Show makes a splash

The Pennguinettes' annual spring show Wednesday went swimmingly. The University's all-female synchronized swimming team presented its annual spring show, "Time Warp," at Gimbel Gym to an audience of more than 50 people. The team was composed of six members: College senior and captain Lisa Better, College junior Jenny Faelten, College junior Laura Frank, Wharton and Engineering senior Dalia Grimberg, College sophomore Carolyn Kuhn and Wharton sophomore Venia Zafolia. The Pennguinettes performed 11 routines they had used in synchronized swimming meets throughout the year. Each routine was accompanied by music from a different time period. Better, who was presented with the Doris Dannenhirsch Beshunsky award for her contribution to the team, said of the show, "I think it went well. Every one on the team felt good about the performance." She explained some of the moves the team performed in the water. One of them was ballet legs, which consisted of the swimmers lying on their backs, bending their knees and kicking their legs straight up into the air. "It's simple in theory, but hard in the water, because your other leg wants to sink," Better said. Like dancers or figure skaters, the swimmers formed patterns with their bodies in the water. They also performed hybrids, which Better describes as "being submerged headfirst and doing various intricate motions with one's legs." "I prefer personally being underwater," she added. "I feel like I'm doing something that most people can't do." Underwater moves require more skill and technique, Better said, and added, "It's also more fun." The team also performed several dolphins -- when two to six members do a loop underwater. "We added a twist and put two dolphins together, so we ended up doing almost a figure eight," Better said. College senior Alexandra Schein, Better's roommate, said of the show, "It looks like they put a lot of work into it." College sophomore Adam Hammer, another member of the audience, added, "They didn't accompany the music, the music accompanied them." About the performance, Better said, "I think that it went very fast for the swimmers because we were rushing to change from one routine's costumes to the next in a short amount of time." She added that she is concerned about the future of the team. "Although I'm the only member graduating, most of the remaining team members will be graduating the following year," she said. "There needs to be a big recruitment done for next year."