2021 Junior and Senior National Team Trials Results Announced

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Senior and Junior National Team Trials were hosted this past weekend in Moraga, Calif. The event, which was live streamed on the USA Artistic Swimming YouTube channel, saw 33 athletes compete for spots in the respective national team programs. Evaluations included interviews, flexibility, strength, swim and routine scoring for each athlete. Competition was tight to be named to the national team program and grow under the direction of the distinguished coaching staff. The results from this weekend prove that the future is bright for USA Artistic Swimming and there is much to look forward to as these athletes and coaches take the teams to new heights. 

Nine athletes, eight females and one male, were selected for the senior national team and will be the first cohort to make the move south to Los Angeles. They include Elisa Brunel (Unaffiliated), Ivy Davis (Unaffiliated), Claudia Coletti (Unaffiliated), Keana Hunter (Unaffiliated), Yujin Chang (Unaffiliated), Jaime Czarkowski (Unaffiliated), Emily Ding (Unaffiliated), Natalia Vega (University of Incarnate Word) and Kenneth Gaudet (Lakeland YMCA Synchro). These new athletes for the senior age group will join the current team members and will have the opportunity to compete in domestic and international competitions in 2022. This band made up of the top senior-level athletes in the country will now total 21, with some athletes choosing to hold their spot while they attend collegiate institutions for a year but most remaining in full-time training in the City of Angels. 

Joanna Liu (Walnut Creek Aquanuts), Miko Begossi (Walnut Creek Aquanuts) and Atira O’Neil (Walnut Creek Aquanuts) were selected for the junior national team squad. The new junior team selections will join the current athletes that include Megumi Field, Anya Melson, Claudia Coletti, Ashley Latchford and Juliana Silva. Claudia, Ivy, Keana, Elisa, Emily, Kenneth, Yujin, Megumi and Anya will hold dual-team roles, maintaining spots on both the senior national team and junior national team. This means that the junior national team will now total 14.

Andrea Fuentes, head coach of the senior national team, was inspired by the energy surrounding the trials: "I was impressed with the level of motivation and determination of the participants this past weekend, it fills my heart to see how much those athletes want to be a part of the program. They fully committed themselves, physically and mentally, but also let their souls shine throughout the process. I saw swimmers that want to be a part of the change and be a part of something much bigger than just a great ballet leg. They want to be a part of a program that inspires the world and that is all a coach can hope for. I’m extremely excited to start this new program with such motivated athletes in Los Angeles.” 

“The number of athletes that want to be a part of the program is a testament to the hard work of our coaches, staff, board of directors and the current national team athletes. National team is the highest level, but now it is means so much more. We are dedicated to developing better athletes and people. The fact that athletes and their families recognize that was the most exciting part of this event for me. Congratulations to the athletes selected and all athletes who participated. Everyone performed incredibly well and we are honored to have the community that we do,” said Adam Andrasko, CEO of USA Artistic Swimming. 

Full quantitative results from this weekend can be found HERE.