They meet at noon in the dead middle of the Arizona heat. For an hour, they hit the outdoor gym, training quads, biceps and calves. Drenched in sweat and muscles burning, it’s only then that they trade their gym shorts for swimsuits and the dedicated dozen head to the Student Recreation Center pool for three hours of treading water and endurance exercises. No, this isn’t your Arizona State football team, your men’s lacrosse team, or even your rugby players — these are your Synchronized Swimming Sun Devils. And this year, they’re ready to dominate.
The Synchro Devils are an ASU athletic team that practices twice a week and competes in a number of regional, as well as national synchronized swimming competitions. And they achieve something not many other teams do: they participate in a physically demanding water sport while also accomplishing an aesthetic quality of performance. The result is a beautiful, synchronized dance on the water’s surface — all lip-sticked smiles, smooth-kicking legs and gravity-defying lifts and flips.
But what most don’t know is the incredible amount of athletic ability taking place beneath the surface. As a national competitive rule determined by the USA Synchro foundation, the athletes are strictly prohibited to touch the floor of the pool, even for a second during a routine, meaning every leg kick, every arm roll and every gymnastic-style flip is done while treading water.
“I bet you pro synchronized swimmers are some of the strongest people out there,” says Rachel Proctor, a special education sophomore and Synchro Devil.
Add to that the amount of time each athlete spends underwater holding her breath during a routine.
“In practice, we spend time each day swimming the entire length of the pool under the surface,” says Hayley McCrae, a nursing sophomore “Its not unusual for synchronized swimmers to be required to hold their breath underwater for 30 seconds to a minute during a routine, so we practice every week.”
Last year, the ASU synchronized swimming team went head to head against Stanford University and the University of Arizona – and that was just at regionals. Four weeks later, in March, seven of the 12 qualified athletes left the Arizona desert for Buffalo, New York and gave it their all at the synchronized swimming nationals. And they did it all on their own.
“We’ve never had a coach because we’re entirely self-funded, so it’s up to the more experienced swimmers to take charge and lead the team,” McCrae says.
And so in steps, the Synchro Devils’ elected president Haleigh Martinez, a biochemistry junior, along with a number of seasoned upperclassmen, to schedule the meeting times, leads the demanding practices, and most importantly, creates and choreographs the complex routines that are scored by expert judges at every competition. The Synchro Devils athletic club is in their third year this season – though they were an ASU team within the last 10 years, the team broke apart for a brief hiatus. But three years ago, thanks to the current Synchro Devils, the team is now back on the map.
And their perseverance is just as strong as their athleticism.
“Just try supporting yourself in the water upside down,” Proctor says. “When you first start, you have absolutely no idea how to control your body, and I think that’s what most people don’t understand. You need a lot of control, a strong core, and patience — lots of patience.”
She’s right. Though it’s true that in synchronized swimming maybe the aesthetics are just as important to the judges as the athletics, there’s a whole lot more to the team than matching swimsuits and colorful hairpieces.
“Like every other team, we represent ASU and I think we do a good job representing ASU both regionally and nationally,” McCrae says. “I think if more people took the time to watch a synchro meet, they would realize both how hard of a sport it as, as well as how enjoyable it is to watch.”
So the next time you see a group of twelve hard-working female athletes flipping, treading and seemingly defying gravity all while in a pool, you’ll know in a second who they are. They’re your ASU Synchro Sun Devils, and this year they plan to take nationals by storm. And you can be sure they’ll do it with a smile.
Contact the reporter at christina.arregoces@asu.edu
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