Synchronized swim meet brings high finishes and large crowds

University of Richmond's synchronized swimming team hosted The Ohio State University and George Mason University in a meet on Saturday.

The meet consisted of four events: trios, duets, solos and teams. Richmond's Sophia Diamond and Arantxa Nin placed second in the duet competition, and Jenny Jarboe and Diamond placed third and fourth, respectively, in the solo competition. Ohio State, which has the number one team in the country, won all four competitions.

"I was really proud of how they swam," Richmond head coach Asha Bandal said. "I think the crowd gave them a lot of extra energy."

Jarboe said of the crowd: "Having so many fans here really makes for a great meet. It really gets you pumped up."

Diamond, who was competing in her first home meet, said she was happy with both of her performances. Diamond said her solo technique had improved a lot in the past year.

"That was probably the best I've seen her solo in awhile," Jarboe said.

Diamond said she had also been happy with her duet because of its difficulty. Jarboe said she was looking forward to seeing what Diamond and Nin could add to their duet for the end of the season.

Diamond was impressed with Jarboe's solo. "She's so expressive, and she works really, really hard at practice," Diamond said.

Bandal said competing against Ohio State would benefit Richmond's swimmers. "It is very inspiring to see a team that is so accomplished," Bandal said. "I think it's really great for our swimmers to see them compete."

Diamond said competing against Ohio State had been a lot of fun. "It's great to just watch them, so to be in the same pool as them was incredible," Diamond said.

In a little more than a month, the team will compete in the National Championship, Bandal said. Currently, the team practices three days a week, but as Nationals approaches, practices will be longer, Bandal said.

"We are going to try and have extended practices during that time in order to best prepare ourselves [for the National Championship]," Bandal said.

Contact reporter Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu