SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - ´´ Too close for comfort´´ was the description going into today´s team free competition. The United States held a slim lead over the Canadians and was determined to hold on to that lead to claim gold.

The United States did just that and reclaimed its golden status after finishing second in 1999. The U.S topped the Canadians by a full point in the free routine to finish with a final composite 97.000. The Canadians won the silver with a score of 96.416, while Brazil tabbed the bronze with at 91.166.
Becky Jasontek (Loveland, Ohio) was a part of ´99 team and swam today on the gold medal team.

´´This is very fulfilling for me,´´ said Jasontek. ´´ I was very happy with the two silver medals last time around, but the one gold means the world.´´

Teammate Lauren McFall (Los Altos, Calif.) was an alternate on the 1999 squad. ´´I was a reserve in 1999 and watched from the stands, so I don´t know how they were feeling,´´ said McFall. ´´Before we swam today, we were focused and had intense energy. We were confident when we walked out. We had to adjust to where we were in the water when we jumped in because the stage was off-center and we did that. I knew if we did that, we would swim well.´´

``This win just brings us a step closer to the podium at the Olympics,´´ added Jasontek. ´´It has been a long season. I appreciate everything that the coaches and support staff have done for us. I enjoyed ending it on a golden note.

Head coach Chris Carver was pleased with the team´s performance and sees much future success.

´´This is a turning point for this team,´´ said Carver. ´´To get in the 9.8´s means we are on the verge of excellance. This really means a lot, because we are getting more solid in the high score range. We continue to improve as we are definitely better than last year. Attitudes on the team are good and they want to work hard and succeed.´´

Swimming for the U.S. Team was Alison Bartosik (Santa Clara, Calif.), Erin Dobratz (Clayton, Calif), Becky Jasontek (Loveland, Ohio), Anna Kozlova (St. Petersburg, Russia), Sara Lowe (Desoto, Texas), Lauren McFall (Los Altos, Calif.), Stephanie Nesbitt (Riverside, Calif.) and Kendra Zanotto (Los Gatos, Calif.). Katie Norris (Tallahassee, Fla.) served as the reserve.

Team Final
1. United States, 97.000. 2. Canada, 96.416. 3. Brazil, 91.166. 4. Mexico, 88.250. 5. Venezuela, 84.500. 6. Dominican Republic, 81.250. 7. El Salvador, 68.250.