City of Buffalo Honors
Official Synchronized Swimming Days

Fresh faces capture gold in 14-15 finals

Buffalo, NY – Buffalo’s mayor, Anthony M. Masiello, announced this evening that the dates June 24- July 2 are officially Synchronized Swimming days, honored by the city of Buffalo. This dedication was awarded in conjunction with the largest synchronized swimming meet in the world: the 2005 esynchro Age Group Championships.

This event, being held at the Flickinger Aquatic Center, boasts more than 1,000 athletes from around the country, representing ages 12-19. Tonight, the 14-15 age group competed for the age group championship in their final events.

The Riverside Aquettes (Calif.) swam to gold in trio, mirroring their 12-13 team, trio and solo’s performance. Silver medalists, The Santa Clara Aquamaids (Calif.) finished close behind—rounding out the second west coast medal of the day. East coasters, New Canaan Y Aquianas (Conn.), took bronze, leading the way for local team, The Tonawanda Aquettes. Tonawanda represented their hometown well—placing seventh, and swimming local athletes Trisha Melber, Abby Vollmer, and Jessica Grogan.

The 14-15 duets took the deck following trios, and Nevada Desert Mermaids (Nev.) took home the gold. Other top finishers include Riverside, Santa Clara, and Seattle Synchronized Swim Team.

The 14-15 solo champion is Mary Killman from the Pirouettes of Texas, who won her event by 0.33 points, besting Riverside's silver medal performance.

The 14-15 team competition was a brawl to the finish-- New Canaan Y Aquianas tackle their first gold medal of the competition, with the Santa Clara Aquamaids in second and Suncoast Waterworks taking home the bronze medal.

Preliminary scores are weighted to 50 percent and combined with 50 percent of the athlete(s)'s figures score to determine the eight finalists in each event. In the final, the 50 percent free routine prelim score is replaced with 50 of the final routine score.

Competition continues Wednesday, and through Saturday, at the Flickinger Aquatic Center in Buffalo. Admission for finals events is $6.00.

14-15 Trio Finals
1. Riverside Aquettes, Ashley Bennet, Amanda Cook, Paige Ramsey, Alt Kristie Austin, 73.141; 2. Santa Clara Aquamaids, Morgan Fuller, Wendy Lu, Nadia Rais, 72.390; 3. New Canaan Y Aquianas, Madison Crocker, Megan Hansley, Kelsey Smith, 72.326; 4. Pirouettes of Texas, Camille Driver, Claire Evans, Mary Killman, Alt Jillian Patton, 71.196; 5. Seattle Synchro Swim Team, Leigh Haldeman, Katie LaBounty, Jenna Lee, 69.992; 6. Santa Clara Aquamaids - Kayley Colville, Camila Guevara, Cameron Hempstead, 69.781; 7. Tonawanda Aquettes, Trisha Melber, Abby Vollmer, Jessica Grogan, 69.594; 8. Cerritos Synchronettes, Stephanie Chiang, Jade Kok, Jenny Woo, 69.359.

14-15 Duet Finals 1. Nevada Desert Mermaids, Ashley Taylor, Nicole Grant, 72.682; 2. Riverside Aquettes, Amanda Cook, Paige Ramsey, Alt Brittney Miller, 72.473; 3. Santa Clara Aquamaids, Javeneh Nikbakht, Morgan Thomas, 72.164; 4. Seattle Synchro Swim Team, Leigh Haldeman, Liane Lovitt, 71.755; 5. New Canaan Y Aquianas, Madison Crocker, Megan Hansley, 71.475; 6. Northern Virginia Nereids, Allison Baker, Alex Bollaidlaw; 71.076; 7. Santa Clara Aquamaids, Wendy Lu, Nadia Rais, 71.043; 8. Walnut Creek Aquanuts, Kellie Stump, Bridgette Braun, 70.982.

14-15 Solo Finals 1. Pirouettes of Texas, Mary Killman, 74.058; 2. Riverside Aquettes, Ashley Bennet, 73.728; 3. Southern CA Coralettes, Cally Timm, 73.073; 4. Santa Clara Aquamaids, Morgan Thomas, 72.512; 5. Seattle Synchro Swim Team, Liane Lovitt, 72.409; 6. Santa Clara Aquamaids, Javeneh Nikbakht, 72.400, 7. Northern Virginia Nereids, Kirby Hoag, 72.180; 8. Walnut Creek Aquanuts, Kellie Stump, 71.847.

14-15 Team Finals 1. New Canaan Y Aquianas, 72.545; 2. Santa Clara Aquamaids, 72.216; 3. Suncoast Waterworks, 71.383; 4. Pirouettes of Texas, 70.330; 5. Seattle Synchro Swim Team, 70.214; 6. Arizona Aqua Stars, 69.525; 7. Tallahassee Serinas, 69.442; 8. Cincinnati Synchrogators, 69.383.