City of Salford, Rugby and Stockport Metro win gold as Combo Cup gets underway

It was a flying start to The GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup with a number of twists and turns throughout the opening session.

The end of session one leaves Bramcote Aquastars, City of Bristol and City of Salford Synchronised Swimming Club as the current table leaders as they each took a step closer to wining the Combo Cup.

At last year’s event, City of Salford came second place in the Division 1 13 – 18 event. This year, they came back wanting more and topped the leader board with their routine to ‘Pump It Louder’ which scored 88.4500.

Their team of Amelia Pearson, Amelie Reece, Autumn Malpus, Charlotte Cohen, Helen Huang, Holly Casey, Isabella Maw, Mae Fanning, Neve Burgess and Sabine Melia were able to put themselves in the lead by over 10 points to secure their win.

Team Manager, Devina, shared that after coming second last year the girls have made a “fantastic improvement to their position and they have worked hard together”

She added that “Their coach, Jess Fletcher, makes sure that the team focus on enjoying their performance, and that’s what they have done today.”

Cheltenham came runners up scoring 77.3500 and received a bonus point for their routine as it included 10 team members. Their team consisted of Lauren Fancourt, Charlotte Evans, Josephine Oakes, Emily Griffiths, Amy Griffiths, Madeleine Tyers, Lily Skinner, Emily Regan, Alisa Ivanova, Klara Stankusova and Zoe Wojtas.

City of Bradford closely followed with a routine scoring 76.1000 which included music from the musical Sister Act and secured them a bronze medal.

Rugby top tight Division 2 opener

Rugby Artistic Swimming Club came out on top in a tight contest in the first Division 2 event of this year’s Combo Cup.

Less than four points split the top three in the 13-15 Years event with the Midlands based club earning a maximum 10 points for their Lion King themed routine.

It was a high-paced and energetic display from the Rugby side who scored a total of 93.8500 to finish ahead of City of Bristol by just over two points.

Their team was made up of Amelie Jeary, Amy Tetlow, Beatrice Banks, Chloe Bartholomew, Darcey Townsend, Frankie Klym, Lola Huett, Lucy Gates, Olivia Barry and Saranne Black.

Bristol had to settled for second, despite an impressive performance from the South West side, who earnt 91.8000 for their Aladdin themed routine to a medley of songs from the Disney classic.

Bristol also swam with a group of 10, giving them a bonus point to take them to nine for this event. Their team was made up of with Annelie Jonsson, Eleanor Cope, Elsa Earnshaw, Elspeth Brand, Juliette King, Lola Jones-Hackett, Matilda Ticehurst, Sofia Amesbury, Thea Conway and Titilayo Adetola.

Rounding out the podium was Bramcote Aquastars with a total of 90.3500, who were unlucky to miss out on the top two.

Their squad of Celina Zakhary, Imogen Swinscoe, Sophia Banadaki, Evie Richards, Rhiannon Rees-Powell, Sophie Pickard, Molly Doolin, Scarlett Thackstone, Ava Eatherington and Lois Banadaki secured them the bronze medal.

Stockport win gold as bronze sends Bramcote top

Stockport Metro won the final gold of the opening session ahead of Potters Bar and Bramcote Aquastars.

They came away with the Division 1 15 & under title with a score of 63.5500 edging out Potters Bar by just 0.1 of a point.

The two teams both put in strong swims but it was the Stockport team of eight that came out on top.

Abigail Plant, Alice Johnson, Charlotte Vaughan, Felicity Fortescue, Olivia Matthews, Phoebe Kemp, Sofia Laycock and Harriett Dootson helped the club to their first gold of the day.

Potters Bar will be gutted to have missed out but proud of their display in front of the Ponds Forge crowd.

They did however have a team of 10, so do gain a bonus point to go level with Stockport in the event thanks to their squad of Elise Henningham Gourvish, Holly Bailey, Zara Nikitas, Isabella Compton, Betsy Kent, Alice Pinto, Siena-Maria Musso-Hall, Ivy Duce, Betsy Jakeman and Warren Kelly.

The third place sent the Aquastars to the top of the Combo Cup standings after the opening session.

Having already competed in all three events, the Nottinghamshire based club sit on 15 points ahead of Bristol and Salford.

This afternoon sees four more events with a further three in the evening session where the Combo Cup title will be decided.

You can follow all the results from the GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup and see the full standings here.

Images: Will Johnston Photography.