Wheaton finishes eighth as host of third collegiate synchro championship

March 24, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College synchronized swimming team captured eighth place among 22 competing teams as host of the 31st annual United States Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championship Saturday afternoon in Balfour Natatorium, as the Lyons hosted the national event for the third occasion and first time since 2002.

By finishing eighth, Wheaton ran its top-10 finish streak to 19 seasons since 1989, as the Blue and White moved up a spot from its 2006 placement with 38 points during the three-day meet. The Lyons came within 1.5 points of sixth-place Keuka College. Stanford University won its third consecutive championship with a commanding 97 points.

The Ohio State University placed second with 84 points, followed by University of Incarnate Word's 68, University of Alabama at Birmingham's 61 and Canisius College's 59.5. More than 200 of the top athletes from the collegiate scene vied for titles in the solo, duet, trio and team events. The championship is an open-class meet, combining competition from NCAA Divisions I, II and III, and NAIA colleges and universities.

Wheaton's team routine proved to be the hosts' strongest showing of the weekend, as seniors Elizabeth Corman (Saint Paul, MN/Hill-Murray School) and Sarah Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden) swam their final collegiate meet alongside junior Megan Kinney (Los Angeles, CA/Marlborough School), sophomores Sharada Strasmore (Weston, CT/Weston) and Sylvia Syracuse (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore West), and freshmen Laura Montes (San Juan, PR/Academia San Jose) and Jenna Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden). Finishing eighth behind six Division I programs and one Division II squad, the Lyons tallied 87.083 points.

Wheaton's trio finished 12th during Saturday's finals, as Corman, Montes and Strasmore combined for 83.500 points. Montes also placed 12th in the solo routine with 83.667 points.

In Thursday's and Friday's semifinals for the routines, Wheaton advanced in each the solo, trio and team competition. The Lyon team had the strongest showing, placing eighth while trailing six Division I squads and one Division II team. Montes tied for 10th during her solo, while she, Corman and Strasmore were the top Division III trio after placing 11th.

The Swinkins highlighted Friday's figures competition, as Jenna fell just 0.006 points off of first place during the C category at 66.405. Sister Sarah placed third in the event with 65.570 points. Kinney took 13th in B figures, and senior Renata Paglio (Portland, ME/Deering) was Wheaton's top finisher in D in 18th place.

Prior to the meet, 103 athletes earned Academic All-American status from the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Collegiate Coaches Committee. Included from Wheaton were Montes and sophomore Kelly Maby (Woodhaven, NY/Richmond Hill). The honorees from 22 institutions comprised more than half of the competition's entries, as athletes must earn at least a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average.

Final Results

Overall Standings:
(1) Stanford 97, (2) Ohio State 84, (3) Incarnate Word 68, (4) Alabama-Birmingham 61, (5) Canisius 59.5, (6) Keuka 39.5, (7) Arizona 38.5, (8) Wheaton 38, (9) Florida 35.5, (10T) Carleton 20.5, (10T) Michigan 20.5, (10T) Richmond 20.5, (10T) Walsh 20.5, (14) William & Mary 16.5, (15) Pennsylvania 10.5, (16) Boston University 10, (17) George Mason 9.5, (18) Mary Washington 7, (19) Minnesota 4.5, (20) MIT 2, (21) Penn State 1.5, (22) Wellesley 0.

Solo Final:
(1) Sara Lowe, Stanford 97.833, (2) Barb Nesbitt, Ohio State 96.000, (3) Natalia Tarasova, Canisius 95.667, (4) Danielle Kramer, Incarnate Word 92.833, (5) Dayli Sepulveda, Arizona 92.667, (6) Maria Garcia, Alabama-Birmingham 90.333, (7) Margareta Jakovac, Walsh 87.667, (8) Corenn Cookerly, Keuka 86.667, (9) Shannon Crowder, Keuka 85.667, (10T) Janelle Letzen, Florida 84.500, (10T) Elise Cordo, Carleton 84.500, (12) Laura Montes, Wheaton 83.667.

Duet Final:
(1) Sara Lowe, Courtenay Stewart, Stanford 97.500, (2) Samantha Bongiovanni-Duclos, Elizabeth Anne Markman, Stanford 95.500, (3) Ellen Hacker, Caitlin Stewart, Ohio State 94.167, (4) Emily Van Vleck, Lyssa Wallace, Incarnate Word 93.167, (5) Natalie Chase, Rachael Simon, Incarnate Word 92.667, (6) Meryl Grandia, Sara Petrov, Alabama-Birmingham 90.833, (7T) Maria Garcia, Frances Halloran, Alabama-Birmingham 86.333, (7T) Nicole Cardinale, Andrea Natoli, Canisius 86.333, (9) Alexandra Salas, Dayli Sepulveda, Arizona 85.833, (10) Kristina Averell, Alaina Hill, Canisius 85.500, (11) Marian Hartman, Christy Henderson, Florida 84.333, (12) Megan Becker, Meredith Cooke, Florida 82.833.

Trio Final:
(1) Sara Lowe, Elizabeth Anne Markman, Courtenay Stewart, Stanford 96.333, (2) Barb Nesbitt, Leah Pinette, Hannah Shively, Ohio State 95.167, (3) Ellen Hacker, Carmen Moraes, Caitlin Stewart, Ohio State 93.667, (4) Samantha Bongiovanni-Duclos, Poppy Carlig, Melissa Knight, Stanford 93.500, (5) Danielle Kramer, Emily Van Vleck, Lyssa Wallace, Incarnate Word 92.833, (6) Meryl Grandia, Frances Halloran, Sara Petrov, Alabama-Birmingham 90.833, (7) Natalie Chase, Liz Chinoransky, Rachael Simon, Incarnate Word 89.000, (8) Kristina Averell, Alaina Hill, Natalia Tarasova, Canisius 87.833, (9) Courtney Christman, Tori Mazur, Andrea Natoli, Canisius 86.000, (10) Megan Becker, Meredith Cooke, Janelle Letzen, Florida 84.833, (11) Corenn Cookerly, Shannon Crowder, Jenn Kaminska, Keuka 84.333, (12) Elizabeth Corman, Laura Montes, Sharada Strasmore, Wheaton 83.500.

Team Final:
(1) Stanford 98.833, (2) Ohio State 98.167, (3) Incarnate Word 95.500, (4) Alabama-Birmingham 94.500 (5) Canisius 94.333, (6) Ohio State 93.833, (7) Florida 88.667, (8) Wheaton 87.083, (9) Keuka 85.500, (10) William & Mary 84.917, (11) Richmond 84.083, (12) Arizona 81.833.

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