Team USA's Chiara Steele and Marilyn Weaver finished eighth in the duet free final on Saturday. (Photo by Wei Zheng)

SEVILLE, Spain – The U.S. 13-15 National Team gained valuable international experience at the Comen Cup this week, finishing seventh in the team free final on Sunday.

Team USA scored 144.4704 points in the final. Russia grabbed the gold with 167.7033 points, host Spain was second at 158.5477, and Italy finished third with 153.6816.

“With a younger and less experienced team, getting out on the world stage is an extremely important facet of their development as National Team competitors,” said Megan Azebu, coach of the U.S. 13-15 National Team. “The athletes have made a great deal of progress during their short four weeks of training, and we look forward to seeing their improvement at the UANA Pan American Championships in Riverside.”

Competing in the team final for the U.S. were: Miko Begossi (Alamo, Calif.), Yujin Chang (San Jose, Calif.), Emily Ding (Cupertino, Calif.), Olivia Li (New Canaan, Conn.), Chiara Steele (Santa Clara, Calif.), Gabriella Terry (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Ashlyn Wang (Chandler, Ariz.) and Marilyn Weaver (San Jose, Calif.).

On Saturday, Team USA’s Chiara Steele and Marilyn Weaver placed eighth in the duet free final with 143.3708 points. The U.S. was seventh in the free combo final on Friday. All of the swimmers listed above plus Marlena King (Clayton, Calif.) and Megan Tappe (New Canaan, Conn.) competed in that event.

The team, along with several other U.S. national teams and athletes, will next compete at the UANA Pan American Artistic Swimming Championships Aug. 6-11 in Riverside, Calif.