40s

Meet the 40s

Lesley started with the Unsyncables in 2000 and was part of the World Champion 35-49 team in Munich that year. She went on to compete in her first U.S. Nationals in Washington DC that year. She has won team medals in each Nationals she has entered and her solo placed 3rd in the 2004 national meet. When young, Lesley was a competitor in the Canadian National Championships, swimming first for the Toronto Leaside Club and then for the Ottawa Neptunettes. She said she "missed it and is thrilled to be back." Lesley enjoys Salsa Dancing and now is back into modeling where she enjoyed great success some years back, as a model and as an agent.

Lea achieved a major goal in the world championships in New Zealand when she won the 30-39 gold medal in solo. She has also been part of the gold medal 35-49 trios in 5 of the last 6 World Championships, most recently with Karen and Lindsay in Perth in 2008. She was the overall high point award winner in three national championship. Lea didn't begin Masters until 1996 and when asked why she decided to return to the sport, she replied, "I had been on many swimming trips before when I was young, but I had never been to England." She swims now for her love of international travel and choreography. She competed for the Meraquas of Irvine. Her youth career was highlighted by winning all three U.S. Junior National titles in 1982. In 1983, she won gold and bronze medals at the Hans Christian Andersen Cup in Denmark and was a national team finalist for 4 years.

Karen became a World Champion soloist when she won the 40-49 title in Palo Alto in Palo Alto in 2006. She has also been a part of the Unsyncables last 3 gold medal World Championship trios in 35-49. Last year at Nationals, she was a part of the 2nd place 30s GM team. Karen had a long swimming career before becoming active on the Synchro Board of Directors where she is currently vice president of development. Karen was a member of the first U.S. national team ever assembled and won the Pan American Games in 1979. As a four year member of the US national team (1979-82), she has won numerous international medals. A former U.S. national team champion with the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, she also won collegiate duet, trio and team titles with The Ohio State University. She is head coach of Los Angeles Synchro where her daughter Rachael is a team member.

Shelley has been a member of the Unsyncables since 1995 and has competed in numerous National and World masters. She has won medals in every national championship since her start in masters. In World Championships, she was part of the gold medal trio in 35-49 four times from 1998 - 2004. When young, Shelley swam for the Long Beach Synchronettes and then with the University of Arizona's synchro team. When away from the pool, she is a kindergarten teacher in Long Beach and still enjoys water sports, paddling around Long Beach Harbor in her kayak.

Shannon began with the Unsyncables in 2004 where at the Roseville nationals, she won 3 silvers. She has won a medal in each national event she has entered since she started. She became a National solo champion when she won the 30-39 GM crown in 2007. She brings many years of experience as a national finalist with the Riverside Aquettes where, after her swimming career, she continued coaching with the Aquettes for 10 years. She is employed by Disney as a stage manager after almost 20 years experience as a aerialist and dancer in the Disneyland Parades.She is taking this season off, busy with her new young daughter, but with Shannon, the Unsyncables have a real 'flyer' now, so make sure to 'catch' her contributions with next year's team.

Sandy competed with Reno Aquatic Club in her youth as a member of their Junior and Senior A teams. She worked through college and grad school as a lifeguard and swim instructor. She moved to Southern Cal in 1998 and is now a research scientist with the Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Norris Cancer Center at USC. Sandy started with the Unsyncables in 2008 and is happy to finally find a synchro team to swim with after all these years.

WORLD CHAMPIONS IN TRIO
The Unsyncables seem unstoppable when it comes to winning world championships in 35-49 trio. Members of the team have won the last 6 championships.

1998 Casablanca, Morocco - Lea, Shelley, Becky
2000 Munich, Germany - Lea, Shelley, Candy
2002 Christchurch, New Zealand - Lea, Shelley, Melanie
2004 Riccione, Italy - Lea, Shelley, Karen
2006 Palo Alto, CA - Karen, Angela, Kristin
2008 Perth, Australia - Karen, Lea, Lindsay

Who will be next in Goteborg, Sweden in 2010???

World Trio Champions
Karen - 3 time trio champion
Shelley - 4 time trio champion
Lea - 5 time triochampion
(picture from Riccione in 2004)

Candy began swimming for the Meraquas of Irvine when she was 8 years old. She is a Junior national champion and in 1983, she was part of the winning team at the Hans Christian Andersen Cup in Denmark. After competing for 12 years, she retired from swimming but continued her interest in the sport by first helping as an assistant coach with the Meraquas and then with Jasana Pacifica. She was the head coach of the California Coralettes. and has now come full circle, as head coach of the Meraquas of Irvine. Candy has competed off and on with the Unsyncables since 1996, one highlight being winning world championships in team and trio in Munich in 2000.

Not competing in 2009

Bonnie is new to the Unsyncables, but not to synchro. She had 5 years of synchro in Canada when she was young, but that is not her only water sports experience. She is a former pro triathlete, collegiate speed swimmer, competitive ocean lifeguard and a former world Masters record holder (age 25-30). She currently competes in open water and masters swimming and has her own swim school..