The spotlight shined brightly on Lindenwood's third-year synchronized swimming program during the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Championships after the Lady Lions came within half a point of claiming fourth place at the nation's most prestigious event.

Lindenwood finished with 62.5 points, finishing just 0.5 behind the meet host Canisius. Ohio State won the overall title with 93 points, followed by Stanford at 90, and University of the Incarnate Word at 75.

“No program turned as many heads at this year's Nationals as the athletes from Lindenwood,” said head coach Lori Eaton. “In our third year, swimming with a majority of underclassmen against programs that boast U.S. Olympians on their rosters, we came within a half-point of fourth place. The girls swam amazingly; the judges and other teams were in awe of what this team has accomplished. I couldn't be more proud, and our athletes couldn't be more fired up about gaining that extra half-point next season.”

The Lady Lions' fate was sealed early when they fell victim to a poor draw in the trio event final – the first event of the day. Swimming second in a draw of 12 teams, with the primary competition swimming 8th-12th, Lindenwood's Anouk Eman, Mikayla Francese, and Reem Abdalazem scored an 85.750 for eighth place – more than a full point less than the trio earned two weeks ago at the North Regional Championships. The early draw and resulting low score put pressure on the rest of the program's routines to swim near-perfect routines throughout the remainder of Finals just to stay in the hunt.

And the Lady Lions delivered. Eman and Francese rebounded in duet to finish sixth at 85.625. Lindenwood earned outstanding performances in solo, where sophomore Bethany Burton scored an 88.125 to edge teammate and freshman Abdalazem by 0.125 for fourth and fifth place, respectively.

But it wasn't until the climax of the meet – the hotly contested team final – where Lindenwood made its move, and the synchro world took notice. Lindenwood's “China” squad improved two places in Finals up to eighth place, earning two much-needed points in the overall standings. Moments later, the Lady Lions' “Australia” team stunned hosts Canisius and perennial champs Ohio State by defeating Ohio State's B team and Canisius in the team final to earn a fourth-place finish.

“We were the talk of the meet,” said Eaton. “Last year, we finished sixth and 10th in team. To have both teams move up two places really opened some eyes, especially when you pass NCAA Division I programs with as much history and tradition as Ohio State and Canisius. Overall, we improved a full 10.5 points from last year. We're getting better with every meet, and there are a lot of teams out there who would love to be in our position.”

Lindenwood synchronized swimming wraps up its season April 15-17 at the U.S. National Championships in Columbus, where the Lions will take on a mix of the top college and private club programs from across the nation.