Lyons leave United States Collegiate Championship as top Division III team in nation
March 26, 2005
GAINESVILLE, FL- For the second consecutive season under head coach Anna Eng, the Wheaton College synchronized swimming team improved its standing at a United States Collegiate Championship, as the Lyons placed seventh overall with 39.5 points at the University of Florida's O'Connell Aquatic Center.
In addition to finishing seventh, Wheaton can lay claim as the top Division III team in the nation, as the Lyons edged out rival Keuka College by four points. Stanford University snapped The Ohio State University's championship streak with a total of 98 points.
Extending its top-ten team finishes to 17 consecutive seasons dating back to 1989, Wheaton was among 25 institutions and more than 275 athletes competing for collegiate national titles in the solo, duet, trio and team events at the championship. The championship is an open-class meet, combining competition for NCAA Divisions I, II and III, plus NAIA schools.
Wheaton's team routine showed significant improvement from a year ago, moving up four places to eighth place with 88.550 points. Comprised of the squad was senior co-captain Jamie Olken (Brighton, NY/Brighton), sophomore co-captain Elizabeth Corman (St. Paul, MN/Hill-Murray), sophomore Sarah Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden) and freshmen Tori Hay (Danville, CA/Monte Vista), Megan Kinney (Los Angeles, CA/Marlborough), Esther Kovacs (Windham, NH/Notre Dame Academy) and Sachi Maekawa (Seattle, WA/Franklin).
Maekawa and Kinney highlighted the meet on individual levels. Maekawa captured sixth place overall in the solo routine, while Kinney retained Wheaton's national championship in the C figures category. Corman was crowned national champion in that category last year. Kovacs placed second overall in this weekend's C figures, while Swinkin took sixth overall.
Corman and Kinney also joined Hay in the trio routine and despite not advancing to the finals, the group took 13th overall. The squad's B team, comprised of sophomore Renata Paglio (Portland, ME/Deering) alongside first-year athletes Laura Fleck (Auburn, ME/Hebron Academy), Perri Kapp (Yarmouth Port, MA/Dennis Yarmouth), Ru-Shyan Yen (Des Moines, IA/Abraham Lincoln) and Ru-Huey Yen (Des Moines, IA/Abraham Lincoln), competed in the semifinal of the team competition and finished with 67.150 points.
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12-Jan Mon Puerto Rico Figures A TBA
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23-Mar ECAC Championship - 3rd
2-Mar East Collegiate Regional - 3rd
