The strains of Andrea Bocelli’s “Sogno The Dream” filled the warm, humid air inside the pool area at the Beavercreek YMCA.

Two synchronized swimmers created mirror images in a graceful underwater routine. Annie Denlinger, 81, and Sue Wilkinson, 63, were practicing on a Friday morning as part of the Dayton Synchronettes. They are part of a competitive tradition that was established 57 years ago.

Denlinger, of Clearcreek Twp., joined the team 35 years ago. Wilkinson, a Kettering resident, has been competing for the past seven years. Along with members Shirley Monce, an 81-year-old Tipp City resident; Jeanne Carlson, 75, of Indian Lake; and 62-year-old Muriel Hunt of Centerville, the team won First Place in the 70s division at the 2012 U.S. Masters National Swimming Championships last year in Sarasota, Florida.

But not only are these women champions in the water, they are inspirations to women everywhere who want to stay healthy as they age.

“It’s a good workout. Before I was a lap swimmer, and I would do about a mile at a time,” said Wilkinson, a retired aquatic supervisor for the city Dayton. “When I started to synchronize I was learning different skills and using more muscles.”

Those different skills helped her and Denlinger take Second Place among five teams in the mature division’s Duet category in Sarasota. The team practices three days a week for one-and-a-half hours.

“I love the music and the grace. Of course, keeping fit is a big part of it,” said Denlinger, a retired Miami Valley Hospital nurse who grew up swimming in the Ohio River close to her Parkersburg, West Virginia home. “I also get on the floor and do stretches once or twice every day. It helps my back.”

Monce, who grew up in the Cincinnati area, also spent much of her childhood swimming in the Ohio River. As the other senior member of the team she agrees with the fitness benefits.

“It’s a challenge and I know it’s good for your health. I’m also a singer, and it helps my lung capacity,” said Monce, who practices yoga and still sings solos as a soprano at the Tipp City Methodist Church. “It tones the body and you can do it without pulling muscles. We inspire the younger swimmers who all say, ‘Wow, we’ll be able to do this forever.’”

When they practice their routines, their memory power gets a workout as well.

The team doesn’t always set up their underwater microphones for the music, so they rely on counting. That’s what Denlinger and Wilkinson were doing that Friday morning. They have to memorize the routines, with or without music.

“I can only hope that I‘ll be able to be able swim at the age of 81, let alone everything that Annie is able to do. It keeps me going,” said Wilkinson.