Wheaton makes big-screen splash

The Hollywood script might have called for Wellesley women, but it was all Wheaton when the cameras rolled last December on the set of Mona Lisa Smile, the Julia Roberts film set for release on Dec. 19.

Wheaton's 12-member synchronized swimming team, ranked in the top ten in the nation last season, traveled to New York City to perform a pool scene in the movie. The Mike Newell film is set at Wellesley College in 1953, an environment where success appears to be measured by how well the students marry, despite the academic reputation of the college. Roberts' character, an art history professor, challenges her students to strive for a more enlightened future. Wheaton's team performed a routine to Doris Day's ''By the Light of the Silvery Moon.'' The routine was written by former head coach Mary Kay Adams.

Elizabeth Maga '03 and Jamie Sallier '03, last year's team co-captains, were impressed by the amount of work that goes into a film production. ''I think the whole team had a great time both preparing for and being in the movie, though I do not think any of us will be running out to Hollywood anytime soon,'' Maga said. ''The day was very long and hard.''

''We were working for nearly 12 hours on a two-minute scene, and they were nowhere near done filming when our team left the set,'' Sallier added. In addition to appearing in the movie, Sallier said that the team also met and had lunch with several of the film's actresses and crew members. ''I don't know if you will see our team in the film or not; we may end up on the editing room floor! Either way, I am seeing the film regardless if we make it in!''

While audiences will have to see for themselves whether Wheaton's synchro team makes the final cut to the big screen, it looks promising: the team's elegant strength and symmetry is evident in the film's trailer, available online at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/monalisasmile/.

For more information about Wheaton's nationally ranked synchronized swimming team and their participation in the filming of Mona Lisa Smile, contact Anna Fitzgerald at the Wheaton Office of Communications, at 508-286-8235 or afitzger@wheatoncollege.edu.