Submitted. The BC Aquasonics ran the board at this weekend’s Lower Mainland Regional Synchronized Swimming Championships (Provincial Stream) at Watermania in Richmond, winning first place in the 10 & Under, 11-12, and 13-15 age group team events.
Cover Photo: BACK ROW (L to R) – Ilona Potecaru – 8th (Surrey), Olivia Gale – 6 th
(Coquitlam), Fannia Xu – 5th (Surrey), Anaya Jhutti – 7th (Surrey), Preet Lehal – 4 th (Surrey); FRONT ROW (L to R) – Sarah Johnson – 3rd (Coquitlam), Annie Wang – 1st (Coquitlam), Olesya Kondrateva – 2nd (Coquitlam) B Aquasonics photo.
Individually, the BC Aquasonics athletes also dominated Saturday’s figures competition. Kayla Drew of Chilliwack (10 & Under), Annie Wang of Coquitlam (11-12), Mikayla Papillo of Coquitlam (13-15), and Erin Nichols of Surrey (16-18) each placed first in their respective figures events, with Nichols surpassing her nearest competitor by almost 5 full points. Not to be outdone, sister Caitlyn Nichols went on to win the 13-15 solo event on Sunday.
In the 11-12 age group figures, all Top 8 ribbons were won by the BC Aquasonics; in 10 & Under figures, six of the Top 8 ribbons were won by BC Aquasonics athletes; and in 13-15 figures, five of the Top 8 ribbons were won by BC Aquasonics athletes.
“These are the up and coming synchronized swimmers in BC,” says BC Aquasonics Head Coach Susan Kemper, “and they are champions already. Building champions is what we do at the BC Aquasonics and some of these girls are getting their first taste of that. We are very proud of their success.”
The Lower Mainland Synchronized Swimming Championships are for Provincial Stream synchronized swimming teams, the first level of competitive synchronized swimming in the province. This event is the first major competition of the season for these teams.
These teams head next to the Jean Peters Provincial Synchronized Swimming Championships in Kamloops, BC, May 23 and 24. The 11-12 and 13-15 teams are also competing in June at the Blossom Invitational Meet in Kirkland, Washington.
BACK ROW (L to R) – Mikayla Papillo (Coquitlam), Erin Nichols (Coquitlam), Ashley Ryan (Coquitlam),
Tianna Kempf (Coquitlam), Sirona Lyon (Surrey); FRONT ROW (L to R) – Madisen Bonthoux-Roberts (Surrey),
Caitlyn Nichols (Surrey), and Isobel Jervis (Port Coquitlam) . BC Aquasonics photo.
TEAM RESULTS
13-15 Provincial Stream Team Event
First Place: “Back to the Future” Routine, coached by Tina Naveri (Surrey), with Surrey athletes Madisen Bonthoux-Roberts, Sirona Lyon, Caitlyn Nichols, and Erin Nichols; Isobel Jervis of Port Coquitlam; and, Tianna Kempf, Madeleine Le Blanc, Mikayla Papillo, and Ashley Ryan of Coquitlam.
11-12 Provincial Stream Team Event
First Place: “Party” Routine, coached by Disa Fladmark and Erin Williams, with Coquitlam athletes Olivia Gale, Sarah Johnson, Oleysa Kondrateva, Tatum Oyama, and Annie Wang, as well as Preet Lehal of Surrey
Second Place: “Soccer” Routine, coached by Fladmark and Mackenzy Higgins, with Surrey athletes Anaya Jhutti, Ilona Potecaru, Alina Sherchan, Fannia Xu, and Christine (ZiHan) Wei.
10 & Under Provincial Stream Team Event
First Place: “Monster’s Inc.” Routine, coached by Vanessa Baxter (Surrey), with Kayla Drew of Chilliwack and Surrey athletes Nysa Agarwal, Annise Alkema, and Simone Liu.
Second Place: “Lilo and Stitch” Routine, coached by Klaudia Karpiuk, with Coquitlam athletes Lisa Tatarnikov, Sasha Van Looy, and Kate Zraly, and Florence Therrien of Port Moody
Full results are posted at Synchro BC http://www.synchro.bc.ca/Competitions/Results/
BC AQUASONICS
The BC Aquasonics is British Columbia’s premier high performance synchronized swimming training centre, developing champions at every level. We have a membership averaging 100 athletes each year, making us the largest synchronized swimming Club in BC and one of the largest in the Canada. The Aquasonics have produced all but one Team Canada athlete from the province of BC, all of BC’s Olympic team synchronized swimmers, and two Olympic Team coaches.
Through synchronized swimming, the BC Aquasonics inspires athletes to be Aquasonics for Life: striving for and reaching their goals with determination, pride, professionalism, teamwork, respect, and excellence.