Canisius College Wins 2011 ECAC Synchronized Swimming Championship
(Story Courtesy of Canisius College Sports Information)
The Canisius College Synchronized Swimming team earned their 14th-straight ECAC Championship this weekend placing-first during the two-day tournament, which was held in Norton Mass. on the campus of Wheaton College. Canisius finished the tournament with 100 points while Wheaton earned 84 and William and Mary 75 to round out the top-three.
The Golden Griffins took every competition they competed in as the Griffs won the A and B figures, while getting top honors in the solo, duet, trio and team routines. The freshmen from the Blue and Gold stole the show during the figure events as Svetlana Ponkratova and Morgan Lebrecht took first-place in the A and B figures respectively with a scores of 81.822 and 68.044.
Ponkratova would continue the dominance she showed through the regular season as she won the solo competition (90.833) while helping to contribute to top-finishes in the duet, trio and team events. Ponkratova, sophomore Victoria Mintz, and senior Laurie Wakelam, scored 90.000 points in the trio while the duo of Mintz and Ponkratova would yield first-place honors coming in with 91.667 in the duet competition. The Blue and Gold would also take first in the team event with 88.167 points.
This marks the 14th-straight year Canisius College has won the ECAC Championship and the fifth time in head coach Jill Wright's time at Canisius. The Blue and Gold will now prepare for the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships, which is hosted by Canisius College. The three-day event will take place from March 17-19 and will be held at the Town of Tonawanda Aquatic and Fitness Center.
