In domestic competition, she represented the Winterhurst Figure Skating Club based in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.
[2] According to a March 18, 1996, Los Angeles Times article, Kwiatkowski's college degree was notable as "...most of her competitors have not finished high school."
This did not go unnoticed by the press, as evidenced by an AP article dated April 5, 1998, noting of Kwiatkowski's World Championship performances that "...her spins were lovely, and her age gives her a grace few other skaters can match."
When Tonya Harding, reaching the nadir of a two-year skating slump, fell several times in her long program (after having placed second in the short program, during which her dress had come undone), and third-place Nicole Bobek also made several mistakes, fourth-place Kwiatkowski had a chance to move up onto the podium and onto the World team.
However, she skated extremely poorly in the initial round, failing to even qualify for the main draw, leaving the U.S. with just two skaters in the ladies' event.
After Ervin finished in 14th place, heavy favorite Nancy Kerrigan skated poorly and fell from first after the short program to fifth overall, leaving the U.S. with just two berths for 1994.
According to an 11 February 1995 article in the Chicago Tribune, "After she placed fifth overall in the 1994 nationals last January, her coach, Carol Heiss, was being told by skating insiders that Kwiatkowski had no future in the sport."
After graduating from college the previous year, Kwiatkowski gave a strong performance at the 1995 U.S. Nationals, taking the lead after the short program and finishing third behind Nicole Bobek and Michelle Kwan, with a fall on a triple flip in the long program costing her a shot at the title (see 1995 Nationals review article written the following year, "Kwiatkowksi is no kid at U.S. Championships" AP News, January 17, 1996).