March 28, 2008
Columbus, Ohio - Things began to take shape on the second day of the National Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships. Stanford and Ohio State have clearly established themselves as the favorites with most of the finals taking place tomorrow.
On Friday Stanford took third place in the `A' Elements competition to earn ten points. Ohio State took first in the `B' Figures competition to also earn ten points. This sets up a tie score with most of the points to be awarded on Saturday in the finals of the solo, duet, trio, and the team competition.
The highlight of the evening came in the team competition where 22 teams were on display. Stanford finished with the second highest score entering tomorrow's final. The Cardinal scored 95.500 points just off the 97.000 scored by Ohio State.
In the `A' Elements competition Stanford was led by Courtenay Stewart who finished second with 85.557 points. Natalia Tarasova of Canisius College won the event with a score of 86.377.
Also placing in the top ten were Sara Lowe who was fourth (84.169), Melissa Knight who was eighth (82.075), and Erin Bell who was ninth (81.906).
Stanford's other competitors in the `A' Elements were Debbie Chen who was 13th (80.620), Poppy Carlig who was 16th (79.993), Taylor Durand who was 18th (79.119), and Gayle Lee who was 25th (76.295).
Four Stanford freshmen competed in the `B' Figures section, but their scores did not count when Stanford chose to use the `A' Elements score. However, the Cardinal performed extremely well taking four of the top six spots.
Corinne Smith won the event with a score of 71.737 with Michelle Moore taking second with 70.401 points. Placing fourth was Christy Park with 70.007 points, while Allison Coates was sixth with 69.723 points.
Saturday will be the day of reckoning at the National Collegiate Championships with the title on the line. The Cardinal are in the running for titles in every event, but most importantly seek their fourth consecutive overall title.