March 30, 2001

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -

UAB Synchronized Swimming placed a soloist, two duet teams and two trio teams in Saturday's finals as the 2001 U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships got underway at the Midtown Aquatic Center Thursday.

UAB's Bogdana Zareva, a sophomore from Sofia, Bulgaria, finished third overall in the solo semifinal (90.647), four points behind leader Carolina Moraes of Ohio State (94.867). Shannon Montague of Stanford (94.400) is second entering Saturday's final.  The top eight soloists of 28 entrants advance to Saturday's final.

In the duet semifinal, UAB's Jessica Brown and Zareva are fifth overall (88.733), followed closely by teammates Kelli Dickerson, Stacy Leiker in sixth position (86.800). The top eight of 38 duet teams advance to Saturday's finals.

The Blazers also fared well in the trio semifinal, as Dickerson, Leiker and Kara Morgan placed sixth (87.533) and Luna Aguilu, Rossitza Loukanova and Moraine Ruddick placed seventh (87.333).  The top eight of 30 trio teams advance to Saturday's final.

UAB will participate in team events on Friday.  The championships conclude Saturday.