A Menomonee Falls sports team made a splash this season. Meet the Dolphinettes, who are making their mark at the national level.
The Menomonee Falls High School baseball and boys basketball teams both went to state this year. But the Menomonee Falls-based Dolphinettes, an affiliate of the Menomonee Falls recreation department, also made a huge splash this season.
For the first time, the girls in the age 16 to 19 division placed second in the Junior Olympics for the free team competition in artistic swimming, formerly called synchronized swimming. The free team competition uses creative and artistic choreography.
The competition was held in Gainsville, Florida, from June 25-July 2.
The team also took third place as a tech team, the artistic swimming competition that relies on technical skills; seventh in the free competition, another competition that relies on creative choreography; and 12th in duet, with artistic swimmers Johanna Luo and Grace Xue.
The Menomonee Falls Dolphinettes, who practice at the pool at Menomonee Falls North Middle School, have won the state competition for the last 35 years. There are just two other artistic swimming programs in Wisconsin, in Wauwatosa and Middleton.
More than 'dancing in the water'
Linda Loehndorf, who has coached the Dolphinettes since 1980, calls artistic swimming a "combination of dance, gymnastics and swimming."
"I want people to know it is more than what others give it credit for — dancing in the water," said Mara Stockhausen, who is a part of the Dolphinettes, lives in Brookfield and is a senior at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School.
Loehndorf said that the sport has become more athletic and difficult, with throws, lifts and choreography in the water. Many of the moves are done underwater.
"It is challenging, and it is a team sport," said Stockhausen. "It is really neat to see myself grow as an athlete. It is a team sport where we help each other out. You need to look as if you are having fun and to connect with the audience."
'Very artistic and athletic"
Michelle Xie of Menomonee Falls is a junior at Brookfield East High School. She said she was attracted to artistic swimming as a way to use her ballet background.
she was able to use her ballet background to try another sport.
Artistic swimming seemed like a perfect fit. She has been doing it for six years.
"It is very artistic and athletic, so it is challenging," she said. "Some elements are judged rigidly, and another one is artistic. "There is a lot of adrenaline in the performance. It is hard with the time spent underwater (during a routine); you use a lot of energy."
Johanna Luo, who will be a junior at Germantown High School in the fall, added that the hardest aspects of the sport are that you can be upside down, you are not allowed to wear goggles and you have to synchronize the count with others.
"You have to keep up the act that everything is fine, but at the end, you are holding your breath underwater, and you have to keep on going, and you are more out of breath, and your muscles are so tired," she said.
"It is a cool sport," said Luo. "I can feel the energy off of everyone. Our teammates are such good friends."
She said that the creativity of sport, coupled with the growing use of acrobatic movements, is also fun.
"I hate sweating, so I love swimming," she said. "It is super fun and super cool and open to everyone. It is such an amazing sport so I hope it gets more attention."
More on the Dolphinettes
The Menomonee Falls Dolphinettes began as a club activity at North High School (now Menomonee Falls High School) in the 1960s. In the 1980s, it moved to a competitive team through USA Artistic Swimming and eventually became an affiliate of the Menomonee Falls Recreation Department.
Loehndorf said that swimmers may attend the clinics and then join the team, where they are placed in groups based on age and abilities.The recreation class does not compete but can perform at its annual showcase in the spring.
Competitive artistic swimming begins in the fall and goes through June. For more information, find the Menomonee Falls Dolphinettes in Facebook.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Falls-based artistic swimming team placed 2nd at Jr. Olympics
