Courtesy: Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State synchronized (artistic) swimming team earned its second consecutive national title, and 34th in program history, Saturday at the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Championships in Westmont, Ill. The Buckeyes earned two routine titles, an A Figures title and four second-place finishes to collect 95 total points and finish three points ahead of second-place Stanford.
Ruby Remati was named the Individual High Point Award winner for earning a meet-high 68 points. She collected two national titles, including the Buckeyes’ first of the championships with a win in A Figures in Thursday’s technical competition.
In Saturday’s routine finals, Remati teamed up with Emily Armstrong to win Ohio State’s second consecutive duet title. The duo, who placed second to their teammates in 2022, swam a beautiful routine for a category-winning score of 84.6333.
The Buckeyes’ third championship swim of the meet came in solo, as Nikki Dzurko continued her dominance in the category in her final national championship meet. Dzurko saved one of her best swims for last, winning the solo title for the third time in her career with a score of 84.5000.
In trio, the Buckeyes finished in second and third place. The routine of Dzurko, Paige Hopper and Emma Spott scored an 83.4667 for second, just .6000 off the winning mark. Buckeyes Armstrong, Hannah Heffernan and Remati followed with a 83.300.
Ohio State closed the routine competition with two top-five finishes in team competition. The scarlet routine of Armstrong, Dzurko, Heffernan, Rose Homoelle, Hopper, Reverie Nedde, Remati and Spott took second with a score of 84.3000, a one-point improvement on their prelim score. The gray squad of Victoria Carlson, Marian Catahan, Charlotte Gray, Olivia Malloy, Lilly Ortiz, Trinity Patton, Olivia Schafer and Caroline Walsh also improved on their prelim swim by over a point to place fifth (80.5667).
Patton finished second (73.6088) in B Figures on Thursday, just .0783 behind Incarnate Word’s first-place swimmer.
Head coach Holly Vargo Brown was named the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Coach of the Year. The award is her seventh of her career at the helm of the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes have now won 18 solo titles and 28 duet titles in program history. The program has taken home five of the last six contested national championships.
Ohio State 2023 U.S. Collegiate Championships Results
SOLO
- Nikki Dzurko – 84.5000
DUET
- Armstrong/Remati – 84.6333
TRIO
- Dzurko/Hopper/Spott – 83.4667
- Armstrong/Heffernan/Remati – 83.3000
TEAM
- Ohio State Scarlet – 84.3000
- Ohio State Gray – 80.5667
A Figures
- Ruby Remati – 83.1950
- Emily Armstrong – 82.5975
- Nikki Dzurko – 82.0189
- Paige Hopper – 80.4969
- Hannah Heffernan – 80.1415
- Emma Spott – 79.8019
- Rose Homoelle – 78.8742
- Reverie Nedde – 77.4560
- Charlotte Gray – 76.3553
- Olivia Malloy – 75.2453
- Olivia Schafer – 74.0660
B Figures
- Trinity Patton – 72.6088
- Victoria Carlson – 72.6156
- Marian Catahan – 71.6259
- Caroline Walsh – 71.1905
- Lilly Ortiz – 70.5068