Munoz Returns as Double Winner in Synchro Meet

Success has had a satisfying way of erasing homesickness for Jenny Munoz, a former San Diego Sweetwater Dolphins synchronized swimmer.

Munoz, who left San Diego 10 months ago to pursue her synchronized swimming career with the Santa Clara Aquamaids, was a double winner Saturday in the trio and team finals of the Outdoor Junior National Synchronized Swimming Championships at Allied Gardens pool.

It was Munoz’s best performance since she left the area.

“This is the first time I’ve done really, really well,” she said. “I felt good, better than I did in semifinals.”

Munoz teamed with Mandy Blake and Khadija Cutcher for the trio victory. Dressed in pink, aqua and silver suits with beads, the three swam last and best, using a combination of spins, double arm maneuvers and difficult figures to run up a score of 143.635.

“Our first figure is really hard,” Munoz said. “As soon as we made it through that, we had fun. The trio is my favorite. It’s just second nature to us.”

Santa Clara Coach Betty Hazle said she had never seen her trio look better.

“This was their best performance,” she said. “Their strength, their height and how synchronized they are makes them so good.”

While Munoz is certainly benefitting athletically from her decision to leave San Diego--her parents and a brother live in Jamul--it wasn’t easy in the early stages.

“The first couple of months were really hard,” said Munoz, 17. “I almost came back after two months, but once competition started, it got better.”

Munoz finished her sophomore year at Monte Vista before she left in September and moved in with another swimmer’s family. But she said she had difficulty adjusting and now lives with a teammate in an apartment.

Although she said it is hard to swim against her former Sweetwater teammates--Munoz was with the Dolphins for eight years--she said she doesn’t regret the move.

“I have accomplished all the things that I wanted to when I initially decided to move,” she said. “We spend a lot of time on figures. I’ve improved there. And so has the execution of my routines.”

Finishing second in the trio were Nicole Banks, Tina Kasio and Debbie Downes of the Walnut Creek Aquanuts (143.202). The Aquanuts swam to a medley of music that included “Jail House Rock,” the theme from “Dragnet” and “When the Saints Come Marching In.”

According to Hazel, although upbeat and popular music can get the crowd’s attention, she doesn’t feel she must always go in that direction.

“It gets the crowd involved, definitely,” she said, “but I wouldn’t pick music just because it’s popular.”

The Aquamaids instead swim to music that fits their style, which Hazle said is “aggressive, powerful and distinct.”

“We’re very precise,” she said. “We make the music match every move.”

In team competition, Munoz and seven teammates swam a routine that was highlighted by a slow, graceful Oriental music selection and the theme song from “Crocodile Dundee.”

The Aquamaids were first with 147.396. The Cincinnati’s Synchrogator’s crowd-pleasing routine with theme music from the old Batman series finished second (146.628.) Sweetwater finished fifth (141.148).

The finals in duet and solo begin today at Allied Gardens at 9:15.