Carly Donowick, 14, and Leo Ungar, 17, have been competing together since 2002.  They train in San Jose, Calif. with Sergei Ponomarenko and Marina Klimova and skate for the Peninsula SC.  The finished 4th at US Nationals in Junior Dance this past year.

How and when did you begin skating?
Carly Donowick (CD): I began playing hockey with my older sister and my younger brother when I was 6 years old.  My parents switched me into figure skating due to sibling rivalry with my older sister, Emily.  I still played ice hockey for my middle school until I was 12 and I'm proud to admit that I led the team in penalty minutes.

Leo Ungar (LU): I started taking group lessons when I was in kindergarten, mostly because many of my friends from school were also in the class.  I continued in group lessons and enjoyed them very much.  When my friends all signed up for hockey, I tried to do the same but unfortunately the class was full.  Instead, I called and arranged private lessons with a coach, Peggy Tamres, and that was my introduction to figure skating.  To this day, I find it amusing that my career in figure skating (if you can call it that) would never have existed if that hockey class had had one extra spot.

What are your long-term goals on and off the ice?
CD: On the ice, our long-term goals would be to place in the top three at nationals on the senior level and make the World and Olympic Team.  Off the ice I would like to become a child psychologist, choreographer, or own a salon.

LU: On the ice, my long-term goals include winning Junior Worlds and making the U.S. World and Olympic team.  Off the ice, admission to either Stanford or Harvard are probably my immediate goals.  Later on, I hope to pursue graduate study in either law or medicine and eventually, create a successful law firm or have a thriving medical practice.

Are there any embarrassing or memorable skating moments you can share with us?
CD: When I was about 10 years old, I totally bombed my juvenile freestyle program at Regionals in New Jersey.  That was soooo embarrassing.  I think I fell 9 times, even on backwards crossovers.  It was horrible.

LU: I remember at awards one year at Junior Nationals with my partner, Katy Green, we fell on the way out to the podium.  That was pretty embarrassing.

Which skaters do you most admire?
CD: I admire Irina Romanova and Marina Klimova for their ability to inspire me through their coaching methods and choreography.  The present day skaters I admire most are all the skaters that we compete with.  I think we all have a certain amount of respect and admiration for each other and we all enjoy seeing each other at various competitions throughout the year.

LU: I have a lot of respect for Paul Wylie for successfully integrating skating and academics.  Moreover, his career with Disney out of Harvard is very impressive.  In terms of skating itself, I have a lot of respect, of course, for my coaches Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko.  Also, I really enjoy watching Tanith [Belbin] & Ben [Agoston] and I'm rooting for them to become the first US medalists at Worlds (and Olympics) for quite some time.

What’s your favorite part of skating?
CD: Performing in front of a crowd ...  The glamour and show of it all is really exciting especially when Leo and I skate a clean program.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to know that all our hard work has paid off and it motivates me to go home and work even harder for the next competition.

LU: I would have to say my favorite part of skating is the feeling of accomplishment that I derive from it.  I work very hard on the ice and it is very rewarding to see that pay off as we improve, and ultimately in a good performance at a competition.

How did you become a team, and what was it that made you realize you wanted to skate together?
LU: I went to the partner tryout at Nationals in LA and I saw Carly skating.  She was obviously very talented and I wanted to try out with her.  When I got back home, Sergei called the Donowicks and arranged a tryout.  After thirty minutes of the first session, we could tell that she was the one.

CD: Leo and I just kind of clicked.  Our body types are similar, and even though our personalities don’t always match as well as our skating does we get along pretty well.  Our first year together was definitely a “learning about each other” year.  This year we feel more confident and comfortable with each other.

What are your goals for the upcoming season?  Can you tell us a little about your music and programs?
LU: Right now our music and programs are a bit of a secret but we're working very hard on them with Marina so hopefully they will be sharp when we skate them in competition.

CD: Leo and I want to make the Junior World team this year.  Our freedance and OD are a surprise, but we are working very hard on them and are anxious to debut out freedance in Lake Placid in August.  [Editor's Note: Donowick & Ungar have since withdrawn from the Lake Placid competition due to illness, but they expect to be prepared for their Junior Grand Prix assignment in Mexico City, September 25-28, 2003.]

How have your coaches, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomerenko, influenced your skating?
CD: Their style and experience have influenced Leo’s and my skating tremendously.  They are very encouraging and Sergei is a very funny guy.  He is an unbelievable technician and he’s very good at teaching compulsories.

LU: Absolutely.  They are amazing.  Whenever they do so much as stroke a lap around the ice rink it is clear the amount of talent they possess and training they've had.  Just their presence around the rink is a constant reminder of what's it's like to be on top and, as such, is very inspirational.  What's more, to top it all off, they are great coaches.  I consider myself very lucky to study with them.

What made you interested in competing as an ice dancer?
CD: I remember my coach thought that dance would be a good idea to help my freeskating.  I realized about two years into dance that I liked dancing a lot, and I started to slowly wean myself off free skating and started to become more attached to ice dance.  I didn’t quit freestyle skating until I was 13 years old.  If things ever slow down, I may try to pick it back up just to finish my freestyle tests.

LU: As with my introduction to figure skating, I stumbled into ice dance by serendipitous accident.  My freestyle coach told me I had to take either patch or dance for my edges and at the tender age of eight, convinced that girls had cooties, I chose patch.  After a few months, I decided patch was pretty despicable and switched to dance ... despite the eminent threat of cooties.  (It couldn't be any worse than tracing the same circle over and over and over ...)

Would you say the two of you are a lot alike, or pretty different; and how does it influence the way you work together?
CD: Leo and I are what you would call polar opposites.  First of all, Leo was born on the West Coast; I was born on the East Coast.  We both grew up in two completely different types of families.  I come from a large family (five kids) and Leo comes from a smaller family.  We were raised differently, and we have different views and perspectives on a lot of things.  This sometimes gets in the way when we are trying to resolve certain things in practice, but we have pretty much figured out how to work with each other and resolve some of our practice issues.

LU: Carly and I have been described as diametrically opposed, and although that may be hyperbolic, there's definitely some truth to it.  I'm very academic and studious, whereas Carly is very social and outgoing.  While undoubtedly, this has caused a few disagreements, I think it also makes us a stronger, more complete team.  I think we compliment each other well; she fills in where I'm weak and vice versa.  In fact, I've learned a lot from her perspective on things.

Carly, you have a big family with four siblings-how do you keep in touch now that you’re living across the country for skating?
My family and I talk a lot through e-mail and the phone.  I miss my brothers and sisters very much but I do talk with each one of them on the phone at least once a week.  I would say that I talk with Emily and Eddie more often because they are closer to my age and we have more to talk about.  Eddie likes to get advice about girls, and Emily and I talk about what is going on in her high school compared to what is going on in my high school.  It’s interesting to see how different our schools are.  Emily and Eddie are planning on coming out to San Jose for a long weekend before school starts (without Mom and Dad).

Leo, on your Website, you describe academics as one of your top priorities.  How do you find the balance between school and skating?
That is a great question.  Balancing my rigorous academic standards with a full skating load is difficult, to say the least.  This past year, my junior year, was particularly stressful.  I averaged probably about four hours of sleep per night and caught pneumonia.  It's not a lifestyle I would recommend to anyone who was not absolutely dedicated to their goals.  That said, I am very proud of myself in that I had a very successful academic year and skating year.