Men's 1st vs Bournemouth 13/12/2011

The last game of the Men’s 1st team season in 2011 took place in Bournemouth, as part of the Hampshire league. Due to many players missing, having either gone home early or suffered illnesses, we only managed to send a team of 9.

The first quarter of the game was balanced; good defence from our side led to us conceding only one goal, whilst in attack our team was able to score twice from shots by free players. The quarter ended with us leading 1-2.

The second quarter was very strong for our team; with complete control of the game, we scored 4 goals, whilst adjusting our defensive style fairly well to Bournemouth’s attack and conceding only one goal. The score was 2-6 for Southampton at the end of the first half of the game.

As we had only 9 players and seeing that the goal difference was high enough, in the second half our team started concentrating on playing effective defence rather than trying to score. However, this did not mean that no goals would be scored from our side. Our boys scored two goals in the third quarter, but unfortunately conceded two goals. The third quarter ended 4-8.

In the last quarter our team fully concentrated on its defence as a four goal lead seemed quite difficult to overturn, this turned out to be true, with the opposition only managing to score a single goal. The final score was therefore a 5-8 win for our small in number, but big in heart team!

As most of the Hampshire league games this game was fairly physical. However, our knowledge of the game, great teamwork and ability to adjust to the opposing team; led to our victory. It's worth mentioning that our players were expelled nine times during the game, a large number, which resulted from very controversial refereeing.

Scorers:
2 - Henry Perkins
2 - Will Logothetis
2 - Panos Logothetis
1 - Owen Stephens
1 - Duncan Jenkins

Ladies' 1st SUWP Finals 03/12/2011

Having being knocked out of the trophy round, an unexpected dropout in the Plate round saw the ladies invited to take part in the SUWP finals in Cardiff, and managed to put together a super-keen team with just 24 hours notice.

The 1st match found Southampton Ladies facing Warwick. Due to the lack of notice we were given,
the Southampton team was comprised of fewer 1st team players, with a couple of novices to the game.
Unfortunately, it took this game, as a new team, to get into our stride and start communicating properly. Along with Warwick’s high standard of play, the score ended at 16:1 to Warwick.

The second match was against Bath. Our breaks were better and the confidence within the team to
take shots greatly improved and this was reflected in the number of goals scored. However, some stronger
swimmers in the Bath ladies were able to break off us and with our defence better, but tiring, the game ended 18:7 to Bath.

The third and final game was against Gloucestershire and with the girls hungry for a win, there was
only ever going to be one outcome! With one final push, the girls played a full press match and
countered back effectively. Keeping a clean sheet the game finished 17: 0 to Southampton.

Well played new players Kiri Pierce and Kate Setchell on their debute matches... we could not have done
it without you!

Scorers:
10 - Caz Tripp
9 - Laura Roberts
4 - Talia Sherrard
3 - Sarah Shephard
1 - Alessandra Rodari
1 - Kiri Pierce

Men's 1st vs Southampton City 07/12/2011

On Wednesday our first team boys had yet another big game to play against the very strong 1st team of Southampton City. Once again, the game was tough but for once, full of excitement!

The first quarter of the game did not go as expected, as many mistakes in defence led to five goals being conceded  However, our attack showed some signs of competence and we managed to score 2 goals. The score at the end of the score was 2-5 against our team but thankfully, the game didn't continue in the same fashion.

During the second quarter our team started its comeback; strong defence coupled with effective attacks  led to only one goal being conceded, by a penalty, and two goals being scored by our side. The score at the end of the quarter was 4-6.

After quite a good 2nd quarter, our squad was really excited and motivated to play. Our team upped the level of pressure in defence, leading to a clean score sheet till the end of the third quarter. Additionally, although the game was becoming fairly physical and demanding, our team was able to score two goals. This levelled the game and set up an exciting 4th quarter.

The 4th quarter started with the our team scoring a goal, giving us a one-goal advantage. However, this only lasted for two minutes, as the City team responded with a goal and only a minute later, another, putting our boys back to even scores. With less than two minutes to go, our team was in a difficult position; all the effort required to fully cover back and defend seemed like it was going to waste. However, a last second penalty was won and fortunately scored. The end result was a 8-8 tie.

Scorers:
6- Panos Logothetis
1- John Pickford
1- Will Divall

Ladies' 1st vs Bristol 29/11/2011

Southampton Ladies travelled up to Bristol, in the hope of qualifying for the final SUWP trophy round.

Bristol has been well known this season for having well organised tactics and this has reflected in their match performance. With this knowledge Southampton stayed alert and vigilant to Bristol’s tactics, picking up their style of play and adapting well.
Bristol maintained a narrow lead throughout most of the game.

However through the last two quarters Bristol started to become anxious of the narrow score line, marking the pit hard and dropping player back off the arc to prevent drives. With the development of this,  Southampton chose a new tactic - no longer relaying so heavily on the pit man to produce goals and instead shooting from around the arc.

Despite playing some good quality and entertaining polo the score line ended 11:7 to Bristol.

Well done to all those that played, a fantastic and enjoyable game!

Ladies' 1st vs Exeter 27/11/2011

With the new UPOLO year kicking off, the tournament saw Southampton take on Exeter at home. Southampton were as keen as ever to improve on the previous win, with a more convincing score line.

Throughout the first 3/4s, the match seemed to play out fairly evenly. Despite being the stronger team Southampton’s eagerness to win was rushing game play and the mistakes made unfortunately led to conceded goals.

However with the score line at 10:10 at the start of the final quarter, Southampton managed to calm down and ease into a comfortable play, seeing an additional 4 goals to Exeter's 0, leaving the score line at 14:10.

A massive clap on the back for first time match players Hollie Cousins, Eloise Henderson, and Sam Cross, who as per usual put in a smashing 100% effort. Very pleased!

P.S. well done for scoring a goal in front of your Rents Sarah Shephard.

Scorers:
6 - Jo Davis
3 - Vicky Gall
1 - Caz Tripp
1 - Melody Qiu
1 - Talia Sherrard
1 - Sarah Shephard

Men's 1st SUWP Finals 03/12/2011

On Saturday both our women’s and men’s teams had a full day of games for the SUWP finals. In total each team played three games. The men’s team competed against the three university finalists, trying to win the SUWP Trophy.

The first game for our men’s team was against Loughborough, a team who can play very strongly in both attack and defence. The greatest problem for our team was defending; the opposition scored far too many goals with numerous breaks (counter-attacks). Also, as often happens with good teams, we didn’t manage to score many goals, as good defending and a lack of confidence/shots led to few goal scoring opportunities. The final score of the game was 13-2 to Loughborough. Scorers of the game were Duncan Jenkins and Will Logothetis with 1 goal each.

The second game was against Cardiff and was similar to the game against Loughborough: many breaks through our defence and a low number of shooting chances on the attack. The goal scorers, with 1 goal each for this game were Michael Stephanou, Josh Rowland and Panos Logothetis. The score at the end of the game found us losing 9-3.

The third game was the most positive and fulfilling. In this game the tables turned, we were the team that was breaking and defending effectively. Our team easily scored 14 goals and only conceeded 2. The goals scorers of the game were Tom Redman (4), Will Logothetis (3), Duncan Jenkins (2), Panos Logothetis (2), Josh Rowland (1), Alex Hewitt (1) and Nick Tankov (1).

Two good points for our team are that 1) we managed to easily win all the swim offs and although the results give a negative sensation, 2) our boys are 3rd out of nearly all the uni's from the South!

Scorers for all three games:
4-Tom Redman
4-Will Logothetis
3-Panos Logothetis
2-Duncan Jenkins
2-Josh Rowland
1-Michael Stephanou
1-Alex Hewitt
1-Nick Tankov

Men's 1st vs Bath Uni 1st 25/11/2011

Last Friday, the first and only knock out round of the SUWP tournament took place in the majestic sport centre of Bath University, with Soton needing to beat Bath to stay in the tournament, having lost to Plymouth.

In the first two quarters, Bath had the upper hand of the game playing stronger in both attack and defence. The first quarter ended with our team receiving two goals and managing to score only one goal with a long shot. (2-1)

The second quarter was quite similar to the first one, with Bath scoring another goal and our side managing to score one goal only. The end of the first half found us losing 4-2.

However, the second half of the game belonged to us. The extra swimming sessions paid off as our team managed to maintain a very good rhythm in the game and scored 4 impressive goals in the third quarter. The goals were scored from man ups, as well as even-attacks; with clever passes into the pit and shots around on the arc. The score at the end of the third quarter was 6-6.

With our spirits up from our great come back in the third quarter and knowing that our fitness was better than theirs, our team continued the game in the fourth quarter, which was full of excitement, passion and a considerable dose of violence. Until the 3rd minute of the quarter both teams had scored one goal, but the Soton lads then scored 2 goals in a row, giving us the feeling that the game was over with only two minutes to go. Additionally, Duncan Jenkins with his magical “clumsy” technique ended up with an elbow to the face and a Bath player excluded for brutality. However, this wasn’t the end, as Bath scored a goal making us again feel worried. Thankfully, we managed to keep possession of the ball long enough in order to finish the game with a one goal advantage, the scores set at 8-9.

It is worth mentioning that Will Logothetis managed to get wrapped in the first two minutes of the game for sarcastically clapping to a referee’s decision. Also Tree can easily be dubbed the punching bag of the game as he had to leave the game, in the 4th quarter after entering for 2 minutes and getting a cold-blooded punch on the nose.

Support from Ali and HK was much appreciated! Our two Soton supporters managed to shout louder than the 50 Bath supporters (actual fact) and they were not even rowdy, noisy Greeks/Cypriots.

Scorers:
5 - Panos Logothetis
2 - Henry Perkins
1/2 - Josh Rowland (on game sheet: 1 goal, he and teammates remember 2 goals)
1 - Will Divall

Men's 1st vs Southampton City 22/11/2011

One of the most serious and tough games for the Hampshire league took place on Wednesday in the Town Quay pool of the Southampton City team.

The first quarter was levelled between both sides as both teams managed to score two goals each. Our team managed to put the ball effectively in the pit and consequently the pit man scored two beautiful goals. This way leading to a 2-2 tie at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was a complete destruction for our team. Our team showed many signs of weakness, in attacking the shallow end and defending the deep end. Players getting expelled and losing the ball in the attack sadly was a common sight during this quarter. The end of the quarter found our team losing by 7-2.

The third quarter was more giving to us, as the team achieved to score three goals and receive only two. The team managed this by playing well organised attacks as well as defences. At the end of the quarter the score was 9-5 for City.

The fourth quarter, which found again our team attacking in the shallow end, had no goals scored by our team and two goals being received. The score board had the final score on it and it was unfortunately 11-5 against us.

It has to be noted that the number of major fouls/penalties our team succumbed to was 11, compared to 4 major fouls by City’s behalf. Also 7 out of the 11 goals received were received either by penalty or on a man down. Our low number of goals scored, as well as the great number of goals received, was mainly due to the lack of confidence in shooting by many players and the disability to mark stronger players tactically instead of physically, respectively.

Training has already been adjusted in order to improve shooting, increase confidence and make man marking more effective.

Scorers:
2- Will Logothetis
2- Josh Rowland
1- Will Divall

Ladies' 1st vs Plymouth Uni 1st 16/11/2011

With the last match of the group stages upon us, Southampton Ladies took on Plymouth Ladies.
The goals got underway quickly, with Southampton scoring within the first 15 seconds. Southampton were quick to counter attack throughout the game, with the score at the end of the first quarter 5 – 0.

Both teams defended hard, however Southampton’s more experienced player gave them the advantage and with Plymouth yet to score, half way ended at 8-0

Southampton maintained a comfortable lead, communicating well, with Melody Qui and Sophie Copson setting up a number of goals. Despite Southampton’s intimidating lead, Plymouth kept up a hard press into attack throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters.
With Plymouth scoring the last goal of the match the score line finished at 18-2

Good effort by all the girls and some fantastic support!!

Scorers:
6 - Caz Tripp
5 - Chrissie Darby
2 - Polly Thomas
1 - Melody Qui
1 - Alessandria Rodari
1 - Vicky Gall
1 - Sarah Shephard

A round up of the SUWP group stages!

The SUWP group stages are now complete and both the mens and womens 1st teams have made it through to the play offs for the trophy competition!

After the mens team suffered the disappointment of losing narrowly to Plymouth on Wednesday it was thought that the SUWP journey was over as the team will finish 2nd in the group. Similarly, having previously lost to Bath last Sunday the girls team also thought that they would be out of the competition.

The format of the competition had not however been fully understood. The top 2 teams from each group (8 teams) are to have play offs that will decide who will  claim the four places available for the tournament when the ultimate winner will be found on 3rd December. So... both teams must play away next week to secure their fate!

• The Mens team are to play away against Bath on Friday 25th November
• The Womens team will play away against Bristol, date tbc

For more information, please check the SUWP website. A link is provided on the side of this page.

Ladies' 1st vs Bath Uni 1st 13/11/2011

A belated report on the what can only be described as the most intense and frustrating match the girls have ever yet to play.

November 13th saw Southampton Ladies take on Bath at Home, in the second of the group stages in the SUWP tournament.

It was a tough match with Bath taking an early lead, however Southampton held out in the first 2 quarters, refusing to allow them a dominant lead. With tensions high the end of the second quarter saw Bath number 12’s final exclusion from the match.

Southampton’s tactic to remain calm saw them draw level with Bath in the third quarter. However Soton Ladies never managed to take the lead and the score closed at the of the fourth quarter 8-9

Better luck next time!

Men's 1st vs Plymouth Uni 1st 16/11/2011

A very interesting game took place in Jubilee’s Sport Centre pool on Wednesday. This game was the last game for the group stages of the SUWP tournament.

As was expected, the opposing team was really tough and had in its possession some skilled players.

Due to many mistakes in both attack and defence, our team managed to score only one early goal and concede four quick goals by the end of the first quarter.

From then on, the game was an incessant chase to level the score for the Southampton team. In the second quarter, our players were able to score three goals and receive only two by attacking effectively and by playing organised defences, reducing the gap between the two teams’ scores.

In the third quarter of the game, our boys pressed Plymouth’s team in defence effectively, by not giving away mindless majors. In addition to that, well organised offensive tries and use of drills, learned in training, took place. All that led to two goals being scored by us and none from Plymouth leading to a 6-6 draw.

In the fourth quarter our team scored the first goal, this way putting us in front, after a long time in the match. Unfortunately, the chasing to level the score in the second and third quarter had taken its toll on our team, who was unable to answer to the two goals received afterwards. In consequence, losing with a final score of 7-8.

However, this is not the end for our team in the SUWP tournament as we are still competing and hoping to win the trophy.

No need to mention that the support from everyone poolside was and is much appreciated!

Scorers:
5 - Panos Logothetis
1 - Will Logothetis
1 - Duncan Jenkins

Men's 1st vs Bath 2nd 14/11/2011

The second match in Southern University Water Polo (SUWP) tournament, after Exeter, for the Men’s 1st team took place past Sunday in the University’s Jubilee Sports Centre.

Our team managed to beat Bath’s second team quite easily thus coming one step closer in proceeding to the knock out phase of the tournament. One more game remains to be played on the group stages this coming Wednesday (16/11/2011).

During all quarters of the game our team had the upper hand, consequently scoring 21 goals and conceding only 3. The squad was organised and managed to put in action many of the drills learned in training either they were defending or attacking ones.

The first quarter of the game ended with 5 goals being scored by our team and non from the opposition.

The second quarter can be dubbed as the most spectacular of the match as the Soton boys scored 7 goals and conceded none.

On the second half of the game our team kept the scoring pace at a high level by scoring 5 and 4 goals on the third and fourth quarter respectively. However, due to some defending flaws and misfortunes the team suffered the scoring of three goals.

Once again we would like to thank everybody for being there and supporting us!

Scorers:
4 - Josh Rowland
4 - Panos Logothetis
3 - Will Logothetis
3 - Will Divall
2 - Duncan Jenkins
2 - Tom Redman
1 - Michael Stephanou
1 - Robbie Collison
1 - Owen Stephens

SUWPC attacking the shallow end.

Men's 2nd vs Southampton City B 13/11/2011

The first match of the year for the men’s 2nd team was a friendly against Southampton City B at home.

Fielding a side containing many players for whom this was their first match, the Uni team made a great start, winning the first quarter 1-0 courtesy of an impressive reverse-shot from Robbie Collison.
City B changed their tactics in the second quarter, and now ‘full-pressed’ whenever Uni were in possession. This enabled them to steal the ball and break on three separate occasions, earning them a 1-3 halftime lead.

Uni continued to play well into the second half of the match, but as fatigue started to kick in, several speculative passes were thrown, and City B continued to score from breakaways. Despite a third quarter goal from Will Griffiths, City B replied with 4 of their own, making the score 2-7.

The fourth and final quarter saw the Uni team really try to pick up the intensity, and the team was unlucky to score only 1 goal from several good chances. City B was not so unfortunate, and continued to make the most of their own opportunities, scoring 5.

The final score was 3-12 to City B, yet the score-line does not reflect how close the fixture was. With more match-time and having worked on a few key aspects of their game, this team has great potential for the rest of the year.

Scorers:
2 - Robbie Collison
1 - Will Griffiths

Top Shark:
Ben Atwell

Keep up to date with how the teams are doing in the Southern Universities Water Polo League!

Both 1st teams are playing in the first ever SUWP tournament this year. Teams from all over the South of England (and Wales!) are competing.

Click on the link (in the right hand column) to take you to the SUWP website where you can find results, tables, top scorers, top majors etcetc. The wins from both teams at Exeter have put Southampton in a great position but there are still 2 group games to go before the finals day. Check it out!

The next SUWP games are against Bath on Sunday 13th November. See you there!

Social life so far

This year the social aspect to SUWPC has started off with a bang, beginning with the traditional and unforgettable White T-Shirt at the start of the year:

White T-shirt social!

Since then, we’ve had a mix of fantastic nights with various themes and given new members a good opportunity to integrate into the club. Recently we completed our first club meal to the world famous Tariq Manzils in Portswood, we had an amazing turn out with over 45 people and enjoyed an amazing array of wonderful curry:

Manzils

SUWPC take over Manzils!

Over the next few weeks we’ve got some more outrageous plans in mind and are looking ahead and cracking on with organising the club’s Christmas Meal. 

Hopefully the success of the first few weeks will be emulated throughout the rest of the year, and attendance on nights out will remain high and the over-keenness of the Social Secs is taken on board! 

SUWPC love.

Calendar now online!!

Click on the link on the right hand side to keep up to date with training and fixtures...!  ======>

Men's 1st vs Southampton City 26/10/2011

Our Men's 1st team’s home game this week was a friendly against the City of Southampton. This annual game works as an indicator of the team’s fitness and training, and as a measure of potential for the rest of the year. 

Since we have not been training for very long together, the result of the match was a disappointing 4-9 defeat. The opposition managed to score many counter-attacks by stealing the ball and blocked many of the passes and shots made by our players during attacks. Thus, we were only able to score one goal per quarter. 

The support of the water polo ladies, the second team and friends was noted during the game and we would like to thank you for it! I am sure this game has served as a wake-up call for all of us and it should be mentioned that it was definitely not a great display of how waterpolo should be played, as it ended up being far to violent and aggressive. 

Scorers: 

3 - Panagiotis Logothetis 

1 - Josh Rowland

Ladies' 1st vs Exeter Uni 22/10/2011

Following the Men’s match, the Southampton Ladies took on Exeter University Ladies.

Southampton looked to be the underdogs with Exeter’s added advantage of 3 extra subs in their line-up.

The game started well, with Southampton taking the lead with the 1st two goals of the match. However, the more rested Exeter team kept pace, with the scores remaining within one goal difference to Southampton throughout almost the entire match.

Both teams pressed hard into attack, with Southampton holding their ground. Acting as the eighth man in the pool, the Southampton Men chanted from the stands, pushing the ladies on. With the final Southampton goal disallowed, the score ended at 5 - 4 to Southampton.

Even with a reduced number of players this week, Southampton Ladies held onto their first win of the season, showing fantastic potential for the rest of the year!

Scorers

3 - Melody Qiu
1 - Caz Tripp
1 - Alessandra Rodari

Men's 1st vs Exeter Uni 22/10/2011

On Saturday our Men's 1st team had their first game of the year, against the University of Exeter, played away, at the Pyramids Pool in Exeter.

At the end of the first quarter of the game, the teams were tied at 2-2, with quick goals being scored by both teams. However, in the next three quarters the SUWPC team settled into their defensive play, only allowing the opposition to score two more goals in the game.

In attack, several good moves came together and by the end of the second quarter our team was winning by 3-5; after another quarter, we had increased our lead to 4-7. Having controlled the match, the final quarter saw two more SUWPC goals leaving the final score at 4-9.

All in all, this game was a great start for our team, with good teamwork being displayed, despite it being our first competitive game as a team after the summer break; we hope that many more wins will follow!

Scorers:

4 - Josh Rowland
2 - Logothetis Panagiotis
1 - Nick Tankov
1 - Duncan Jenkins
1 - Tom Redman

The Bunfight 2011!

The Bunfight, the biggest opportunity for recruitment was held on 28th September. As always, a time for everyone to show off the club, the girls to crack out their revealing costumes and the social secs to strip down and entice the ladies. This year was no exception!

The club stand from above...

The boyyyyys

He couldn't help himself...

Could this have affected the boys sign up numbers?!

After a grueling 6 hours in the intense heat of the old sports hall, an expected 10000 people passing and an amazing 330+ sign ups, everyone hit jesters and danced the night away to One Direction. We will see how many of them turn up to the taster sessions!

Summer Tour to Culdrose and Woolacombe!

In June, the club took a girls and a guys team down to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall to compete in their annual tournament. Although the guys team was a little underpopulated, this didnt stop the success!

After a long days play, with some of the team members playing for 2 sides, Southampton mens had got through to the tournament final. The ladies had enjoyed less success although fun was had by all.

Following the tournament, the tourists headed to North Devon for a couple of days camping in Woolacombe. The weather improved after the first night and a great few days was had by all!

Next year, we intend to go to the same tournament with hopefully a stronger squad of players!