March 23, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford synchronized swimming team won its seventh U.S. Collegiate National title, and first since 2008, Saturday, at the Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, Calif.
"I could not be more proud of the Stanford synchro team today," said first-year head coach Sara Lowe. "The girls have worked so hard all year and it was so exciting to see all of their hard work pay off and culminate in a national championship."
Lowe was a member of the Cardinal squads that won four consecutive U.S. Collegiate National championships from 2005-08. Stanford also won the title in 1998 and 1999.
The Cardinal, which finished fourth in 2012, swept the team, trio and duet finals on Saturday to claim the title in its home pool. Stanford dominated the team final as Leigh Haldeman, Mariya Koroleva, Michelle Moore, Evelyna Wang scored a 91.075. Ohio State took second with an 89.362. Third through fifth place was decided by less than a point as the University of Incarnate Word was third with an 87.900, Lindenwood finished third with an 87.662 and Canisius College was fifth with an 87.012.
Fuller, Morgan and Megan Hansley won the trio title for the Cardinal with a score of 89.375. Stanford's Crocker, Koroleva and Moore took second with an 88.287. Lindenwood's Reem Abdalazem, Anouk Eman and Mary Killman placed third with an 88.250. Rounding out the top 5 was Ohio State's Chelsea Aton, Lauren Nicholson and Paige Ramsey (85.962) and Incarnate Word's Brianne Andreychuk, Rosilyn Tegart and Katy Wiita (85.900).
In the duet, Hansley and Morgan collected another championship, scoring an 89.725. Coming in second was Stanford's Crocker and Fuller with an 87.762. Taking third in the duet was Lindenwood's Abdalazem and Eman (87.062), while Ohio State's Yuliya Maryanko and Ramsey were fourth with an 87.000. Canisius College's Victoria Mintz and Svetlana Ponkratova were fifth with an 85.800.
Stanford's Morgan was the overall individual high point winner, a feat her head coach also claimed while competing for the Cardinal.