May 8, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford had three student-athletes named to nation's top 20 synchronized swimmers, named to 2001 U.S. National Teams I and II on Sunday by Synchro Swimming USA.Lindsey Wigginton and Katie Norris both qualified for Team I, while Erin Dobratz is the top-ranked athlete on Team II.
U.S. National Team I will compete in the 2001 FINA World Championships, July 16-29 in Fukuoka, Japan. Team USA placed third at the most recent world championships in 1998.
The team will be led by its only returning member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, Anna Kozlova, who will be expected to help Team USA through its imminent rebuilding phase. "These next few months are going to be really exciting for me. We have a new team with a variety of experiences," Kozlova said. "We're all very motivated, very hard workers, and I think that's a great starting point for this team for the next four years."
Erin Dobratz, the top-ranked athlete on Team II, is a veteran of the U.S. National Team program, having spent the past four years on the U.S. Junior National Team.
Athletes qualify for the 2001 U.S. National Team Trials through the 2000 national championship events. The athletes then compete in Team Trials Phases I and II, conducted in conjunction with the U.S. National Championships this week in College Station, Texas. For more information, log on to www.usasynchro.org.
2001 U.S. National Team I - rank order with (hometown/club)Anna Kozlova (St. Petersburg, Russia/Santa Clara), Becky Jasontek (Loveland, Ohio/Walnut Creek), Lauren McFall (Sunnyvale, Calif./Santa Clara), Becky Martin (San Jose, Calif./Santa Clara), Tammy Crow (St. Louis, Mo./Walnut Creek), Lindsey Wigginton (San Diego, Calif./Stanford), Gina Pietras (Tacoma, Wash./Walnut Creek), Katie Norris (Tallahassee, Fla./Stanford), Alison Bartosik (Flagstaff, Ariz./Santa Clara), Kendra Zanotto (Los Gatos, Calif./Santa Clara).
2001 U.S. National Team II - rank order with (hometown/club)Erin Dobratz (Clayton, Calif./Stanford), Andrea Nott (San Jose, Calif./Santa Clara), Victoria Bowen (Plano, Texas/Ohio State), Mary Hofer (Spring Valley, Calif./Ohio State), Suzanna Hyatt (Indianpolis, Ind./Ohio State), Kim Probst (New Canaan, Conn./Walnut Creek), Katie Edwards (Richmond, Va./Ohio State), Kim Lester (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ohio State), Anna Eng (Phoenixville, Pa./Ohio State), Elizabeth-Anne Markman (Irvine, Calif.)