Aquianas Earn Respect at U.S. Junior Championships 

             The New Canaan YMCA Aquianas Synchronized Swim team returned from the U.S. Junior National Championships, held April 9-12 in Clermont, FL, with much more clout and respect than when they left. The eight-girl squad placed four routines in the top ten and qualified six athletes for the Junior National Team trials. The team also placed third in overall team championship points, the highest placement the team has ever earned. This is no easy feat when competing against the powerhouse California teams of Santa Clara, Walnut Creek, and Riverside.

            The compulsory figures were first up for the New Canaan girls.  Last year, three New Canaan athletes placed in the top group, which qualified them for the next round in Junior National Team trials.  This year, six athletes made the top 48 and moved on to compete in the next round.  Madison Crocker, who had been one of the three qualifiers last year, took the bronze medal in compulsory figures.  “This is the first time we had medaled in figures,” said Head Coach Sandra Mahoney.  “To get a bronze plus to have so many girls go through to the next round was amazing.  It’s a testament to how hard they have been working on their compulsory figures this year.  On the international stage, figures are extremely important, and we want New Canaan girls to be able to compete with the best.”  Megan Hansley, who also qualified in 2007, took 13^th in figures, Casey Aion 17^th, Colleen Courtmanche 20^th, Kelsey Smith 22^nd, and Rebecca Gordon 42^nd.  The Junior National Team will be made up of 10 swimmers and will compete at the Junior World Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia this July.

            Colleen Courtmanche then swam her solo and improved on her 2007 performance.  Her routine came in 15^th, up from 21^st last year.  “Solo is a really tough event. You are out there all by yourself and the judges see all your mistakes. I was pretty happy with my swim,” said Courtmanche. Gold in this event went to Mary Killman of the Santa Clara Aquamaids, with a score of 82.229.  Killman also took the gold medal in the compulsory figure competition.

            The Aquianas continued their strong showing in the Duet event. The duet of Madison Crocker and Megan Hansley placed fifth, with a score of 77.907 behind three Santa Clara duets and one Walnut Creek duet. The duet of Mary Killman and Nadia Rais took the gold, with a score of 81.029.  New Canaan’s duet of Casey Aion and Kelsey Smith placed 15^th, with a score of 75.421. “We were disappointed that we didn’t make finals, but we were proud of our swim. You can’t control the scores; you can only swim your best,” said Smith.

             The New Canaan trios continued to keep the Aquianas busy on finals day. The trio of Colleen Courtmanche, Madison Crocker, and Megan Hansley took the bronze medal, with a score of 78.188, up from a seventh place finish last year. “We were so excited to get a medal. We didn’t have a great swim in semis, so to come back and swim well was awesome,” said Hansley. This was the first routine medal for the Aquianas at the Junior Level.  In the field of 22 trios, Walnut Creek took the gold and Santa Clara took silver. The newly formed trio of Casey Aion, Marina Hoffman, and Kelsey Smith also won a spot in the final competition and finished in 8^th place, with a score of 75.889. 

            In the team event, the Aquianas placed 5^th for the second year in a row, with a score of 77.894. “The competition is always tough. You have to work so hard to just stay at the same rank,” said Coach Mahoney. “Regardless of how they placed, I am so proud of this team. They are really a team in every sense. The support they have for each other in and out of the pool really helped their training and ultimately their performance.” Walnut Creek easily took the gold, defending champions Santa Clara the silver, and the Arizona Aquastars the bronze. The B team from Santa Clara was fourth, with a score of 77.965.

             Up next for the Aquianas is the Connecticut Association Championships in Hamden, CT.  For more information on synchronized swimming or the Aquianas competitive team contact Sandra Mahoney at (203) 966-4528, ext 153.