For the fourth year in a row, the synchronized swimming team won the national title at the National Collegiate Championships in March, with senior Sara Lowe named college athlete of the year by participating coaches. All that in spite of the three-day event’s being held in the home pool of Ohio State, the Cardinal’s perennial foe.
“It’s like the Stanford-Cal rivalry in our sport,” says head coach and two-time Olympian Heather Olson, ’99. “We knew they would have an incredible fan base, and that carries a lot of momentum when you’re in your own pool. But they were great spectators, and we had a great parent base for our own support.”
The Buckeyes did win the last of four team events, with 98.500 points to Stanford’s 96.833. But Olson expects her squad to come back stronger in the U.S. Nationals in early May. “Our lifts, where we throw people out of the water, were not as strong [as Ohio’s],” the coach explains. “So we’ll be [looking at ways] to get them higher. And we’ll have Sara, who’s a very strong pusher.” Swimmers also are using weight belts for practice sessions, Olson says, “to work on explosive power.”
