The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Synchronized Swimming Team Takes Fourth At Collegiate Nationals
10/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Syncs
March 18, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio. - The UAB synchronized swimming team finished fourth in the country with an overall score of 61 at the finals of the United States Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships on the campus of Ohio State University. The Blazers finished only 2 1/2 points behind Canisius College, who placed third. The finish for the Blazers marked the highest for any UAB team in the history of the program.
Bogdana Zareva, who was named Honorary All-America by U.S. Synchronized Swimming after the event, finished fourth in the country in the solo routines with a 91.267.
The duet routines saw Zareva and Kelli Dickerson take third in the nation with a 90.400 and Luna Aguilu and Erica Levine finish seventh with an 86.267.
Aguilu, Levine and Kristen Kramer went on to take seventh in the country in the trio routines, scoring an 86.533 and Dickerson, Moraine Ruddick and Aline Altman were ninth with an 85.800.
Levine also placed third in the nation in the figure routines with a score of 70.733.
The Blazers placed fourth nationally in the team routines with Aguilu, Altman, Dickerson, Kramer, Levine, Ruddick, Zareva and Hannah Freer, scoring a 91.667. The Blazers finished behind only Ohio State's A team (99.067), Stanford (98.600) and Ohio State's B team (94.667).
Zareva finished eighth in the individual championship points calculations with 60, while Dickerson earned 41 points to rank 15th.
"I think what we did here in this tournament shows how much potential there is for these six freshmen and two sophomores," said head coach Amy O'Donnell. "This group has only been together since September so a fourth place finish is truly amazing for a first year program. The drive and determination of this team is incredible. The team has worked so hard. I am so proud of all of our accomplishments this year."
Ohio State won the overall National Championship scoring a 95, Stanford was second with an 89 and California-Berkeley rounded out the top five with a 52.5
Nearly 200 of the nation's top synchronized swimmers for 19 Division I, II, III and NAIA universities began swimming Thursday in the solo, duet, trio, figure and team events in the first round of competition. The top eight teams advanced to the finals.
UAB now will travel to Washington D.C. for the United States Jantzen Nationals April 27-29. The Jantzen Nationals will showcase the top synchronized swimming programs in the U.S. from all levels of competition.
