Wheaton equals highest finish ever at United States Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championship

March 23, 2002

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College synchronized swimming team made its second opportunity to host a United States Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championship a memorable one Saturday afternoon at Balfour Natatorium, as the Lyons equaled their highest finish ever by placing fifth overall for the first time since 1999.

Extending a very impressive string of 14 straight top ten finishes since 1989, Wheaton placed higher than any other non-Division I institution by totaling 47.5 points over the course of the three-day meet. The Ohio State University won its third consecutive, and 22nd overall title in the 26th year of the largest championship to date.

The Buckeyes posted 99 points, followed by Stanford University (92), University of Alabama-Birmingham (73) and Canisius College (65). More than 200 athletes from 22 schools were on hand competing for collegiate national titles in the solo, duet, trio and team events. The championships are an open-class meet, combining competition for NCAA Divisions I, II and III, plus NAIA schools.

Wheaton was the only Division III institution among a host of Division I schools to qualify for the finals in any event. Placing eighth overall and swimming for Wheaton in the team routine was junior co-captains Jamie Sallier (St. Louis, MO/Ladue Horton Watkins) and Elizabeth Maga (Dayton, OH/Chaminade-Julienne), junior Emily Padow (Richmond, VA/The Steward School), sophomore Beth Percy (St. Louis, MO/Parkway West) and first-year athletes Blair Feldman (Tuscon, AZ/Green Fields Country Day School), Bevin Hughes (Akron, OH/Walsh Jesuit) and Jamie Olken (Rochester, NY/Brighton).

Percy, who was two slots away from being selected as Wheaton's first All-American candidate, picked up a fifth-place finish in the solo final with a score of 88.333. The sophomore then teamed up with Sallier for eighth in duet with a mark of 85.834. For Percy's performances, she was the meet's high scorer among Division III athletes, earning her a spot on the All-Collegiate team for the second consecutive year. Sallier nearly missed the All-Collegiate tag with the fourth-highest point total, as only the top three individuals per Division are named to the team. Percy and Sallier will now advance to the U.S. National Championships and 2002 U.S National Team Trials, April 18-20 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

In the preliminary rounds on Thursday and Friday, host Wheaton was able to advance to the finals portion of the competition in the team, solo and duet routines. Wheaton's team routine edged rival Richmond and Canisius to qualify for the final in seventh place with a score of 86.083, making the Lyons the top placing Division III institution. Wheaton was led by Percy, who scored an 86.667 for fifth place in the solo routine. Percy then partnered with Sallier as the only non-Division I entrants among the top ten duets, scoring an 83.666 for seventh place.

Prior to the meet, a record 99 athletes earned Academic All-American status from the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Collegiate Coaches Committee. Included in that company from Wheaton was Percy and Feldman. The honorees from 21 institutions were nearly half the 203 entries in the competition. Athletes must earn at least a 3.25 grade point average (GPA) to be named an Academic All-American. Wheaton head coach Mary Kay Adams was presented the 2002 Collegiate Contributor Award.

Final Results

Overall Standings:
(1) Ohio State 99, (2) Stanford 92, (3) UAB 73, (4) Canisius 65, (5) Wheaton 47.5, (6) Richmond 41.5, (7) Keuka 28.5, (8) Florida 26, (9) Arizona 24.5, (10) William & Mary 21, (11) Iowa 18, (12) Washington 17.5, (13T) Carleton 13.5, (13T) Pennsylvania 13.5, (15) Minnesota 12, (16) Incarnate Word 9, (17) Boston 7, (18) Cornell 6.5, (19) Penn State 6, (20) Mary Washington 5, (21) Michigan 3, (22) Rhode Island 0.5.

Solo Final:
(1T) Kate Norris, Stanford 95.833, (1T) Carolina Moraes, Ohio State 95.833, (3) Bogdana Zareva, UAB 94.833, (4) Jill Wright, Canisius 89.833, (5) Beth Percy, Wheaton 88.333, (6) Katie Rozofsky, Florida 86.833, (7) Lindsay Kaufmann, Iowa 86.334, (8) Inga Todd, Keuka 85.500.

Duet Final:
(1) Carolina Moraes, Isabela Moraes, Ohio State 96.333, (2) Erin Dobratz, Lindsey Wigginton, Stanford 95.000, (3) Stephanie Joukoff, Jennifer Kibler, Stanford 91.666, (4) Amanda Haeuser, Bogdana Zareva, UAB 91.667, (5) Jennifer Holmquist, Stacy Leiker, UAB 90.000, (6) Alexandra Pinango, Gabriella Pinango, Canisius 89.000, (7) Jennifer Arenz, Sally Winchester, Washington 86.333, (8) Beth Percy, Jamie Sallier, Wheaton 85.834.

Trio Final:
(1) Mary Hofer, Carolina Moraes, Isabela Moraes, Ohio State 97.333, (2) Erin Dobratz, Kate Norris, Lindsey Wigginton, Stanford 96.333, (3) Stephanie Joukoff, Jennifer Kibler, Shella Sadovnik, Stanford 93.666, (4) Victoria Bowen, Suzanna Hyatt, Beth Kreimer, Ohio State 92.833, (5) Luna Aguilu, Jennifer Holmquist, Stacy Leiker, UAB 91.667, (6) Alexandra Pinango, Gabriella Pinango, Jill Wright, Canisius 89.167, (7) Ruth Ashburn, Laura Gellin, Kate Matusiak, Canisius 86.667, (8) Lauren Gustafson, Laura Mase, Schyler Reese, Richmond 85.166.

Team Final:
(1) Ohio State 98.167, (2) Stanford 97.334, (3) Ohio State B 95.333, (4) UAB A 95.167 (5) Canisius A 92.667, (6) UAB B 89.917, (7) Canisius B 88.583, (8) Wheaton 87.750.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/21/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines.

Wheaton hosts New England Figure Meet to open season (more)

2008-09 season preview (more)

Wheaton runs top-10 streak at Collegiate Championship to 20 years (more)

Upcoming Schedule

10-Jan Sat Univ. of Florida Fig. A 10:00am
31-Jan Sat Wheaton Invitational H 2:00pm
7-Feb Sat Canisius Invitational A 2:00pm