Nguyen began learning to skate in 2009. She switched from singles to ice dancing at the age of 12. With her first partner, Maxwell Gart, she won silver in the intermediate category at the 2016 U.S. Championships.
2016–2017 season
In autumn 2016, Nguyen and Ukrainian ice dancer Vadym Kolesnik had a three-week tryout in Novi, Michigan, following which he returned to Ukraine for a few months. They began their partnership in February 2017.
Nguyen/Kolesnik received their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in the 2017–2018 season. They placed fifth at JGP Belarus and sixth at JGP Italy. After taking gold in junior ice dancing at Midwestern Sectionals, they qualified to the 2018 U.S. Championships, where they would finish fifth.
2018–2019 season
Nguyen/Kolesnik won the silver medal at 2018 JGP Lithuania, behind Russia's Arina Ushakova / Maxim Nekrasov, and the gold at 2018 JGP Slovenia to qualify for their first JGP Final. They placed fifth overall at the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final after placing fifth in the rhythm dance and fifth in the free dance. At the 2019 U.S. Championships they won the silver medal behind Caroline Green / Gordon Green after placing second in the rhythm dance and winning the free dance. At the 2019 World Junior Championships, Nguyen/Kolesnik placed fifth in the rhythm dance, but moved up to fourth overall after placing third in the free dance. They were awarded a small bronze medal for the free, where they had the highest technical base value of any of the competing teams, and the second-highest technical score overall.
2019–2020 season: Junior World title
Nguyen/Kolesnik began their Junior Grand Prix season at the 2019 JGP United States, where they placed first in both segments with personal best scores and won the gold medal. At 2019 JGP Poland, they again set personal best scores in both segments to take the title and qualify for the 2019–20 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Competing at the Final, Nguyen/Kolesnik narrowly lost the gold medal by only 0.16 points behind Maria Kazakova / Georgy Reviya of Georgia at the JGP Final. She commented "we're a little disappointed right now, but we’ll continue to keep on working. All our competitors were really strong. We were only a fourth of a point behind and we felt we could push and get to the next level, but it didn’t work out." At the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Nguyen/Kolesnik scored 184.38 total points to take the gold medal by more than 22 points. Their free dance, set to Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 2," featured all positive grades of execution and eight Level 4 elements, earning 109.89 points. At the 2020 Bavarian Open, they placed first in both the rhythm dance and free dance to win the gold medal. They concluded the season at the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they entered as one of the favourites for the title. Nguyen/Kolesnik placed third in the free skate, behind Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy and Kazakova/Reviya, after Nguyen stepped out of her twizzle sequence. She remarked that they had "left a few points on the table, but now we'll focus on the free dance." They won the free dance, setting a new junior world record and taking the Junior World title over Kazakova/Reviya. Nguyen said afterward "I've dreamed about this moment for so long and to know that our work finally paid off, it just feels great!" Kolesnik indicated that they had not decided whether to move up to senior competition or remain at the junior level for another season. At the end of June, Nguyen announced that the two had split. She said she had "many happy memories" of their partnership, and wished him the best as they "pursued different paths." She said she was going to look for a new partner who shared her "passion, dedication and commitment" to the sport. Within minutes, Kolesnik's announcement post followed. He thanked Nguyen "for all you have done for our partnership," expressed his admiration for her, and wished her all the best.
Programs
With Kolesnik
Competitive highlights
JGP: Junior Grand Prix
With Kolesnik
With Gart
Detailed results
Small medals awarded only at ISU Championships. ISU personal bests highlighted in bold.
