In the NESSA Age Group and Intermediate Championship held this past weekend in Worcester, MA, 18 swimmers from Optima Synchro competed with teams from the North zone and won top 3 finishes in every event that they entered. Altogether the team won 14 first-places, 8 second-places, and 3 third-places.
This event also marked the debut competition for Optima’s five novice 10&Under swimmers. They won first place in team, trio, duet and solo events and , more importantly, won over the audience and judges with their cute, confident smiles.
“I am so proud of every Optima swimmer! They did not only win medals, but also won because they learned new skills, team work and met new people at the meet,” said head coach Svetlana Malinovskaya. “It was also exciting to see our new novice swimmers performing well in their first meet ever.”
Optima Synchro results:
8 & under novice solo: 1st – Sasha Kirianov of Andover
8 & under novice trio: 1st- Sasha Kirianov, Sophia Benayoud of North Andover, and Nadia Lee of Bedford
9-10 novice duet: 3rd – Kaya Mangani of North Andover and Riya Patel of Andover
11-12 novice duet: 1st – Emma Diamantis of Andover and Noelle Lee of Bedford
9-10 novice team: 1st – Sasha Kirianov, Nadia Lee, Sophia Benayoud, Kaya Mangani, and Riya Patel
8 & under novice figures: 1st – Sasha Kirianov, 2nd – Nadia Lee, 4th – Kaya Mangani, 6th – Sophia Benayoud
9-10 novice figures: 8th – Riya Patel
11-12 intermediate trio: 1st – Xavia Banigan of North Reading, Emma Diamantis and Noelle Lee
11-12 intermediate team: 1st – Natalie Taylor and Isabella Martin of Andover, Xavia Banigan, Emma Diamantis, and Noelle Lee
10 & under intermediate figures: 6th – Natalie Taylor
11-12 intermediate figures: 6th – Noelle Lee
12 & under age group duet: 1st – Bonnie Li of Concord, and Xavia Banigan
12 & under age group solo: 1st – Bonnie Li
12 & under age group figures: 1st – Bonnie Li, 6th – Xavia Banigan
13-15 age group duet: 1st – Polina Malinovskay of Andover and Julia Paradis of North Andover, 2nd – Katie MacDonald and Aleah Davidson of Andover
13-15 age group solo: 1st – Julia Paradis, 2nd – Polina Malinovskaya, 3rd – Katie MacDonald, 5th – Aleah Davidsen, 6th – Frida Vazquez-Gomez of Cambridge
13-15 age group figures: 1st – Julia Paradis, 2nd – Polina Malinovskaya, 3rd – Katie MacDonald, 5th – Aleah Davidsen, 7th – Frida Vazquez-Gomez
16-17 age group duet: 2nd – Emily Ma and Riley Spring of Andover
16-17 age group solo: 2nd – Emily Ma
16-17 age group figures: 5th – Emily Ma, 6th – Riley Spring
18-19 age group combo: 1st – Melissa Zhang of Andover, Francesca Sajedi of Acton, Emily Ma, Riley Spring, Polina Malinovskaya, Julia Paradis, Aleah Davidsen, and Katie MacDonald
18-19 age group team: 2nd – Melissa Zhang of Andover, Francesca Sajedi of Acton, Emily Ma, Riley Spring, Polina Malinovskaya, Julia Paradis, Aleah Davidsen, and Katie MacDonald
18-19 Figures: 2nd – Melissa Zhang, 4th – Francesca Sajedi
Experience the thrill of performing and teaming by registering for a free synchronized swimming clinic on May 13. Register here.
About Optima Synchro
Optima Synchro is a competitive synchronized swim team based north of Boston in the Merrimack Valley area. We are proud members of USA Synchro.