CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Members of the Arizona synchronized swimming team practice for the U.S. Collegiate Championships, which will be hosted by the Splashcats at the Student Recreation Center pool March 20 ÷ 22. Both NCAA and club teams will be competing in the event.

Splashcats set to battle NCAA and club teams for fourth synchronized swimming title

Next week March Madness spreads to UA, not just on the hardwood, but also at the Student Recreation Center pool, as the synchronized swimming team is hosting the all-level national championships.

On March 20 ÷ 22, the Splashcats play host to the U.S. Collegiate Championships, which pit NCAA teams from each division as well as club teams against each other.

"We all compete on the same playing field," said head coach Jill Ranucci. "We are excited to be in our pool."

The 27 teams qualified through regional competitions, with UA finishing second in the Western Regional to Stanford.

It is exciting to get to see a lot of really good teams that have people who will go to the Olympics. - Michaela Johnson sophomore

"This is the biggest collegiate meet," said junior Michelle Myer. "A lot of teams are really excited because in the last few years it had been in cold places."

In 1980, 1981 and 1984 Arizona won synchronized swimming titles when it was a varsity sport, but it was eventually cut for financial reasons.

Not only was the sport cut from varsity status at UA, the club team also disbanded in the early 1990s. Ranucci started rebuilding the program in 1997 with four swimmers and in 1999 the Splashcats replaced Cal as the Pac-10's second-best program behind Stanford, an NCAA team.

As the program builds, the goal every year has been to finish a couple of places higher. Now the goal is to make it to the senior nationals, Ranucci said. The top seven teams make it to senior nationals.

In 2002 Arizona finished ninth but easily could have been seventh, had the Splashcats just entered someone in the "A" division individual event. Even if the participant finished last, Arizona would have had enough points to finish seventh.

"We've beaten varsity teams," Myer said. "We're usually always first place for club teams and beat a few varsity teams."

For senior Alia Arbas, it will be the first time she has faced Ohio State, who won the last three national championships, since she transferred from there. As a freshman, she was an all-American for the Buckeyes.

Arbas transferred to the UA after getting burned out from the sport and sitting out for two years, but when her sister, Audra, a freshman, joined the team, so did Alia.

"I moved back here because it was cheaper," Alia Arbas said. "Then my sister joined and I had one more year of eligibility. We have never swam a duet together and it's kind of a dream."

The Arbas' duet is dedicated to their father, Edmund Arbas, a UA neurobiology professor who died in 1995 on Father's Day, when the family was on a trip to Puerto Penasco, Mexico with members of Alia and Audra's swim teams.

"We always wanted to (dedicate) a routine for our father," Alia Arbas said. "He never got to see us swim together, so it's emotional."

The Splaschcats will compete in the team, trio, dual and solo competitions. The team score is computed by taking into account how a team does in all events.

"We have a wide range of experience and we really come together well," said sophomore Michaela Johnson. "We all compliment each other."

The Splashcats won the chance to play host by bidding against Stanford and its new Avery Aquatic Center. Ranucci was "shocked" to hear that Arizona had edged the Cardinal.

"Even though they have a new aquatics center we just offered more," Rannucci said.

Alia Arbas is excited to face the Buckeyes, more to see her friends than having the opportunity to dethrone the synchro queens.

"I am excited to see all of them," Alia Arbas said. "It is more about seeing a lot of friends than competition."

Despite not getting scholarships, because of the nature of synchronized swimming, the Splashcats must follow the NCAA's rules. For example, the players must have a GPA of at least 2.0, though the teams's average GPA is 3.3, Ranucci said.

When each team will compete is not set yet. The trios, duets and solos are on Thursday, the team preliminaries are on Friday and the finals are on Saturday.

"It is exciting to get to see a lot of the really good teams that have people who will go to the Olympics," Johnson said. "It is kind of scary, they are really good."