US Collegiate National Championships

Despite delays due to....unforeseen vehicle complications (*cough cough* running out of gas in the middle of Kentucky), UM synchro made it safely in one piece to Gainesville, FL. Keep reading for a day-by-day recap of our #USCN16 experience!

Day 1: Travel Day

6:30am - Half the team started the 15 hour trek to Gainesville, FL!

1:00pm - After a quick stop for lunch, the team was back on the road!

2:00pm - *ERRRRRRRR* Out of gas....the girls passed the time waiting for AAA by playing concentration 64 (pictured left) and starting a grass band!

6:00pm - The flight crew left Ann Arbor for Atlanta!

9:00pm - Flight crew arrives in Atlanta, driving crew is back on the road also in Atlanta!

11:00pm - Flight crew arrives safely in Gainesville.

1:45am - Driving crew arrives (tired) safely in Gainesville!

Day 2: Practice Day

11:00am - Team enjoyed lunch by the hotel pool and some much needed vitamin D after their long journey!

2:00pm - Headed to the pool for practice with music. Thanks again to Richmond Spiders for sharing their music time to give everyone a break between routines!

6:00pm - Coaches and Athlete Meetings!

8:00pm - Dinner at Pomodoro's *Eat pasta swim fasta* :)

Day 3: Solo/Duet/Trio Prelims

8:00am - Departed for the Pool!

10:00am - Solo Preliminary Event

*Our soloist Julia Grammatico scored 58.8667 earning her 13th place and pre-swimmer for finals!*

11:45am - Duet Preliminary Event

*Our A duet of Julia Grammatico and Veronika Bayer scored 55.5667 earning 16th place, and our B duet of Ge Bian and Anna DeRango scored 48.2000 earning honorary 17th place.*

2:00pm - Trio Preliminary Event

*Our trio of Kaitlyn Haller, Lillian Huang, and McKenna Mahacek scored 57.5667 earning 14th place.*

6:00pm - Dinner at Taste Pan-Asian Noodle Restaurant

Day 4: Figures and Team Prelims

9:30am - D Technical Competition

* Lillian Huang scored 49.5867, 6th place

Veronika Bayer scored 48.6711, 12th place

McKenna Mahacek scored 48.2111, 13th place

Anna DeRango scored 39.8489, 40th place

Audrey Schwartz scored 39.1733, 41st place

Ge Bian scored 38.1733, 42nd place

Overall UM was 7th place in D earning 3pts*

11:25am - C Technical Competition

* Julia Grammatico scored 49.6519, 24th place

Overall UM was 3rd place in C earning 6pts*

1:00pm - B Technical Competition

* Kaitlyn Haller scored 50.3939, 36th place

Overall UM was 10th place earning 4pts*

5:15pm - Team Preliminary Event

*Team scored 55.7667, earning 14th place*

8:00pm - Dinner at Gator's Den Sports Grill *CHOMP*

Day 5: Finals

9:30am - Trio Finals

*1st place - Stanford*

10:45am - Duet Finals

*1st place - Stanford*

1:00pm - Solo Finals

* Julia Grammatico had a beautiful swim scoring 58.8667*

*1st place - OSU*

2:15pm - Team Finals

*1st place - Stanford*

3:50pm - Parade of Athletes and Awards

*UM earned 13th place overall*

We had a great season and can't wait to get started for next year! We hope to see you at our watershow April 10th, 6:30pm at Canham Natatorium!

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1085898144795467/