The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Capture 4th place at U.S. Collegiate Nationals
3/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Syncs
March 26, 2006
Palo Alto, Calif. - The UAB synchronized swimming team took fourth place at the U.S. Collegiate Nationals this past weekend, marking the third straight season that the Blazers have placed in the top five programs nationally in this event. UAB scored 61 points in the competition, marking its place in the top tier of collegiate synchro. Stanford won the championship for the second year in a row.
The Blazers had several top finishes, and placed athletes in all events in the weekend meet. In the solo portion, UAB had two swimmers finish in the top seven of the event. Junior Sara Petrov took home fourth place, swimming to a score of 90.333. Maria Garcia was right behind her, turning in an impressive score of 86.333, good enough for the seventh spot.
The duet competition was also a good one for UAB, as two tandems of swimmers placed well for head coach Lisa Riddell's squad. Morgan Clarke and Sara Petrov scored the highest of the two groups, putting in a 89.667 score to capture sixth place. Frances Halloran and Hallie Todd also competed, scoring 88.000 to take the spot right behind their teammates, seventh place.
The trio kept UAB's string of top 10 finishes alive, as Megan Kelly, Hallie Todd and Mariana Vigneron took seventh place with a mark of 87.167.
The team event saw the Blazers put in their best score, as the team of Clarke, Andrea Dash, Garcia, Halloran, Kelly, Petrov, Todd, Vigneron placed fourth with an impressive tally of 93.333.
This marks the end of the competitive season for the Blazers, and puts another stamp on the Blazers' campaign as a national program. UAB has now placed in the top five for four straight seasons, including a third place finish in 2004, the highest in school history.
