ANA Synchers Shine in Elite East Zone Senior Championships

The ANA Synchers had another banner weekend as they continue to establish themselves among the ranks of the most competitive teams in the Eastern Zone. At the East Zone Senior Championships held at Wheaton College on March 10th-12th, the highest level of competition in this quadrant of the country, the ANA Synchers swam their way to final berths in the solo, duet, trio and team categories. ANA brought 27 swimmers to this meet -- more than any other team in the Eastern Zone. ANA placed 3 teams in the top 15 at this meet and 2 teams in finals; a testament to the excellence of its top swimmers as well as the depth of the team overall.

Highlights of this meet include the second and fifth place finishes in technical figures, respectively, for Stephanie Garcia Restrepo, 16, of Billerica and Rita Gillan, 17, of Andover. This was out of a field of 103 swimmers. These results qualify them for the East Zone All Star team, an elite group that consists of the top 16 swimmers in the entire zone.

In the solo category, Garcia Restrepo finished in second place and Gillan in fourth place out of a field of 22 swimmers. Their duet performance earned them a second place finish out of 29 pairs. Trio swimmers Garcia Restrepo, Maggie Conlon, 15, of Methuen and Ashley Cohen, 16, of Andover, earned a third place finish in a field of 28 trios. Gillan, Conlon, and Cohen were joined by teammates Faryn Shiro, 16, Kelly Mahoney, 16, and Beth O'Connor, 15, all of Andover, and Charlotte Gorski, 16, of Manchester, NH, in taking home a fifth place in the team event, in which they performed to dramatic music from the soundtrack to Prince of Egypt.

Garcia Restrepo, Gillan, and Cohen will be advancing to the 2006 Junior National Championships in Minneapolis next month, where they will enter the trio event as well as duet (Garcia Restrepo/Gillan) and solo (Garcia Restrepo and Gillan) categories. These three swimmers and their teammates will also compete in the prestigious international US Open championship in Orlando in July. In all the Synchers will be sending three solos, two duets, two trios and two teams to US Opens, for a total of eighteen competitors in all.

Other highlights of the weekend's competition include 11th and 15th place finishes in the team event, and 5 other top-20 performances in solo, duet, and trio.
The eleventh place team members include Claire Rudder, 14, of Sudbury, Jessica Mancini, 14, Erica Potts, 15, Molly Trerotola, 14, Rachel Veznaian, 17, Sheila Cremin, 14, and Emily Stone, 15, all of Andover, and Rebecca Ely, 15, and Amber Blum, 14, of North Andover. Emily Ingram, 14, of North Andover was the alternate.

The 15th place team is composed of Alice Wu, 15, Laura Hanson, 13, Colleen Maher, 13, Elizabeth Maldari, 13, all of Andover, Edith Kwok, 16, Shefali (Minnie) Lohia, 13, Hannah Straus, 13, of North Andover, and Taylor Clarke, 14, of Lowell.

All of the swimmers who competed this weekend are also training for the New England Age Group Championships in May, where they will work towards qualifying to attend the US National Age Group Championships in June.

In addition to the success of our swimmers, kudos goes to Head Coach Eugenia Gillan for being named "2006 East Zone Coach of the Year". Genia was bestowed this honor for her outstanding abilities as a coach and her contribution to the sport of synchronized swimming. Under her leadership the ANA Synchers grew from a young team of only 15 swimmers less than ten years ago to the 60 member power house that it is today.

If you would like to see the ANA YMCA Synchers in action, they will be hosting an exhibition performance at the Andover-North Andover YMCA on April 29-30, 2006. For ticket information, please call Charlie O'Connor at 978-790-2193.