The Lady Lions won their first national titles in program history by capturing gold in the solo and duet events at the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
Lindenwood entered competition with medal aspirations after a solid showing at the collegiate championships two weeks ago, but what transpired was beyond what the athletes and coaches could have imagined. The Lady Lions earned the top scores for every final routine they swam and came away with the two gold medals and added a bronze for good measure.
Freshman Mary Killman led the solo event from start to finish. The 2012 Olympian took a 2.7 point lead into the finals after her technical routine on Friday. She added to that margin with a score of 87.775 in her free routine for a combined total of 173.725, more than five points ahead of the field. For Killman personally, it was her second national championship in two tries, but her first as a Lady Lion.
The other Lindenwood solo competitor, junior Reem Abdalazem, was sitting in fifth after her free preliminary swim on Thursday. A solid technical routine on Friday put her within bronze medal contention, but only by a slim margin of 0.6 points. Abdalazem performed well in the final, posting a total score of 167.5125, good enough for third place and her first U.S. National medal.
Head coach Lori Eaton reflected on the performances.
“The solos were amazing today! Mary is the most naturally talented athlete I’ve ever coached,” Eaton said. “You can’t help but be mesmerized by her swimming. She can do things above the water at a height that no other competitor can come close to, and for Reem to be in fifth place on Thursday and come back to win a bronze was fantastic. She’s so personable and fluid and just draws you in with her eyes. You can’t help but fall in love with her swimming.”
The pairing of Abdalazem and Anouk Eman ultimately won the second gold medal for the Lady Lions in the duet competition, but the two had to swim a solid routine in the finals to do it. The duo was a close second after their preliminary free routine on Thursday. They used a strong technical routine Friday to qualify for the final, just one-tenth of a point from the lead. Abdalazem and Eman were the last to swim in the final round and they did not disappoint. The highly provocative routine that captivated audiences since its debut in March, earned an 85.9625 to win the gold medal with a final composite total of 168.025.
Eaton was amazed how much the Lady Lions duet routine was anticipated.
“Never before have I been at an event where so many people told me that they couldn’t wait to see our duet, even as early as warm-ups on Thursday,” she said. “Reem and Anouk have a profound chemistry in the water and we sought to do something different with their routine. It’s not something you just watch, it’s something that you experience.”
Earlier in the preliminary free duet competition on Thursday, Killman teamed with sophomore Dennise Ramirez to win first place with a score of 87.825, but the pair opted to focus only on their free routine and not compete in the technical event, so they were not eligible for the finals on Saturday.
As the Championships concluded, Eaton reflected on the accomplishment for the Lady Lions.
“This is a milestone day in the history of Lindenwood synchro,” she said. “We earned those medals in front of the best that the U.S. has to offer and in front of international judges, and we swam with passion, with emotion, and with our hearts. When you put it all into perspective, the last college program not named Ohio State or Stanford to win a single national title took 12 years to do so. We did it in five.”
Complete results from the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships can be found at:
http://www.usasynchro.org/Events/champs12/2013_US_National_Championships.htm.
