New Canaan’s Shen, Mase Named to 2023 U.S. Artistic Swimming Youth National Team

At first, New Canaan resident Sophia Shen didn’t think she’d like artistic swimming. Now a 15-year-old rising sophomore at Rye Country Day School, Shen followed her older sister into the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming at age eight. “I started it and I just kept going,” Shen recalled. 

“It was for fun at first and my sister was already in it and she was going to all these meets, so I would go with her and see her and her friends compete,” she added. “I was like, ‘I want to be like those older girls who look really strong in the water.’ ”

Mission accomplished. This summer, Shen was named to the 2023 U.S. Artistic Swimming Youth National Team and will compete in the World Youth Championship starting Friday in Greece.