Synchro wins with Bon Jovi

McMaster University’s synchronized swimming team was one of 12 university teams to compete in the Queen’s hosted competion on Sunday. Queen’s earned first place followed by the University of Western Ontario in second.
Image by: Christine Blais
McMaster University’s synchronized swimming team was one of 12 university teams to compete in the Queen’s hosted competion on Sunday. Queen’s earned first place followed by the University of Western Ontario in second.

The Queen’s Centre pool opened its doors to fans for the first time and the Gaels sent the crowd home happy. Hosting the Canadian University Synchro Swim League’s Eastern Meet, Queen’s put on a display set to a compilation of Bon Jovi songs that earned top honours in the competition. The University of Western Ontario finished second and a joint team from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University placed third.

The Gaels entered three teams in the competitive division, with the other two teams placing seventh and 11th out of the 12 teams. In the novice division, Queen’s entered two teams, garnering second and seventh place out of ten entrants. In addition, the Tricolour finished in third and fourth in the novice duet category.

Meet manager and championship team member Krista Wollny said the event was a success.

“It was organized. Everyone had a great swim and everything happened on time,” she said. “We weren’t expecting to come in first, so that was a bit of a surprise. We were just hoping to have a good swim.”

Most universities have only one synchronized swimming team, but Wollny said the size of the Queen’s program allows it to accommodate all levels of competitors.

“This year we had 36 swimmers… which is more than we’ve had in a long time,” she said. “We have a lot of swimmers that come from a very competitive background and then a lot of swimmers who have just started this year or last year.”

Team member Fiona Roth said the novice teams’ Sunday results were an amazing achievement under the circumstances.

“A lot of our novice swimmers have swam without coaches, which is really impressive because it’s their first year doing synchro,” Roth said. “For them to both place in the top seven is excellent.”

Next up on the team’s radar are the national championships, held this year at Western on Feb. 6.

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