Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune

The McGill Martlets blew the other teams out of the water at the Martlet Synchronized Swimming Invitational at Memorial Pool this past Saturday, placing second or higher in all categories, with some of the most entertaining choreography in the pool.

The duet category started the competition, and CEGEP John Abbott stole the show. Their introduction started with an amazing lift, and their leg choreography was precise and synchronized. McGill’s routine contained many more lifts than other teams, resulting in lost timing for some of the performance. Their artistic impression and co-ordination with the music wasn’t enough to defeat John Abbott.

McGill dominated the novice solo category, by default, as McGill alone contributed to the category’s roster of entrants. Meanwhile, McGillians Danielle Ten Vaanholt and Hannah Ungar went head-to-head as they performed their self-coached routines. Ungar’s routine was beautiful and controlled. She also had the longest introduction without a breath, which was particularly impressive. Ten Vaanholt’s performance involved more artistic impression, giving her enough points to beat  Ungar by 0.166. 

The McGill novice team did very well for their first competition of the year, but they couldn’t stay in unison during some parts of the routine. They ended on a strong note, but again, the John Abbott team took first place with their original choreography and precise timing. 

The final category of the day was the team competition. It was the largest and most competitive category; Queens University had three teams competing, John Abbot had one, and McGill, Ottawa, and Guelph each had two. The McGill “White” team took home the gold as they did a robotic routine to “I am Optimus Prime.” On the pool deck they transformed and then dove into the water. They stayed robotic and in sync throughout their intricate leg movements.  They were also the only team that did not smile and had facial expressions that matched their music, which was a nice change of pace. The McGill “Red” team’s routine had a longer introduction on the deck,  and they were the only team to do a two person lift. Unfortunately, they finished in the middle of the pack. 

“Having the McGill White Team come in first place is something we strive for each year,” Head Coach Lynn Macrae said. “We have a reputation for being the top team and the top club and we are very happy to have continued with that.”

Macrae, Catherine Pollock, Vanessa Foucher, and Co-President of McGill Synchronized Swimming Katherine LePage coached the different McGill teams.

Macrae was quite happy with the entire team’s effort and is looking forward to the remainder of the season, which proves to be promising given the increase in enrolled Canadian teams across the country. “This competition went really well and it was a good start to the season. We were worried about the enrollment in synchronized swimming. This is the first time nationals will be held out West and that is promising,” Macrae said. “Seeing [as] this is the first competition and we had such a great turnout, it looks like this will just be as good as the other years, and we are really excited for the rest of the season.”

Their next competition of the season will be held on Jan. 12 at the Eastern Canadian Championship meet in Guelph, Ontario.