Santa Clara Claims 15th National Title
California Dominates Competition

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - The 2006 U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships concluded Saturday at the Ft. Lauderdale Aquatic Complex. The meet attracted 160 of the nation's most elite athletes from 18 teams to vie for titles in the solo, duet and team events.

The Santa Clara Aquamaids (Santa Clara, Calif.) grabbed their 15th National Title with 52 points while Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.) occupied the second place position (32 points). The Walnut Creek Aquanuts (Walnut Creel, Calif.) took home third place with 22 points as The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) claimed the fourth place spot (18 points). The Riverside AQuettes (Riverside, Calif.) grabbed fifth place (12 points) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, Ala.) rounded out the competition in the sixth place position (1 point).

U.S. National Team I Member Christina Jones (Fremont, Calif.) represented the Santa Clara with a top finish in the solo with a score of 96.168. Jones also teamed up with Andrea Nott (San Jose, Calif.) to take home silver in the duet and with teammates to capture gold in the team event.

The duet title was awarded to 2004 Olympians Sara Lowe (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and Courtenay Stewart (Huntington Beach, Calif.) who represented Stanford. The Cardinal also grabbed silver in the team event.

The 2006 U.S. National Championships mark the 62nd year of national competition in the duet and team events and the 57th year of solo competition. In addition, the Championships also facilitated the final selection of National Team II which will compete at the U.S. Open in Orlando, Fla. July 16-22. Members of the 2006 National Team II include (in alphabetical order):

Debbie Chen (Riverside), Danielle Kramer (University of the Incarnate Word), Sachi Maekawa (University of the Incarnate Word), Elizabeth Anne-Markman (Stanford), Karen Meyer (Walnut Creek), Lauren Oiye (Santa Clara), Leah Pinette (Ohio State), Leayn Pinette (Ohio State), Alicia Rice (Santa Clara) and Layla Smith (Santa Clara).

Solo Finals
1. Christina JONES, (Santa Clara) 96.168, 2. Sara LOWE (Stanford University) 95.334, 3. Kanako KITAO (Walnut Creek) 93.750, 4. Kate HOOVEN (Santa Clara) 93.417, 5. Becky KIM (Ohio State) 92.751, 6. Layla SMITH (Santa Clara) 91.834, 7. Brooke ABEL (Riverside) 91.334, 8. Barb NESBITT (Riverside) 90.834

Duet Finals
1. Sara LOWE, Courtenay STEWART (Stanford) 96.167, 2. Christina JONES, Andrea NOTT (Santa Clara) 96.084, 3. Annabelle ORME, Kim PROBST (Walnut Creek) 94.084, 4. Janet CULP, Jennie CULP (Santa Clara) 93.251, 5. Barb NESBITT, Caitlin STEWART (Riverside) 93.167, 6. Poppy CARLIG, Sam BONGIOVANNI-DUCLOS, (Stanford) 91.417, 7. Karen MEYER, Jillian PENNER (Walnut Creek) 91.167, 8. Carly GRIMSHAW, Chelsea LUKER (Ohio State) 90.668

Team Finals
1. Santa Clara 97.000, 2. Stanford University 96.084, 3. The Ohio State University 94.668, 4. Walnut Creek 94.584, 5. Santa Clara (92.917), 6. Riverside 92.751, 7. The Ohio State University 91.917, 8. University of Alabama at Birmingham 91.251

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2006 Championship Page