Meet Our Coaches
Mary Liesegang
Head Coach
Coach Mary has been coaching in San Diego for six 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 ages, is a Level 2 Judge, and supports club operations and management as a Board Member.
Between coaching and her career in marine biology, if Mary is not physically in the water, she is usually thinking about it.
Alexandra Suarez
Choreography and Skills Coach
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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. Coach Alex works with our Age Group athletes on skills development and creative choreography.
Bianca Hofstatter
Intermediate/Age Group Coach
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Coach Bianca brings a background as a former member of both the Austrian and USA national teams. An Austrian junior national solo champion and silver medalist at the USA junior national championships, she has competed and medaled in numerous international competitions. With over eight years of experience in choreographing routines, Bianca emphasizes artistry as her favorite aspect of the sport. She has trained with national teams from Greece, Spain, and Russia. Now based in the United States, she continues to inspire and develop her athletes, leveraging her diverse experiences from coaching in Austria and Greece.
Aiko Gervacio-Denda
Novice Coach
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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.
Reica Osawa
Novice/Intermediate Coach
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Coach Reica started her synchro career at San Dieguito Synchro when she was 7 years old. She fell in love with the sport after her first try and has continued it since then. Coach Reica competed nationally until her senior year of high school. Despite ending her competitive career, she has stayed in the synchro community by coaching. Her experience includes coaching novice/intermediate as well as teaching kids swim lessons. She took a break from synchro when she was studying at UC Santa Cruz, but is back in San Diego pursuing a career in business, specifically Human Resources.