Local girl hits the pool in national competition
Sundhausen, 11, and her partner making big splash
Instead, the 11-year-old St. Louis Hills resident combined a secondary passion of dancing with her swim cap and goggles, and the mixture landed her in Ohio. On Saturday, Sundhausen and 10-year-old partner Haley Mueth participated in the Esynchro U.S National Championships for synchronized swimming in the 11-12 age group duet event. The duo placed 20th out of 41 pairs.
"I think a lot of dance training helped her pick (synchro) up so quickly," said Blair's mother, Vee. "It's all about choreography and dancing to the music. That, and the fact she's always been a fish since the day she was born, I think her love for the water brought the two together naturally. She's always trying to be a mermaid."Sundhausen and Mueth topped swimmers from nine states for a third-place finish at the Midwest Regional Synchronized Swimming Championships at the St. Louis Community College at Forest Park back in May. The bronze medal earned them a spot in Oxford, Ohio, at the largest synchronized swimming competition in the world. More than 900 swimmers are competing during nine days for a national title.
There, the two performed their "Strictly Ballroom" routine that features spins under water, lifts above the waves, and both sharp and graceful moves set to various types of ballroom music.
As a supplemental part of the competition, both swimmers also performed a technical side of synchro known as figures. All pairs performed in front of four different panels of judges, executing a series of stationary moves for a score that is combined with that of their routine.
"It's your best athletes from all different regions within an age group," said the duet's coach Lori Eaton. "This is basically the top meet for these swimmers - nine days long with thousands of athletes showing up. It's a pretty big deal, certainly the biggest meet that these two athletes will go to."
Eaton, previously known as Lori Barbaglia from Bishop DuBourg High, was a member of the U.S. Juniors National Synchro Team while attending Ohio State University. She is now the head coach of the national squad.
Last September, Eaton returned to her hometown to create the St. Louis Gateway Synchro Club, an organization that combined five coaches and fragmented programs from around the area. Where the sport is huge in other regions of the Midwest, synchro was nearly non-existent in Missouri - until Eaton came home. Her club, as well as her bringing in May's regionals, has helped bring more awareness.
"There were five coaches here in St. Louis, and we came together this past year and decided to have one large club," Eaton said. "We're just trying to build and give back what the sport has given to us, try to expose that so other people see the benefits of teamwork and things like that."
The club focuses mainly on younger athletes ranging from 6 to mid-20s, offering avenues to competition as well as just recreational fun. Those who get into the competitive side of synchro, such as the Sundhausen-Mueth duet, put in practice for nearly the entire year.
"Those two are very eager to learn, they've been coming to practice an hour before normal time because they want to improve and better themselves," Eaton said. "They're very excited and full of energy, and the coaches just feed off that and want to give as much info and knowledge as we can. It's exciting that they get to go to nationals and showcase their hard work."
