Aquaoaks at the double in Combo Cup session two

Aquaoaks ASC took both Division One titles in the second session at the 2022 Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup.

The Sevenoaks club took the titles in the Division One 9-12 and 13-15 Years events as they climbed to third in the overall Combo Cup standings.

First the team of Abigail White, Angelina Bezuidenhout, Betty Black, Fleur Kirk, Gemma Grobbelaar, Imogen Brand, Lucy Sadler, Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Stanley Stiff took gold in the Division One 13-15 Year competition.

The team scored a total of 55.6667 with 17.5000 for execution, 22.2667 for artistic impression and 15.9000 for difficulty.

It saw them take a narrow win over the City of Salford who were just 0.2000 points behind.

Two-time Combo Cup winners Salford’s silver medal gained them eight points in their quest to regain their crown.

The battle for Bronze was even closer with Cheltenham (52.3667) edging out Rugby (52.2333) by just 0.1334 to secure the final podium place.

More success followed for Aquaoaks as their Division One 9-12 Years squad won gold in the final event of the session.

In another incredibly close event the team won gold by just 0.0667 points, once again forcing Salford to settle for silver.

Aquaoaks scored slightly higher than Salford for execution and difficulty despite the Manchester based side scoring more for artistic impression.

The Kent based side consisted of Zoë Moore, Emily Newton, Ava Terry, Bonnie Campbell, Charlotte Ryan, Evelyn Fornasier, Imogen Strand, Lauren Copp, Tabitha Tolhurst and Sofia Spencer scored 48.9667 to Salford’s 49.9000.

Reading Royals weren’t far behind either as they won bronze with a score of 48.8000.

Bristol win out head to head battle to take Combo Cup lead

City of Bristol stormed into the Combo Cup lead after taking gold in the Division Two 12 & under event.

The Bristol team won the head to head battle with City of Birmingham to claim what could be a vital nine points in the battle for overall title.

They now have the overall lead with 29 points, a six-point lead over second place Salford.

Bristol’s squad consisted of Titilayo Adetola, Anastasia Appleby, Elspeth Brand, Thea Conway, Amelia Dix, Elsa Earnshaw, Rosie Henderson, Hannah Gibson, Sophia Pullen and Matilda Ticehurst.

They were awarded 55.8000 for their routine with 17.5000 for execution, 22.0000 for artistic impression and 16.3000 for difficulty.

Eight points were awarded to Bristol for the win with a bonus point added due to the number of swimmers within the routine.

Birmingham had to settle for the runners up spot, finishing nearly four marks back on 51.8333.

The team of Amelia Crocker, Chloe Harper, Freya Chung, Hope Roberts, Imogen Sutton, Jessica Binder, Kataryna Kelly, Sarwin Sawan, Teal Sutton and Lilah Edwards performed well but just missed out on the gold.

Salford win their first gold of 2022

Gold finally came for Salford at this years Combo Cup in the Division Two, 15 & Under event.

Salford’s team impressed the judges to score 63.7333 just ahead of Reading Royals on 63.1333.

Salford scored 19.6000 for execution, 25.7333 for artistic impression and 18.4000 for difficulty on route to the title.

The winning team involved Alisa Fox, Caitlyn Brook, Chloe Mccreedy, Elza Mella, Francesca-Lily Derbyshire, Grace Jenkins, Lena Ramanah-Beck, Lotti Horsman, Neve Lambert and Sophie Flemming.

The result coupled with the two silvers has put Salford in a strong position heading into the final three events, sitting on 23 points and in second place in the Combo Cup standings.

Following the pair of Salford and Reading was Aquavision who took Bronze with the North London club scoring 56.9333.

Rugby edge out three-way clash for gold

Defending champions Rugby SC got their first gold of the day as they took home the Division Two, 13-15 Years title.

Rugby’s team wowed the judges with a routine that scored a massive 61.4667 points to win themselves the gold.

For execution they scored 19.6000, 23.8667 for artistic impression and 18.0000 for difficulty.

The routine was 2.2667 marks clear of their nearest rivals the City of Bristol who finished in the runners up spot.

Rugby’s team consisted of Agata Sitko, Tyra Watson, Amy Buckley, Chloe Barrett-Leafe, Chloe Bartholomew, Imogen Ravenhall, Natalia Rodriguez and Olivia Barry.

Bristol scored 59.2000 as they scored another seven points for finishing runners-up with an extra point for having at least ten swimmers within their performance.

Aqualina took third place with a score of 58.6333.

You can see the full Combo Cup standings here.

Photos: Will Johnston Photography.