Lindenwood synchronized swimming began its fourth season of competition by winning two of three technical events on Friday and followed with a second place finish overall on Saturday at the Lindenwood Invitational January 27-28 at the St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Peters, Mo.  The Lady Lions finished a close second to University of the Incarnate Word (UIW).  Miami University (Ohio), Ball State and the University of Tampa rounded out the meet.
 
For Lindenwood, which graduates its first senior class in 2012, the competition was a solid gauge of the team's preparedness as it looks forward to the next eight weeks of competition.
 
“We like to get this first meet under our belts, shake out the early season nerves, and see where we are against the competition,” said head coach Lori Eaton.  “Overall, I was very pleased.  UIW is an established program that routinely finishes third at Collegiate Nationals.  Though it's just the first meet, we're right on track with our plan. We're closing the gap and proving we're a team to be reckoned with.”
 
The Lady Lions started strongly on Friday night as they won two of the three technical events they entered.  Freshman Dennise Ramirez placed first in B Figures with a score of 70.510.  Amanda Mendez finished first in C Figures with a score of 71.012, followed by Federica Bertolini at 68.810 and Victoria Burdon at 68.047.
 
During events on Saturday, Lindenwood's playful “Morning Commute” routine to remixes of Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 earned a score of 79.500, strong enough for second place, and three points ahead of the nearest competitor.  Mikayla Francese, Anouk Eman and Ramirez were the swimmers for Lindenwood in the event. 
 
The Lady Lions expected their greatest challenge in duet because they were unable to compete two routines in the event.  Mendez and Jessica Webb rose to the challenge and finished second with a score of 79.750.
 
“Jessica and Amanda are so well matched.  They were charismatic, energetic, and just really looked like they were having fun,” Eaton said.  “For Jessica and Amanda to be just three points off of UIW's top duet, yet nearly five points ahead of their second best duet was pretty amazing.”
 
Lindenwood sophomore Reem Abdalazem finished fourth in solo with her captivating routine to Closer from Kings of Leon.
 
“Not just anyone can swim Reem's routine.  It's a perfect mirror of her personality – shy and playful at times, flirty and inviting when it needs to be,” Eaton said.  “She has missed so much practice time over the past month, competing in Egypt's Olympic Trials process.  Now that she's back training with the team, I expect her solo and duet to really come together.”
 
The crowd continued to grow throughout the day, and nearly 300 fans were on hand to witness the highly contested team event.  When competition had concluded, UIW's Americana routine, climaxing with Neil Diamond's 1980 patriotic power-ballad America, clipped Lindenwood's sultry, powerful Temptation routine, 87.250 to 86.500.  Abdalazem, Eman, Ramirez, Francese, Burdon, Webb, Mendez, and Stewart Shoemaker performed for the Lady Lions.  A second Australia-themed routine earned an 80.000 for Lindenwood, and was performed by Aubrey Wall, Carmen Salazar, Andrea Lopez, Bertolini, Simona Placha, Julia Birkelo, Clarissa Johnston, and Emily Walsh.
 
Synchronized swimming next travels to Division I Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., February 4-5.
 
Lindenwood Invitational Results
Trios
1.      UIW- Tegart, Andreychuk, Fujise       80.750
2.      LU- Ramirez, Francese, Eman          79.500
3.      UIW- Burkhart, Traub, Lundblad        76.75

Duets
1.      UIW- Fujise, Gillyer     83.000
2.      LU- Webb, Mendez     79.750
3.      UIW- Traub, Burkhart 75.00

Solos
1.      UIW- Gillyer        83.00
2.      UIW- Nelson      82.00T
3.      UIW- Fujise        82.00T
4.      LU- Abdalazem 81.75

Teams
1.      University of Incarnate Word            87.25
2.      Lindenwood University                     86.50
3.      Lindenwood University                     80.00