March 20, 2003
Ohio State is off to a solid start at the 27th annual U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships, taking top honors in solo and duet preliminaries on Thursday.
Ohio State's Suzanna Hyatt and Chelsea Luker earned a 92.666 to capture first in duet by a full 2.999 over University of Incarnate Word's Jessica Brown and Jennifer Holmquist. Buckeye soloist, Victoria Bowen, secured another top ranking for the Bucks with a 2.167 lead over Stanford's Ashley McHugh. Bowen and McHugh were both recently named to the 2003 U.S. National Team II.
The Cardinal proved its strength in the trio event by placing routines in first and third. McHugh, Stephanie Joukoff and Jennifer Kibler scored a 90.833 with the Ohio State trio of Carly Grimshaw, Chelsea Luker and Lauren Marsh five-tenths of a point behind.
Host University of Arizona is led by Alia Arbas who scored an 87.667 for fifth place in solo. Alia and younger sister, Audra finished seventh as a duet. Alia and Audra were the only club-level swimmers to qualify for finals among a field of varsity-level athletes.
The top eight athletes from today's preliminary rounds will advance to Saturday's finals.
More than 200 athletes from 24 universities are 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.
The Ohio State University is attempting to win its fourth consecutive, and 23rd overall title in the 27th year of the championships. Top athletes advance to the U.S. National Championships and 2003 National Team Trials, April 24-27 in Long Island, N.Y.
Competition continues at the University of Arizona Aquatic Center on Friday with team preliminaries at 8:00 a.m. and figures at 1:00 p.m. Finals in all events begin Saturday at 10:20 a.m.
Solo Preliminary
1, Victoria Bowen (Ohio State) 93.167. 2, Ashley McHugh (Stanford) 91.000. 3, Bogdana Zareva (UAB) 88.833. 4, Jessica Brown (Incarnate Word) 88.000. 5, Alia Arbas (Arizona) 87.667. 6, Jill Wright (Canisius) 87.334. 7, Beth Percy (Wheaton) 85.500. 8, Emily Brewer (Keuka) 85.000.
Duet Preliminary
1, Suzanna Hyatt, Chelsea Luker (Ohio State) 92.666. 2, Jessica Brown, Jennifer Holmquist (Incarnate Word) 89.667. 3T, Stephanie Joukoff, Jennifer Kibler (Stanford) 89.000. 3T, Cassidy Ramage, Shella Sadovnik (Stanford) 89.000. 5, Alexandra Pinango, Gabriella Pinango (Canisius) 87.833. 6, Amanda Haeuser, Bogdana Zareva (UAB) 87.167. 7, Alia Arbas, Audra Arbas (Arizona) 85.333. 8, Stephanie Jackson, Stacey Jackson (UAB) 83.000.
Trio Preliminary
1, Stephanie Joukoff, Jennifer Kibler, Ashley McHugh (Stanford) 90.833. 2, Carly Grimshaw, Chelsea Luker, Lauren Marsh (Ohio State) 90.333. 3, Ashley Ensign, Cassidy Ramage, Shella Sadovnik (Stanford) 89.833. 4, Victoria Bowen, Suzanna Hyatt, Lindsay Newbill (Ohio State) 89.500. 5, Alexandra Pinango, Gabriella Pinango, Jill Wright (Canisius) 88.167. 6T, Stephanie Jackson, Stacey Jackson, Stacy Leiker (UAB) 87.000. 6T, Jessica Broan, Laura Davis, Jennifer Holmquist (Incarnate Word) 87.000. 7, Ruth Ashburn, Laura Gellin, Kate Matusiak (Canisius) 86.167. Local entries: 10, Arizona (Audra Arbas, Adriana Lopez, Jeanie Studer) 81.666.