Stephanie and Ian had been training at the same rink with other partners on and off for the past three years and developed a great friendship and respect for each other in that time.  They were at different levels in their skating, but decided to use their training time together to test their International dances while also pursuing tryouts.  At each test session the question would always be, why don't you skate together? After skating in a Judges School in Utah, Stephanie and Ian decided to become a team on the flight home.

Stephanie and Ian were in need of a choreographer and went to Texas in January and March of 2004 to work with Rinat Farkhoutdinov.  After finishing the choreography in March, they flew directly to Laurel, Maryland to meet with Liz Coates and Genrich Sretenski.  Stephanie and Ian were looking for a training center that could accommodate a dancers need on and off the ice and made the decision to move from Southern California to Laurel Maryland in May of 2004, unfortunately this was not the right choice for their needs and six months later they moved once again back to California in November. Northern California is now their home, training under Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, three time world champions and 1992 Olympic Champions.  Off ice Stephanie and Ian work with Mac Read, trainer for the San Jose Sharks and ballroom instructor Tesha Jacobson. Their skating goals include, selection for international events, Worlds and the Olympics.

Stephanie and Ian would like to extend their gratitude to some very important people:

Leah Adams, your support and friendship are truly a gift we will always treasure.  Thank you for making everything possible.

Stephanie's Great Uncle and Aunt, Lee and Ella Ellis, thank you for opening your home and the apartment in Santa Cruz, your generous gift of housing made this last minute move to San Jose possible.

To our parents, without whom none of this would be possible, thank you for always being so supportive.