2008 U.S. Collegiate
Synchronized Swimming Championships
Make Waves at the
Ohio State University  

March 27, 2008
Columbus, Ohio – The 32nd annual U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships kicked off today at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of the Ohio State University. The Championships will run through Saturday, March 29 and are an open-class meet, combining competition from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and NAIA colleges and universities.

Thursday was highlighted by semifinal action in the solo, duet and trio events. Stanford University’s (Palo Alto, Calif.) Sara Lowe (94.000) finished preliminary competition in the solo in the top spot while Canisius College’s (Buffalo, N.Y.) Natalia Tarasova (92.333) finished the day in the second place position. Barbara Nesbitt (91.833) of the Ohio State University took third place after day one.

Stanford also reigned supreme in the duet, capturing the first place position after preliminaries. 2004 Olympians Sara Lowe (United States) and Courtenay Stewart (Canada) scored a 95.500 while Canisius College finished the day in second place (Tarasova and Yulia Shepeleva ) with a 93.000. Stanford’s Poppy Carlig and Melissa Knight tied Ohio State’s Caitlin Stewart and Michelle Theriault for the third place spot with a score of 92.333.

In the final preliminary event of the day, Stanford’s trio of Knight, Lowe and Stewart grabbed the top spot (95.333) while OSU nabbed the second (Nesbitt, Stewart and Theriault) and third ( Carmen Moraes, Leah Pinette and Deborah Shim ) places with scores of 93.667 and 93.167, respectively.