Bucks Gunning For 23rd Title
Arizona hosts U.S. Collegiate Championships March 20-22

A two-year hiatus in national synchronized swimming meets at the University of Arizona comes to an end in March when the 2003 U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships land at the University Aquatic Center in Tucson.

More than 150 of the world's top athletes from 24 universities will vie for bragging rights 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. Competition begins March 20 with finals slated for March 22.

Ohio State University will attempt to repeat as U.S. Collegiate champions, and earn its 23rd overall title, by holding off the fly-by of the Stanford University Cardinal. Meet host, University of Arizona, hopes to improve on its ninth-place finish from 2002.

Based on the entries, spectators will witness synchro at its highest level. Expected to compete are five current U.S. National Team members and former members of the Puerto Rican and Canadian national teams.

The Arizona squad is led by senior Alia Arbas, who helped secure the team's second place finish at the 2003 Western Collegiate Regional Championship. Arbas and her younger sister, freshman Audra Arbas, will be competing as a duet for their first time on the National level.

Ohio State ran away with the 2002 title by placing first in all four events behind Brazilian Olympians Carolina & Isabela de Moraes. OSU topped Stanford 99-92, followed by UAB, Canisius and Wheaton.

OSU coach Linda Witter enters her eighth season at the Buckeyes' helm guiding a young squad that is led by seniors Victoria Bowen (Plano, Texas) and Suzanna Hyatt (Indianapolis, Ind.). Other Bucks to watch include Chelsea Luker (Montreal, Quebec), Carly Grimshaw (Markham, Ontario) and Lauren Marsh (Spring Valley, Calif.)

Stanford brings a loaded deck to the table as well, boasting an 11-person roster including three former U.S. National Team members. Leading the way are 2002 U.S. World Cup Team members Katie Norris (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Erin Dobratz (Clayton, Calif.), and two-time national teamer, freshman Ashley McHugh (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

Other top contenders include University of Alabama-Birmingham, Canisius College (Buffalo, NY), Wheaton College (Norton, Mass.), University of Washington and University of Arizona. Top athletes advance to the U.S. National Championships and 2003 National Team Trials, April 24-27 in Long Island, N.Y.

2003 U.S. Collegiates Notes

• Collegiate athletes are destined for greatness. Twelve former U.S. Collegiate solo champions have gone on to represent the United States on either National Team I or II. The 2002 U.S. National Team program included 14 current or former collegiate athletes.
• The average GPA of ALL competitors at the 2002 U.S. Collegiate Championships was 3.16 - higher than any NCAA championships GPA. Ninety-nine of 203 competitors maintained a 3.25 GPA or better, earning Academic All-American status.
• The University of Arizona Splash Cats is a club program, meaning the student-athletes receive no university funding for their training, travel, competition expenses or related fees. Athletes must raise money on their own to fund travel to local, regional and national events, in addition to their normal daily lives as U of A students.
• Former OSU swimmer, Alia Arbas, is back in the pool as an Arizona Splash Cat after a two-year hiatus. She's joining forces with her younger sister, freshman Audra Arbas, to compete as a duet for their first time together.
• For more information on the University of Arizona Splash Cats, visit their web site at: http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/splashcats/
• Eight former collegiate champions have earned a total of 12 Olympic medals - nine gold, three silver - for the United States.
• The 2003 U.S. Collegiate Championships mark the 27th anniversary of the event. Ohio State swept the inaugural event in 1977. OSU has won 22 of a possible 26 team event titles, including 13 consecutive from 1985-1997.
• No school other than Ohio State, Stanford, San Jose State, UC-Berkeley or Arizona has ever won a single event at the U.S. Collegiate Championships.
• Go Figure: Arizona never won the team event with 1984 Olympic gold medalist Tracie Ruiz on its roster. Upon her departure, Arizona won three consecutive team championships - the only three titles not won by Ohio State (prior to '98). However, it was precisely those three seasons in which Ohio State boasted having future Olympic gold medalists Karen & Sarah Josephson on its roster!
• 2000 Olympians continue to contribute to the collegiate scene. Two-time Olympian Heather Olson took over the helm at Stanford in August 2001. Olson, a '96 Olympic gold medalist and 2000 team member, is a 1998 graduate of Stanford. 2000 Olympian Kim Wurzel is the inaugural coach of the new varsity program at University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
• Synchronized swimming was named an NCAA "emerging sport" in 1994. More than 30 colleges sponsor synchronized swimming programs, including 8 schools in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference - the nation's largest conference. Other Div. I conferences represented include the Big Ten, Pac-10, Conference USA, Mid-American and Colonial, among others.
  

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