Friday and Saturday night of second weekend, Carleton's synchronized swimming team held its annual exhibition. The lights in the West Gymnasium were dimmed, and the pool was lit from below, making it a strikingly intense blue. Before the swim team appeared at the edge of the pool, the announcer explained the rationale behind the theme for this years's expo: "Wetness is the essence of sexy." As the swimming pool contains hundreds of cubic feet of water, it should be overpoweringly sexy. Therefore this year's theme is "Bringing Sexy Back."
Carleton is famous for underappreciating its sports teams, but in the case of the synchronized swimming team, this lack of attention is not deserved. Carleton's synchro swimmers are stars. This year, they placed tenth – not in the regionals, but in the nationals. This is some serious swimming talent.
And their talent shows throughout the show. One spectacular routine after another, Carleton's synchro swimmers continue to impress. One of the best routines is the Anastasia Solo by Elise Cordo. She placed tenth in the nationals for solo routines with that routine. Also popular was when the boys on the synchro team swam to "I'm Too Sexy." At one point, when the lyrics say, "I'm too sexy for my shirt," one of the boys ripped off his shirt to uproarious applause.
The show had a lively audience response, with lots of applause and participation in activities between routines. In the intermission, three volunteers from the audience tried to hit kickboards floating in the pool by throwing a water polo ball at them. The winner got a used Speedo. Later, the whole audience sang "Happy Birthday" to Elise, because the show fell on her birthday.
At the finale, the entire swim team performed the routine that was the inspiration for the show: "Bringing Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake.
