Meet Our Coaches
Mary Liesegang
Head Coach, Board President
Coach Mary has been coaching in San Diego for five years. She fell in love with synchronized swimming in college at Boston University and competed as a student athlete all four years. Her synchro career culminated in a second place finish in figures at Collegiate Nationals in 2018. She has experience coaching athletes of all levels and supports club operations and management as a Board of Director. Between coaching and her career in marine biology, if Mary is not physically in the water, she is usually thinking about it.
Alexandra Suarez
Youth Team Coach
Coach Alex joined San Dieguito Synchro as a swimmer when she was 9. She was a member of the 2015 Youth National Team. In 2016, she moved to the Bay Area to train full time with the US Senior National team to compete at the World Championships in Budapest. During this time she placed third at the US Open in Junior Solo. She continued her synchro career by competing as a student athlete for Stanford University where she was a 3 time Collegiate All American and 2021 Collegiate National Champion. She has moved back to San Diego to work in product design and lead our Youth team.
Aiko Gervacio-Denda
Novice Coach
Coach Aiko is a former Santa Clara Aquamaid swimmer/coach with a competitive swimming and gymnastics background. She has been swimming since she was 5 years old, but really fell in love with synchro when she was 11. Coach Aiko has experience coaching both Intermediate/Novice and Competitive teams and has coached girls from the ages of 4-16. Originally from the Bay Area, Coach Aiko is studying pre-med Biology at UCSD.
Torrey Hirning
Speed Swimming Coach
Coach Torrey grew up participating in water sports. She has 6 years of swimming experience and 6 years of water polo experience as an athlete. She played water polo at Palomar College, winning the conference championships alongside her team in 2017. Since then, she has been teaching swim lessons and joined our coaching team in 2022 to lead the speed swimming and endurance component of training. In her free time, she loves to do art, spend time at the beach, and drink lots of coffee!
Ainsleigh Douglas
Technique Coach
Coach Ainsleigh started her synchro career at San Dieguito Synchro when she was 8 years old. She has been competing at a National and International level since she was 12, being recognized as SDS’s first athlete to make it to finals at Age Group Nationals. During her college career Ainsleigh founded UCLA’s first synchro team, earning the All-Collegiate Award at Collegiate Nationals. She continues her synchro career professionally as a member of both Aqualillies and Aquabatix. Beyond her role as a coach, Ainsleigh works as an Immersive Experiences Designer hoping to integrate technology and entertainment.