Ian Somerville (born September 1, 2000) is an American ice dancer. With his skating partner, Emily Bratti, he is the 2024 U.S. national bronze medalist and competed in the final segment at the 2022 Four Continents Championships.

Ian Somerville
Bratti and Somerville at the 2024 World Championships
Born (2000-09-01) September 1, 2000 (age 23)
Washington, D.C.
HometownCabin John, Maryland
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Figure skating career
Country United States
DisciplineIce dance
PartnerEmily Bratti
CoachGreg Zuerlein
Charlie White
Tanith White
Skating clubWashington FSC
Began skating2007
U.S. Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Columbus Ice dance

With his former skating partner, Katarina Del Camp, he is the 2021 U.S. junior national bronze medalist. With his former skating partner, Eliana Gropman, he is the 2019 U.S. national junior bronze medalist and the 2018 JGP Slovakia bronze medalist. They placed in the top twelve at the 2019 World Junior Championships.

Personal life edit

Ian Somerville was born September 1, 2000, in Washington, D.C. to real estate appraisers Catherine and Scott Somerville. He has an older sister named Lauren.[1] Somerville graduated from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland.[1] He is fluent in French and has attended bilingual English/French schools since preschool.[1] Somerville is a fan of the Washington Football Team and owns two Wheaten Terriers named Divi and Margot.[1]

Career edit

Early career edit

Somerville began skating at age four as a recreational activity.[2] Gropman/Somerville announced their partnership in June 2008.[2] They did not compete during the 2010–11 season after Somerville and his family moved to France for nine months.[3] Together, they are the 2012 U.S. national juvenile and 2013 U.S. national intermediate champions, as well as the 2014 U.S. national novice silver medalists. They did not advance to the 2015 U.S. Championships, after placing fifth at 2015 Eastern Sectionals.[2]

2015–16 season edit

Gropman/Somerville received their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment, placing tenth at 2015 JGP United States in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They won bronze at Midwestern Sectionals and finished seventh at the 2016 U.S. Championships. Gropman/Somerville then competed at the 2016 Bavarian Open, where they won silver behind Shevchenko/Eremenko of Russia.[4]

2016–17 season edit

Gropman/Somerville opened their season with the bronze medal at 2016 Lake Placid Ice Dance International behind U.S. teammates Parsons/Parsons and Lewis/Bye. They finished ninth at 2016 JGP France and fifth at 2016 NRW Trophy. Gropman/Somerville won bronze at Eastern Sectionals and finished sixth at the 2016 U.S. Championships.[4]

2017–18 season edit

Gropman/Somerville began the season with a pair of fourth-place finishes at 2017 JGP Australia and 2017 JGP Croatia. They won silver at Eastern Sectionals and earned their first junior national medal, pewter, at the 2017 U.S. Championships.[4]

 
Gropman and Somerville at the 2019 World Junior Championships

2018–19 season edit

Gropman/Somerville won their first JGP medal, a bronze, at 2018 JGP Slovakia behind Russians Khudaiberdieva/Nazarov and Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy. They placed fifth at 2018 JGP Canada. Gropman/Somerville won gold at Midwestern Sectionals and bronze at the 2019 U.S. Championships. With their result, they were named to the team for the 2019 World Junior Championships for the first time, alongside Green/Green and Nguyen/Kolesnik.[5]

At the 2019 Junior Worlds, Gropman/Somerville were ninth after the rhythm dance but fell to twelfth overall following a thirteenth-place free dance. Somerville and Gropman dissolved the partnership at the end of the season.[6]

2019–20 season edit

Somerville teamed up with Katarina DelCamp in 2019. They placed tenth at 2019 JGP Croatia and fourth at 2019 JGP Italy. DelCamp/Somerville won the bronze medal at the inaugural U.S. Ice Dance Final behind Wolfkostin/Chen and Cesanek/Yehorov. They then finished fifth at the 2020 U.S. Championships and, as a result, were assigned to Egna Dance Trophy. DelCamp/Somerville won their first international medal, silver, at Egna Trophy behind teammates Cesanek/Yehorov.[1]

2020–21 season edit

In their lone event of the pandemic-shortened season, DelCamp/Somerville won the bronze medal at the 2021 U.S. junior championships.[1] Somerville dissolved the partnership afterward.[7]

2021–22 season edit

After ending his partnership with DelCamp, Somerville formed a new partnership with Emily Bratti, who he had known for three years while she trained at the same facility with a different partner. They moved to train with Charlie White and Greg Zuerlein at the newly-opened Michigan Ice Dance Academy in Canton, Michigan.[7]

Bratti/Somerville made their international debut on the Challenger series at the 2021 CS Cup of Austria, finishing eighth. They went on to place fifth at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[8] At their senior national debut at the 2022 U.S. Championships, Bratti/Somerville were fifth.[9] This placement earned them an assignment to the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, where they also finished fifth. Somerville said he looked forward to the off-season and having more time to improve the partnership.[10]

2022–23 season edit

Bratti and Somerville's summer training was disrupted in June after a fall in a lift resulted in Bratti fracturing a bone in her face and requiring three root canal surgeries to repair damage to her teeth. Eventually they resumed training, though they did not attempt lifts again for over a month afterward.[11]

Bratti/Somerville began the season at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International, coming in fourth.[8] They were fourth as well at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy.[12] Invited to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2022 Skate Canada International, the team finished in sixth place.[13] They won the gold medal at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge, their first Challenger title.[14]

Finishing the season at the 2023 U.S. Championships, Bratti/Somerville placed fifth for the second consecutive year.[8]

2023–24 season edit

On the Challenger circuit, Bratti/Somerville came fourth at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy.[8] On the Grand Prix, they were sixth at the 2023 Cup of China.[15] They were sixth as well at the 2023 NHK Trophy, with new personal bests in both the free dance and overall.[16]

In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, U.S. Figure Skating opted to name the team for the Four Continents Championships in advance, as they were to be held the week following the national championships. Bratti/Somerville were not included among the entries or as alternates.[17] They would later admit to having found this "pretty disappointing."[18] At the national championship in Columbus, they came fourth in the rhythm dance. Bratti/Somerville then surprised by placing third in the free dance, aided by errors by Green/Parsons, who had been ahead of them after the first segment. This result moved them up to third overall and they received the bronze medal. They had the second-best technical mark in the free dance. Both said they were "in shock" as to the result.[19]

Following their unexpected third-place at the national championship, Bratti/Somerville were named to the American team for the 2024 World Championships in Montreal. Bratti said that their goal was "to show that we belong there and that we should be belonging there in the future, too," while Somerville hoped to "show the joy and energy and excitement of our programs, and show the maturity of the free dance and how far we’ve come as artists."[18] In the rhythm dance in Montreal, the team had a fall at the end of their program, as a result of which they placed twenty-third in the segment, missing qualification to the free dance. Bratti said she was "extremely disappointed" with the error, but otherwise that she felt the program was " the best we've ever skated, and we'll definitely take this as a learning experience going forward."[20]

Programs edit

With Bratti edit

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2023–2024
[21]
2022–2023
[22]
2021–2022
[23]

With DelCamp edit

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2019–2020
[24]

With Gropman edit

Season Rhythm dance Free dance
2018–2019
[25]
  • Tango: Nuevo Tango
    by Cuarteto Nuevo Tango
  • Argentine tango: La Cascada
    by Seoan feat. Kathy
  • Tango: Nuevo Tango
    by Cuarteto Nuevo Tango
Short dance Free dance
2017–2018
[26]
2016–2017
[27]
2015–2016
[28]
  • Ice Queen
    by Dinletir
  • Rebirth 2
    by Solace
  • Ice Queen
    by Dinletir
2014–2015
[2]
  • Mi Chica
    by Sarbel
  • Gitti Gideli
    by Tarkan

Competitive highlights edit

Ice dance with Emily Bratti edit

Competition placements at senior level [8]
Season 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
World Championships 23rd
Four Continents 5th
GP Cup of China 6th
GP NHK Trophy 6th
GP Skate Canada 6th
CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 5th
CS Ice Challenge 8th 1st
CS Lombardia Trophy 4th 4th
Lake Placid Ice Dance 4th
U.S. Championships 5th 5th 3rd

Ice dance with Katarina Del Camp edit

Competition placements at junior level [29]
Season 2019–20 2020–21
JGP Croatia 10th
JGP Italy 4th
Egna Dance Trophy 2nd
Ice Dance Final 3rd
U.S. Championships 5th 3rd

Ice dance with Eliana Gropman edit

Competition placements at junior level [4]
Season 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Worlds Junior Championships 12th
JGP Australia 4th
JGP Canada 5th
JGP Croatia 4th
JGP France 9th
JGP Slovakia 3rd
JGP United States 10th
Bavarian Open 2nd
Lake Placid International 3rd
NRW Trophy 5th
U.S. Championships 7th 6th 4th 3rd

Detailed results edit

Ice dance with Emily Bratti edit

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System 
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 183.43 2023 NHK Trophy
Rhythm dance TSS 71.61 2022 CS Ice Challenge
TES 41.20 2022 Skate Canada International
PCS 31.50 2023 NHK Trophy
Free dance TSS 111.96 2023 NHK Trophy
TES 63.04 2023 NHK Trophy
PCS 48.92 2023 NHK Trophy
Results in the 2021–22 season
Date Event RD FD Total
P Score P Score P Score
Nov 11–14, 2021   2021 CS Cup of Austria 7 67.18 9 99.65 8 166.83
Dec 7–11, 2021   2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 5 68.90 5 103.34 5 172.24
Jan 3–9, 2022   2022 U.S. Championships 6 76.70 6 111.28 5 187.98
Jan 18–23, 2022   2022 Four Continents Championships 6 67.72 5 101.82 5 169.54
Results in the 2022–23 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Jul 26–29, 2022   2022 Lake Placid Ice Dance International 4 68.63 3 104.72 4 173.35
Sep 16–19, 2022   2022 CS Lombardia Trophy 4 67.79 5 102.75 4 170.54
Oct 28–30, 2022   2022 Skate Canada International 6 70.85 6 108.29 6 179.14
Nov 9–13, 2022   2022 CS Ice Challenge 1 71.61 1 107.46 1 179.07
Jan 23–29, 2023   2023 U.S. Championships 6 75.91 6 113.93 5 189.84
Results in the 2023–24 season
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 8–10, 2023   2023 CS Lombardia Trophy 5 68.19 5 109.47 4 177.66
Nov 10–12, 2023   2023 Cup of China 5 71.17 7 108.22 6 179.39
Nov 24–26, 2023   2023 NHK Trophy 6 71.47 6 111.96 6 183.43
Jan 22–28, 2024   2024 U.S. Championships 4 78.14 3 118.80 3 196.94
Mar 18–24, 2024   2024 World Championships 23 65.21 23 65.21

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "2019–20 Figure Skating Roster: Katarina DelCamp and Ian Somerville". U.S. Figure Skating.
  2. ^ a b c d "2018–19 Figure Skating Roster: Eliana Gropman and Ian Somerville". U.S. Figure Skating.
  3. ^ "Eliana Gropman & Ian Somerville: Our Background". ice-dance.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  5. ^ "U.S. Figure Skating Announces Pairs and Ice Dance Selections for World, Four Continents and World Junior Teams". U.S. Figure Skating. January 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Gropman, Eliana (April 5, 2019). "It's with a lot of sadness that I'm announcing the end of my 10-year ice dance partnership with Ian" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-25.
  7. ^ a b "Getting to Know: Emily Bratti & Ian Somerville". ice-dance.com. December 10, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Emily BRATTI / Ian SOMERVILLE: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  9. ^ Slater, Paula (January 9, 2022). "Chock and Bates edge out teammates for U.S. title". Golden Skate.
  10. ^ Slater, Paula (January 21, 2022). "Green and Parsons feel 'incredible' after Four Continents win". Golden Skate.
  11. ^ Cloutier, Claire (January 22, 2023). "Bratti and Somervillle: Rising Through the Ranks". U.S. Figure Skating.
  12. ^ Knoop, Grace (September 18, 2022). "Three top five finishes highlight Lombardia Trophy for Team USA". U.S. Figure Skating.
  13. ^ Slater, Paula (October 29, 2022). "Gilles and Poirier defend Skate Canada title". Golden Skate.
  14. ^ "Kapeikis, Bratti and Sommerville Win Gold at 2022 IceChallenge". U.S. Figure Skating. November 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (November 11, 2023). "Gilles and Poirier win first Cup of China title". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  16. ^ Slater, Paula (November 25, 2023). "Fear and Gibson edge out Italians for NHK Trophy gold". Golden Skate. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "Eighteen Athletes Named to Four Continents Team". U.S. Figure Skating. January 9, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Miller, Darci (March 18, 2024). "Bratti and Somerville hope to continue seizing opportunities at first World Championships". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ^ Flett, Ted (January 27, 2024). "Chock and Bates take fifth national title". Golden Skate. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ Schwindt, Troy (March 23, 2024). "Levito Rises Up to Earn World Silver Medal". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Emily BRATTI / Ian SOMERVILLE: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023.
  22. ^ "Emily BRATTI / Ian SOMERVILLE: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023.
  23. ^ "Emily BRATTI / Ian SOMERVILLE: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "Katarina DELCAMP / Ian SOMERVILLE". International Skating Union.
  25. ^ "Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE". International Skating Union.
  26. ^ "Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018.
  27. ^ "Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017.
  28. ^ "Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016.
  29. ^ "Katarina DELCAMP / Ian SOMERVILLE: Competition Results". International Skating Union.

External links edit