning, and unison work.
She needed permission for two straight weeks off from school, requested by U.S. Figure Skating, to compete in Sweden a week after Teams Elite repeated as junior champions at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Feb. 26-March 1.
It’s been a happy new year for these athletes, who compete on the ice as a team of 16.
Before its world and national titles, Teams Elite Junior won the International Skating Union Challenger Series in Boston and another Challenger Series event, the Dresden Cup, in Germany. Teams Elite finished fourth at worlds in 2024.
“The hot streak was pretty similar to last season, it just ended differently than last season. It ended hotter,” said Ostrower, who said tryouts for the 2025-26 season will be held March 22-23 in Northbrook. There’s an open house March 16.
In Sweden they were in third place after their short program behind Canada’s Les Suprêmes and New York’s Skyliners. St. Charles North sophomore Scoleri said Teams Elite had a locker room conversation before its winning free skate, set to music from “Black Swan.”
“We really just wanted to throw it all out there, like no regrets. It was the last time we were going to skate this program, and it’s a program we all loved, so we just wanted to skate it with all that we had,” Scoleri said.
Mission accomplished.
“It’s a unique experience and it still has not hit that we are the best team in world,” Scoleri said. “It has not sunk in that we have accomplished something that’s as big as we did.”
doberhelman@dailyherald.com