Riverside Leads the Way at Junior National Championship
U.S. Junior National Team to be Named

Minneapolis, Minn. – The Speedo U.S. Junior National Championship is making a splash at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center April 6-8 in Minneapolis, Minn. Semifinal competition for the trio, solo and team events wrapped up on Friday. The duet semifinals will debut on Saturday followed by the finals of each event.

The Riverside AQuettes (RAQ), which were crowned the 2005 Junior National Champions, dominated the trio with the second, third, sixth and seventh place positions in the semifinal competition. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts (WCA) finished in the first and fourth place spots while the Santa Clara Aquamaids (SCA) finished the trio semifinals in fifth place.

RAQ also grabbed the top spot in the team competition while Santa Clara took second and Walnut Creek followed in third place. The AQuettes also reigned supreme in the solo where 2006 National Team I Member Brooke Abel (Fallbrook, Calif.) took the top position in the semifinal. Santa Clara claimed the second and third place spots.

More than 300 elite athletes ages 14-18 are gathered in Minneapolis to vie for Junior National Titles in the solo, duet, trio and team events. Also up for grabs will be 10 spots on the 2006 U.S. Junior National Team which will be named at the conclusion of the meet on Saturday. The Junior National Team will go on to compete in the X FINA Junior Synchronized Swimming World Championships October 7-11 in Guangzhou, China.

Top routines will advance to the 2006 U.S. National Championships which will take place April 26-29 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Tickets will be available on Friday for $3 and on Saturday for $7. Children age five and under will be admitted free of charge. Following is a schedule of events, along with an invitation to the “Synchro Challenge.” For more information, contact Taylor Payne, USSS Media Relations Director at 317-237-5700 or on-site at 317-507-3410.

Trio Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to Finals on Saturday)
1. Walnut Creek (Maria Koroleva, Diana LaScala-Gruenewald, DeborahShim), 80.319, 2. Riverside (Debbie Chen, Danielle DeCarlo, Michelle Theriault) 79.948, 3. Riverside (Michelle Moore, Kari Pett, Alison Williams) 78.504, 4. Walnut Creek ( Caitlin Ellis, Molly Knight, Seyeon Min) 78.234, 5. Santa Clara ( Mary Killman, Anna Nelson, Nadia Rais) 77.303, 6. Riverside (Jackie Mundy, Christina Mundy, Alex Stensby) 77.302, 7. Riverside (Ashley Bennett, Kirby Hoag, Parige Ramsey) 76.814, 8. Arizona Aqua Stars (Alexandra Beckett, Haleigh Martinez, Jessica Webb) 75.851

Solo Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to Finals on Saturday)
1. Brooke Abel (Riverside), 90.833, 2. Kenyon Smith (Santa Clara) 89.000, 3. Heidi McMahon (Santa Clara) 88.000 4. Meghan Kinney (Riverside) 87.500, 5. Olivia Morgan (Walnut Creek) 86.833, 6. Michelle Theriault (Riverside) 86.667, 7. Elizabeth MacAfee (Santa Clara) 86.000, 8. Mary Killman (Santa Clara) 85.833

Team Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to Finals on Saturday)
1. Riverside 82.374, 2. Santa Clara 81.265, 3. Walnut Creek 81.263, 4. Riverside 78.383, 5. Santa Clara 76.644, 6. New Canaan 76.017, 7. Tonawanda 75.606, 8. Indy 75.582

Complete Results

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