Sonia Gonzalez did indeed win the big sword at the Tournament of Champions Pro Bikini last night, earning a perfect first-place score in a hot-and-sassy lineup of 18 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. A pair of newcomers, Brooke Mora and Anca Marcus, took the second and third spots, respectively, to pick up the final Olympia qualifications of the season in their pro debuts.
It was a sweet victory for Sonia, who started the year by winning the first two IFBB pro bikini contests ever but lost the edge to Brazilian sensation Nathalia Melo in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the TOC, she heads into Vegas for the big show with all eyes on her, a more serious contender for a top spot than she was a week ago. Or as the “happy and proud” So Cal–based star put it afterward, “That just sealed it for me.”
Mora was fresh off her F-class win at the USA in July. At 5’8″, standing next to Sonia’s 5’2″, she made quite a presence and earned a unanimous second-place score.
The other rookie in the winner’s circle has an intriguing history. From Romania, about 100 miles from Transylvania, she says, Anca has lived in Southern California for six years. After winning the bikini title at the Orange County Classic in 2009, she petitioned the IFBB for a pro card (like Melo, who lives in Florida, she is not a U.S. citizen and comes from a country whose federation does not sanction bikini competitions at present). In Culver City the panel gave her a sterling thumbs-up.
So Anca got the last big Bikini O invite of the season but by a single point. In fact the scores for third through fifth were all separated by a single point, with Zhanna Rotar, who completed her transition to bikini in her second show, and Dina Al-Sabah just missing out to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
Find the complete results below.
Twenty-one ladies are now qualified to compete in the Bikini O, which could turn out to be the most suspenseful women’s pro show of the weekend. Hard to believe it’s now less than two weeks away—September 23–26. See you in Vegas!
Photos (from top)
Women of the winner’s circle (from left): Zhanna Rotar, Brooke Mora, Sonia Gonzales, Anca Marcus and Dina Al-Sabah.
Sonia Gonzales.
Brooke Mora.
Anca Marcus.
’10 Tournament of Champions Pro Bikini
1) Sonia Gonzalez*
2) Brooke Mora*
3) Anca Marcus*
4) Zhanna Rotar
5) Dina Al-Sabah
6) Jennifer Dietrick
7) Christine Vargas
8) Vanessa Prebyl
9) Jessica Clay
10) Michelle Gullett
11) Nicole Moneer-Guerrero
12) Rachael Labender
13) Kat Holmes
14) Cathy Miller
15) Michele D’Angona
16) Jennifer Celeste
17) Natalie Pennington
18) Karen Malarkey
* Qualified for the ’10 Bikini Olympia.
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