WORCESTER'S swimmers just missed out on qualification for the national final after a superb performance in the division one final of the West Midlands Speedo League.

The club repeated last year's fourth place but weren't far away from second spot, which would have qualified them for the nationals.

In only their second year in the final, the club enhanced their reputation, finishing with a total of 163 points.

City of Coventry romped away with the gala, making the most of their home advantage in the 50m pool. But the other five teams were very evenly matched with little to choose between them at the end.

Coventry eventually finished on 255 while the other two clubs to beat Worcester were Perry Beeches (172) and Nuneaton & Bedworth (169).

Wins were hard to come by and even the Men's Open f/c team lost their proud unbeaten record to a Coventry side featuring several internationals.

But three swimmers did manage to record victories. In the girls U15 100m breaststroke, Dominique Allen powered to an early lead that she never looked like relinquishing, while in the boys U11 50m butterfly, Greg Everest again showed his star potential, finishing comfortably clear of his rivals.

By contrast, in the girls U11 50m breaststroke, Nicole Gasic had to keep her composure and form right to the finish to stay just ahead of the Coventry swimmer.

There were several fine second places too with Hope Weaver (U15 backstroke & freestyle), Sammy Payne (U13 backstroke) and Chris Hallam (U11 breaststroke) particularly impressive.

But it was very much a team effort, exemplified by battling performances from the likes of David Fisher, who only narrowly missed breaking the magic 60-second barrier in the boys U15 freestyle.

And there were also key contributions from Katie Clasen, Daisy Elt, Laura Maguire, Enrico Maglifiore and Rupert Monkhouse.