During the 2012 competition season, Kim Wurzel-LoPorto, coach for the University of the Incarnate Word synchronized swimming team, continuously said that her team was constantly improving and impressing her, that the team was always exceeding expectations.
On Saturday, after multiple days spent in the pool and competing in the semi-final and final rounds of the 2012 NCAA Collegiate National Championships, the UIW synchronized swimming team pulled off another stunning performance that their coach could only describe as “Magnificent.”
The Cardinals finished second, losing to 26-time champion Ohio State University by a slim margin of 93.0 to 88.0 (just five points) and completely blowing away the rest of the field (3rd place was Lindenwood University with 68.5 points and Stanford finished 4th at 66.0).
“I was left speechless after each routine today,” Wurzel-LoPorto said via phone. “I truly feel blessed to be part of a team of such amazing young women. They persevered, never gave up and fought until the end.”
All four of the events – solo, duet, trio and team routine – had their final competitions on Saturday and the Cardinals went toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes for top spots and precious points in each event.
In the trio competition, Ohio State finished 1st with an 87.417, but Incarnate Word's team of Brianna Andreychuck, Saki Fujise and Rosilyn Tegart finished a close second with an 87.133. OSU also had a second trio team in the event, which took third (86.650), while UIW's second unit (Emily Burkhart, Alex Stensby, Braley Traub and alternate Ingrid Lundblad) took 7th with an 84.433.
“They swam almost flawlessly in both trios events,” Wurzel-LoPorto shared.
In the duets, the Cardinal team of Fujise and freshman Inga Gillyer swam to a first-place score of 88.533 while Ohio State's duet took second with an 87.933.
In the solo competition, OSU took first with a performance by Yulia Maryanko good for 89.133 points, but UIW took second with an 88.750 by the senior Fujise and third with an 86.650 by Gillyer.
“Our duets were simply perfect,” Wurzel-LoPorto said. “… and our two soloists were absolutely explosive and emotional performances by Saki and Inga.”
Finally, in the team routine competition, Incarnate Word took first place with an 89.8667. Ohio State then took second and third with their two teams (Incarnate Word went into this season lacking enough swimmers to have a full, second team in the water as they've had in previous seasons).
UIW's team was made up of Andreychuck, Emily Burkhart, Carolina Davidson, Gillyer, Lundblad, Anna Nelson, Tegart and Traub with alternates Alexandra Cox and Brooke Taylor.
In the end, the math was just simply in favor of Ohio State by just five points, but the Cardinals still left Florida having accomplished something truly amazing thanks to their hard work and desire.
“I could not be more proud,” their coach said, simply.
The 2nd place finish is the best, ever, for the Cardinals at the NCAA Collegiate National Competition, having finished third last year.
In addition to the team's historic finish, three Cardinals were named to the All-NCAA Division II/NAIA Collegiate Team as part of the honors won in Florida.
Gillyer, Fujise and Tegart were all recognized for their performances over the long weekend (Ohio State had three athletes in the Division I group).
Incarnate Word's collegiate season is now over, but the team will continue to train for one last event – the 2012 National Championships in April – before their season is truly over.
