Jacklyn Luu and Rachel Lau swim like they were born with gills. The two members of the Santa Clara Aquamaids synchronized swimming team won everything they could at the 2014 U.S. eSynchro Age Group Synchronized Swimming Championships held in Federal Way, Wash.
Luu won the “Grand Slam” with a gold medal in four events in the 13-15 age division and Lau earned the “Triple Crown” for three gold medals in the same division.
Luu took the gold in the 13-15 solo and shared the gold with Lau in the 13-15 duet. Luu held gold alone in the figure competition and helped earn the team gold with Lau, Emily Anger, Camryn Carrasco, Nicole Dzurko, Hailee Heinrich, Rachel Ye and Katherine Young.
Lau also took gold in the trio competition with Carrsco and Ye. Emily Anger, Heinrich and Young finished third.
In the 12-and-under group, the Aquamaids also cleaned house. Chesnie Cheung, Audrey Xie, Nicole Goot, Kaitlyn Hoang, Iris Marchant, Chiara Steele, Sophia Tong, Marilyn Weaver and Reiya Das took gold over 31 different teams from all over the country.
Hoang won an individual gold in the 12-and -under solo and Goot took second. Cheung and Hoang took first in the duet and Marchant, Steele and Weaver finished second in the trio.
The Aquamaids were to compete in San Diego last weekend at the California State Games, and 15 Aquamaids are taking part in the U.S. Open in Henderson, Nev., through July 19.
The 13-15 Aquamaids also earned their way overseas to compete for the Comen Cup in September in Greece.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Santa Clara Aquamaids. The team is led by Chris Carver, the coach of three U.S. Olympic teams that won gold and bronze medals in Atlanta and Athens. Carver has been the United States Synchronized Swimming Coach of the Year for 14 years.
The Aquamaids will be celebrating Carver and many former athletes in an “Academy Awards” reception on Aug. 30 at the Santa Clara University Mayer Theater. It will also coincide with the 10-year reunion of the 2004 Olympic Team which boasted seven Aquamaids.
Santa Clara Aquamaids is a non-profit organization that is funded primarily through a parent-volunteer Bingo organization in Santa Clara. The Aquamaids also host a number of summer camps in many locations in Silicon Valley for athletes from ages 7 to 11. For more information on the summer camps, visit Aquamaids.org.
