11 Nov 2010

Prestigious final is awaiting club

A STUNNING display by Worcester's swimmers in the National Arena League second round saw them qualify for the prestigious Division One final. The upwardly-mobile club will compete alongside the leading teams in the Midlands in December.

A tough draw proved no obstacle as the swimmers all excelled, finishing runners-up behind the powerful City of Coventry team. The final points total saw Coventry manage 260, Worcester 202, Halesowen 183, Calverton and Bingham 160, Wolverhampton 132 and Long Eaton 111.

Head coach Mark Stowe said: "We knew we had an opportunity to make the final but only if the swimmers were all on absolutely top form. The team's performance could not have been better and, without exception, every swimmer contributed to the performance.

"The reward is an exciting chance to now test just how far the club has come by competing with Coventry, Boldmere, Derby, Leicester and Gloucester in the final."

First-place finishes were hard to come by, though Sergey Mandradzhiyski managed to grab a brace. Having won the men's open 100-metre backstroke in a breath-taking fingertip finish, he demolished the field in the 100m freestyle, recording a stunning 51.62 seconds.

In the 15 and under age group, there were impressive victories for Alice O'Toole and Daniel Adair. O'Toole was a class apart in the 100m backstroke, finishing well clear of her rivals. Adair battled hard for his win in the 100m butterfly, his narrow defeat of a Halesowen swimmer typical of the desire shown by the whole team.

The only other two individual victories came in the youngest age group.

Tazmin Pugh and Tyler McLean, both eligible to swim in the 11 and under age group again next year, won their 50m butterfly and breaststroke races respectively.

There were also a couple of relay wins with the girls' 11 and under team of Alison Seward, Lucy Clayton, Pugh and Carmen Elliott securing a vital first place in the 4x50m medley.

The achievement was matched by the 15 and under team of O'Toole, Sarah Cowin, Lydia Tainty and Cara Lee.

Many contributed valuable points, particularly Tabitha Monkhouse, who notched up second-place finishes in the 15 and under 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke and the open 100m breaststroke. But overall it was a fabulous squad performance with many swimming just one relay race.

Squad: Anna Tainty, Caitlin Adair, Seward, Clayton, Pugh, Elliott, Chloe Mabbett, Helen Rimell, Sophie Groves, Emma Lovesey, Kate Lovesey, Francesca Daniels, Becky Hodson, Caitlin Clark, O'Toole, Cowin, Lydia Tainty, Lee, Monkhouse, Hollie Horton, Hayley Weaver, Eloise van Vuren, Joseph Doyle, Josh Smallman, Toby Elston, Drew Jones, McLean, Jack Weston, Harry Sykes, James Marsh, Lewis Bradley, Jonathan Edwards, Fred van Vuren, Daniel Adair, Luke McCluskey, Sam Allen, Greg Everest, James Allen, Sergey Mandradzhiyski, Ivo Mandradzhiyski, Rupert Monkhouse, Joel Smith.


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