Men's 1st Lady Richmond Brown Tournament 19/05/2012

Last Saturday the annual LRB tournament took place. As is the case every year, the date chosen for the tournament was uncomfortably close to the exam, meaning that we had to defend the trophy with many absences, with only 9 players managing to come.

The first, and most serious, game was against Southampton City. The game was quite balanced at the beginning, with the score in the first quarter (full game was 2 quarters= 14 mins actual game) being 3-2 for us. However, in the second quarter our team managed to score 5 more goals while conceeding only one. Leading to a 8-4 final score for our team.

After this game, which was the most critical, our team had to play against Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Andover, in that order. The corresponding final scores were 5-3 win against Basingstoke, 4-0 win against Portsmouth and 4-1 win against Andover.

With 4 wins our team “conquered” for a second time the LRB trophy!

Scorers for the day:
5 - Will Logothetis
5 - Panos Logothetis
4 - Alex Nedu
3 - Duncan Jenkins
2 - John Pickford
1 - Josh Rowland
1 - Will Divall

Men’s 1st vs Bournemouth 22/04/2012

After a full month’s break and only one official training, our men’s 1st had their first game after Easter, on Sunday. 

Our team managed to bring together a team of only 10 people, due to many injuries and absences. However, the opposition (B’mouth) thankfully had only 7 players, which made things easier for us.

In the first quarter our team was attacking on the shallow end and the pit was guarded fairly well from the Bournemouth players, as their team had some big players. Our defence was really organised and communication was always good. However, some misfortunes in the defence led to one goal being conceded. Without being able to find enough opportunities, our team managed to score only one goal from the arc. The score at the end of the quarter was a 1-1 draw.

In the second quarter as we were attacking on the deep end, which is usually our favourite side, we managed to play much better in attack. Our defence was really compact leaving no chance for B’mouth to score. On the other hand, our team scored two goals late in the quarter as exhaustion was starting to show on the opposition. The score at the end of the first half was 3-1 for our team.

The third quarter against found us attacking on the shallow end. Again the number of chances we had was considerably smaller than in the 2nd quarter, when we were attacking on the deep end. Although the defence was organised and communication was again good many players were sent off, thus presenting the opportunity to the opposition to score. In the attack our team only managed to score one goal and in the defence two goals were conceded. The score then was 4-3, our men’s 1st was still leading.

In the fourth quarter the B’mouth team, with only 7 players, was obviously exhausted. This could be seen by the high number of major fouls they conceded. Our team took advantage of this, and scored 4 goals. Although the pace of the game had accelerated our defending was still compact and returns were quick, the opposition only scored one goal.

The final score was 8-4, a great return for the men’s first team. A big thank you for the support on the poolside and a thank you to the girls and boys working on the table.

­­Scorers:
2 - Will Logothetis
2 - Panos Logothetis
1 - John Pickford
1 - Michael Stephanou
1 - Will Divall
1 - Duncan Jenkins

Men’s 2nd vs Portsmouth 15/03/2012

The last game of this term for the Men’s 2nd team came only a day after their previous match. After a comprehensive win at home to Basingstoke, the chosen team were under no illusions as to the challenge faced in playing a physical Portsmouth team, in their full size pool. Being eight lanes wide and deep at both ends, the tactics were to use the full extremities of the pool, press the Portsmouth players hard, and set up an effective arc formation.

The first quarter was a physical affair, with both teams looking to establish superiority. Good defending by both teams meant that the first quarter was very even, ending with a score of 1-1.

The second quarter saw an increase in the physicality of the Portsmouth team. In an attempt to move the ball away from the opposition, Southampton were effective in using the full width of the pool. Arc formation was good and scoring opportunities were created.

However, by this point Portsmouth were double marking Southampton’s strongest players, meaning whenever opportunities arose, there was virtually no time before the tackle came in. Nevertheless, Southampton scored two to Portsmouth’s three. Second quarter score: 4-3 Portsmouth.

The third quarter of the match has traditionally been the weakest of the four for the Southampton team, and the players got into the pool knowing a big effort was needed. The third quarter saw no let-up in Portsmouth’s physical tactics, unsurprising given how delicately the game was poised. Yet, during this quarter, the Southampton team were penalised particularly harshly. Given the width of the pool, it would have been preferable for there to have been two referees, one on each side. As it was, the one referee (their coach), gave multiple dubious decisions that went against Southampton. Southampton’s players were commendable in their lack of reaction. Given the circumstances, Southampton defended admirably, and even managed to score one goal of their own, bringing the third quarter score to 7-4 in Portsmouth’s favour.

It should be said that after the first quarter, at no point during the match were the Southampton team aware of the score, as the scoreboard was not accurately updated. The team therefore started the fourth and final quarter thinking that the scores must be close. As it was, Southampton continued to be penalised far more than the Portsmouth team, and struggled to establish an effective offense when continually being put onto the back foot. In addition, the width and double-deep nature of the Portsmouth pool began to take its toll on the Southampton players who inevitably began to tire. Portsmouth scored five to Southampton’s two during this quarter. Despite two of Portsmouth’s goals during this final quarter coming from a one-on-one break, the work-rate of the Southampton players was commendable, particularly given the less than amorous attitude some of them felt towards the officials. Final score: 11-6 to Portsmouth.

As with Southampton’s game the previous evening, the score-line belied the difference between the two teams. Unfortunately, tonight the Southampton team were on the receiving end of a physical Portsmouth team who used their strongest players particularly effectively in both attack and defence. Nevertheless, the progress that has been shown by this group of players over this term (the past seven weeks) is remarkable, especially since some of them only played their first ever waterpolo match on 6th February. With such strength in depth, the future of this team looks a fantastic proposition.

Scorers:
2 - Max McCartney
2 - Robbie Collision

Men’s 2nd vs. Basingstoke B 14/03/2012

The penultimate game before the Easter break saw the men’s 2nd team take on Basingstoke at home, for the return leg of their first match of the season. After a draw when we played them away, confidence within the team was strong, given our increased match practise.

The first quarter of the game saw Southampton attack the shallow end of the pool. Good arc formation and intelligent passing saw early Southampton domination, with three goals being scored within the first few minutes. During the second half of the quarter, however, Basingstoke chose to leave one man deep on our offence, and from this two cheap goals were conceded on the break. After scoring one more ourselves, the score at the end of the first quarter was 4-2 in Southampton’s favour.

The second quarter saw the Southampton team ‘press’ the Basingstoke team hard. This tactic appeared to cause them great difficulty, as they struggled to form an arc on their offense. Their frustration also caused them discipline issues, which further enhanced our grip on the match. The second quarter saw Southampton score four unanswered goals, taking the score to 8-2.

The third quarter tactics were more of the same, yet like the previous match, the third quarter performance was by far the worst of the four. Despite continuing to press the Basingstoke team, their offense caused us problems, as several of Southampton players were guilty of not successfully tracking their opponents. This also resulted in us conceding two major fouls. Basingstoke scored four goals to Southampton’s two in this third quarter, bringing the score to 10-6.

After a critical team talk at the beginning of the final quarter, we were once again attacking the deep end of the pool. With it being harder to defend the deep end, coupled with Basingstoke beginning to tire, our offense functioned well. Particularly pleasing was the movement around the arc formation, with sensible passing leading to effective goal-scoring opportunities. As a team we also communicated well, preventing Basingstoke from creating any man-up situations when they tried to break. Despite Southampton scoring another four unanswered goals, this quarter saw reasonable parity, leaving a final score of 14-6 a slightly exaggerated differentiation between the two teams.

Overall, a very good win for the 2nd team; hopefully to be followed up by another when we travel to Portsmouth tonight for our second game in as many evenings!

Scorers:
6 - Max McCartney
4 - Robbie Collison
3 - Andrew Deans
1 - Alex Horlock

Men’s 1st vs Weymouth/Portland 07/03/2012

On Wednesday our big boys had the return match against the Weymouth/Portland team. Due to many last minute casualties and injured players, the Southampton team had to play with only 11 players. However, the Weymouth team had brought only 10 people so the problem wasn’t that significant.

In the first quarter, our team played very good, tight defending, with very good "doubling" and Call Of Duty dropping (some tactics have to remain secret!). With a quick counter-attack and a good use of a man up, the guys managed to score two goals; leading to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter that followed was equally good, with three goals being scored from our side and one being scored from Weymouth during a man up attack. Our attacks on the deep end showed consistency, and the team managed to effectively use the advantages given by majors. The score at half time was 5-1.

With the safety of a 4 goal lead, and us attacking on the unfavourable shallow end, it was decided that the team would try to keep possession of the ball for as long as possible, as there was no running clock. This tactic worked, and only one goal was scored by the opposition which was responded to with a penalty for Southampton. The score at the end of the quarter was 6-2.

In the last quarter the game became a bit more open, with more majors and goals taking place. The wet-dream team lost this quarter as it only managed to score two goals and conceded 3. The final score was therefore 8-5.

Support from the crowded poolside was very encouraging and was definitely an incentive for the lads to give their 100%. A great thank you to the girls and boys for taking the time to do the table for the game.

Scorers:
3 - Panos Logothetis
2 - Will Divall
2 - Will Logothetis
1 - John Pickford

Men's 1st vs Basingstoke 04/03/2012

Our return away game against Basingstoke took place last Sunday. Having easily won 13-2 at home, this game was more difficult, since we had only 10 players able to travel and no goalie; Will L. (La Bamba) stepped up and assisted the team by playing in his old position for the game.

The first quarter was fairly easy for our team, with no majors given or taken and an easy 1-3 win. However, many goal scoring opportunities were missed during this quarter and a goal was conceded early in the game, but our defence managed to accustom quickly to Basingstoke’s game.

The second quarter was worse for our team, as players lost their calm; hence giving away some majors and generally playing a bad attacking quarter. The score at the end of the first half was 4-5 for our team.

In the third quarter, our team showed great improvement and played sensible water polo. The ball went in the pit at the correct time and place, leading to 4 majors being won. Our return to defend was decently quick; averting the scoring of goals in counter attacks. Our team scored three goals and only conceded one; the score after this quarter was 5-8.

The last quarter was filled with mistakes and lack of rationality for both teams, especially Basingstoke’s. The mistakes came one after the other, with wrong decisions in the attack and sometimes in the defence. However, our boys managed to score 3 goals and let the opposition score only one. The final score was therefore a 7-11 win for Southampton.

APOTHEOSIS OF STUPIDITY went off when a Basingstoke player directly punched Duncan right in the face, giving him a sexy cut on the eyebrow. The Basingstoke player was sent off for brutality and a notice to Hampshire league will be/has been sent.

Scorers:
4 - Duncan Jenkins
3 - Will Divall
3 - Panos Logothetis
1 - Nick Tankov

Ladies' 1st BUCS Semi-Finals 26/02/2012

The first game of the tournament literally threw us straight in at the deep end against Exeter - who beat us in the quarter-finals. In the first quarter, Exeter knocked in 6 goals, with their top goal scorer smashing in 4 from pit plays. Southampton countered hard, scoring 3. Trailing 3:6, we marked Exeter’s one talented shooter out of the match, giving us the security in defence to push forward. In the second quarter Southampton turned it around, managing to put away 4 more goals, pulling into the lead at 7:6. Keeping up a high tempo, Southampton steamed into the lead, ending the match with a clean sheet quarter, and a convincing win of 12:8.

Diving straight into the next match, Southampton faced up to the tournament host, University College London. By half time, Southampton were leading 5:1. UCL’s best asset was their fitness; however, with Southampton bursting with talent and teamwork, the final score ended at a fantastic 11:5.

Southampton vs Warwick was the last game of the Tournament and the toughest of the day. Warwick used their size advantage and brute force throughout the match to batter through Southampton. Southampton played as a close unit, shutting Warwick down quickly before they were able to set up their plays and countered effectively, setting up an attacking framework. Teamwork vs brute force brought the score to 7:7, at the start of the final quarter. With both teams fighting desperately to win, the score unfortunately ended 8:9 to Warwick.

Men’s 1st vs Weymouth/Portland 19/02/2012

One of the most important games for the Hampshire league took place in Portland against the Weymouth/Portland team. Losing this game would annihilate our chances of finishing first in the league.

In the first quarter, our team was very effective and managed to score four goals and gain 5 majors from the opposition. Our defence stayed compact, and most of all calm, thus not letting the opponents create any major opportunities. The scoreboard at the end of the first quarter was 4-0.

From then on, with our team having a great advantage, our tactic was to stay away from getting into fights, no matter how physical the game would become. Our team continued playing good water polo and scored one more goal. However, Weymouth’s team scored its first goal, leading to 5-1 being final score of the first half of the game.

The same tactic was followed in the second half of the game. The Soton guys managed to score one more goal in the third quarter, increasing the goal difference to 5 (1-6).

In the last quarter one goal scored by the Southampton team and two goals being scored from the Weymouth team left the final score at 3-7 to our team.

Scorers:
2 - Duncan Jenkins
1 - Owen Stephens
1 - Robbie Collison
1 - Will Divall
1 - Will Logothetis
1 - Panos Logothetis

Men's 2nd vs Portsmouth 19/02/2012

A match against Portsmouth was the next chapter of the 2nd team’s journey through the Hampshire league. Buoyed by a good showing against the 1st team a couple of weeks ago, confidence was high going into the game.

The first quarter saw both teams start well. Being evenly matched, both teams had opportunities when attacking, but good defence ensured the score at the end of the quarter was 2-1 in Portsmouth’s favour.

The second quarter saw both teams attempt to ‘press’ the other team hard when defending. This resulted in a somewhat scrappy quarter, predominantly played in the middle of the pool. Having said that, Portsmouth did create several one on one situations against our keeper, but some outstanding saves from Robin meant both teams only managed to score one apiece. 2nd quarter score: 3-2 Portsmouth.

The third quarter was a bit of a disaster for the Southampton team. A lack of urgency and awareness meant Portsmouth were able to break on us on multiple occasions, and when we were able to regroup in numbers, we defended very deep. Our offense also saw a lack of movement and communication, meaning our offense was turned over several times due to a lack of options for players to distribute the ball. As a result, we conceded four unanswered goals. 3rd quarter score: 7-2 Portsmouth.

After a fairly strongly worded team talk at the end of the 3rd quarter, the 4th and final quarter saw Southampton really take the game to Portsmouth. Much of this quarter was played in Portsmouth’s half of the pool, as our constant pressure forced them back. Our offence communicated much better, and although our passing was not quite as slick as we would have liked, it was nevertheless effective. In addition, after the lacklustre effort of the 3rd quarter, all members of the team swam hard in this final quarter to ensure we only conceded once, whilst scoring twice. Final score 8-4 Portsmouth.

What would otherwise have been a very close game was let down by a poor 3rd quarter. However, it needs to be mentioned that the way in which the team responded to this was highly commendable, and will serve as good experience to those who played that waterpolo is played over four, full quarters. There are certainly many positives that can be taken from this match, and with a couple of weeks until our next game, those aspects which were not so good have plenty of time to be ironed out. Keep it up guys, you’re doing well!

Special mention to Robin for another outstanding game in goal!

Scorers:
1 - Andrew
1 - Paul
1 - Ramsey
1 - Sam

Men’s 1st vs Andover 13/02/2012

The next fixture in Hampshire league, after the game against Basingstoke, was against the team of Andover. This was an away game, in a warm and greenish coloured pool... you can imagine what was in great concentration in the pool (hint: There was an ad saying “Children’s pool parties organised”)!

The first quarter was easily the worst quarter our team has ever played with every scoring opportunity ending up on the keeper’s belly or arms. Approximately 10 chances went to waste for no reason, from shots in the arc or the pit. The score at the end of the first quarter was a depraving 0-0 tie.

In the second quarter some of our players snapped out of the lethargy the whole team was displaying and managed to play effectively; a great example being our president (Pingu) who scored two sniper shots, right in the goal’s corners. Our team conceded one goal and the score at the end of the quarter was 1-2.

The second half was far more spectacular, with many more goals being scored from both sides. The third quarter belonged to our Soton lads, as more people gradually started waking up and playing proper water polo. One goal was scored by the team of Andover but 2 were scored from our side; leading to a 2-4 final score for the third quarter.

In the final quarter our team managed to score most goals compared to the previous quarters. However, our team conceded three goals from the opposition, after mistakes in defending and counter-attacks. The final score of the game was an unconvincing 5-7 win, after our teams mediocre performance.

Scorers:
3 - Duncan Jenkins
2 - Panos Logothetis
1 - Michael Stephanou
1 - Will Divall

Men's 1st vs Men's 2nd 08/02/2012

For most of the University of Southampton students, it was a simple Wednesday but for the SUWPC it was going to be one of the greatest and memorable water polo nights. The gods were kind enough to endow the second team boys with a 15 goal lead. Story was about to be made.

In the first quarter fights in the water created waves that even Poseidon couldn't even imagine. The first team played its worst quarter; scoring four goals and conceding two. Score at the end of the quarter was 4-17.

In the second quarter, great goddess and protector of the first team Athena sent her divine inspiration to the team. Thus helping us to overcome our narrow-mindedness and start playing proper water polo, adapted to the second team’s game. Our first team lads scored 7 goals and managed to keep a clean sheet for the quarter. The score at half time was 11-17 with the seconds still leading.

Hermes at once travelled as fast as possible to mount Olympus to inform the gods about the score. Dissension between the gods supporting the first and the second team started faster than the speed of Zeus’s lighting. The third quarter favoured the first team guys making them play like demigods that Hercules would even be jealous of. The five goals that the first team scored and none that were conceded led to 16-17 being the final score for the 3rd quarter.

With the score being almost levelled and the second team playing with the combativeness of Ares it was sure going to be a dramatic finale. However, Hera was jealous of Zeus and the second team, because they were “wingman-ing” each other on the Cube about 10 days ago without the first team. With vengeful Hera on their side the first team managed to score another 5 goals and only suffer the scoring of one. The final score was 21-18.

All of the game’s moments were good enough to get sculptured on Parthenon’s wall.

Scorers:
7-Panos Logothetis
3-Michael Stephanou
2-Owen Stephens
2-Duncan Jenkins
2-Will Logothetis
1-Robbie Collison
1-Nick Tankov
1-Alex Hewitt
1-Henry Perkins
1-Josh Rowland


2nd Team Perspective.

As part of the Hampshire League Handicap Series, the 1st and 2nd team were drawn against each other. Starting with a 15 goal ‘head start’, the 1st team had to overcome this deficit to progress.

The University 1st team are by far the best opponents that the 2nd team has faced
this year. Our attitude going into the match was not to be intimidated and to take the game to them as much as possible. Our aim was to limit them to 5 goals a quarter, whilst scoring 1 a quarter of our own. It would then be a close match.

The first quarter saw the 2nd team play the best they’ve played this year so far.
Playing the half-press, our defence was able to successfully pressurise the first team’s offense, whilst our own offense saw good movement and passing around the arc. Ball retention by the 2nd team was particularly effective. The first quarter ended 4-2 to the 1st team on merit, (4-17) to the 2nd team on handicap. On balance of play, the first quarter belonged to the 2nd team.

This show of force by the 2nd team removed any feelings of complacency that the first team may have felt coming into the match. Their tactics altered accordingly, and from the second quarter onwards, they half-pressed very effectively, something that, as a 2nd team, we struggled to deal with. To establish their grip on the match, the 1st team broke forward in numbers with several attacks, resulting in a successful goal tally of 7. The score at the end of the second quarter: 11-2. (11-17).

Despite the best efforts of the 2nd team to deal with this physical defence of the 1st team, all our attacks continued to be thwarted in the third quarter. The 1st team defended high up the pool, preventing our arc from being close enough to threaten their goal. Our defence, however, remained strong. We were also fortunate that the 1st team began to give away multiple fouls on their offense. Yet, despite this, and our best efforts to slow the game down as much as possible, we were unable to impose ourselves on the 1st team as we did in the first quarter. Despite limiting the 1st team to 5 goals, we were unable to score ourselves. Third quarter score: 16-2, (16-17).

The fourth quarter saw much of the same, with both teams seeing multiple substitutions as they began to tire. This resulted in a scrappy final quarter, with neither team really setting up an effective arc formation. Such a situation was always going to favour the 1st team’s greater physicality and strength. Yet the 2nd team continued to defend well and work hard for each other. A fine solo effort saw us score one goal ourselves. Despite this being the last quarter of the match, when our tiredness was expected to play a factor, we continued to limit the first team to 5 goals only. Final score: 21-18.

Given that this was probably the hardest match the 2nd team will play all year, there
are many positives to take. Although we did not quite achieve our aims coming into
the match, if we defend that well against less illustrious opponents, whilst working
more on our offense and ball retention, this will see us do well in upcoming matches.

Well done 2nd team, you can be proud of yourselves!

Men’s 2nd vs Basingstoke B 05/02/2012

The second team boys’ first Hampshire League match of the year was away at Basingstoke against their B team. A full team of 13 players travelled to the match.

The starting seven made a fantastic start to the match, scoring within 20 seconds. For much of the first quarter, our team’s superior passing and arc-work enabled us to hold the upper hand both in attack and defence. After two more goals were scored by both teams, the first quarter ended 3-2 in our favour.

Any feelings of complacency that may have been felt by some members of our team were soon dispelled during the second quarter. The Basingstoke team employed good tactics on their offense, with their swimming credentials giving them a man-up situation on more than one occasion. They scored a couple of good goals from these attacks, whilst our team replied with only one goal of our own. By the end of the second quarter the score was 5-4 to Basingstoke.

In the face of such tactics from Basingstoke, our team half-pressed from the third quarter onwards, with good success. This quarter saw both teams begin to tire; especially given our one goal was the only one of the quarter. Both teams had good chances to score on the break, but good goalkeeping and last-ditch defending kept the score to 5-5 by the end of the quarter.

The final quarter of the game was somewhat nervy from both teams, with neither wanting to give the other a clear opportunity to score on a breakaway. With both teams swimming as hard as they could, chances were few, but two goals were scored apiece leaving the final score at 7-7.

On balance, the score was probably a fair one, given that both teams hit the frame of the goal on numerous occasions and neither deserved to lose. On another day, with some decisions that may have gone in our favour, this was a match that we could have easily won. To say that after only the second competitive match that this team has played is testament to the good work that has been put in during training sessions. A special mention should go to Robin Liquorice who pulled off some outstanding saves in only his first game in goal!

Keep it up Boys!

Scorers:
2 - James Gray
2 - Pete Austin
1 - Andrew Deans

1 - Sam Forbes
1 - Ramsey Mullaney

Men’s 1st vs Basingstoke 05/02/2012

Hampshire league continued for the men's 1st team, with a game against Basingstoke. Basingstoke’s team arrived with only 9 players, suggesting they were in for a difficult game, as Soton had a full squad of 13.

The first half of the game was the most challenging for Southampton, as the opposition had some strength to confront our players. However, even then, the Soton lads managed to score 2 goals per quarter and concede only one, in the second quarter. The score before the half time break was 4-1 to Southampton.

The second half of the game was much easier for Southampton, as correct, frequent subbing was taking its toll on the smaller numbers of Basingstoke. The number of goal scoring opportunities from our side increased rapidly, leading to only 5 goals being scored in the 3rd quarter and 4 in the 4th. Our team again conceded only one goal, during the 4th quarter. The final score was 13-2, with only a small number of majors for our team.

The support from whipping girlfriends, club members and friends was very pleasing. A big thanks to the girls for doing the table! We hope you all enjoyed the game and are looking forward to seeing you again, for our next home game on the 8th of February, against our second-in-ranking but first-in-effort men’s 2nd's team.

Scorers:
4 - Duncan Jenkins
4 - Panos Logothetis
2 - Michael Stephanou
2 - Will Divall
1 - Henry Perkins

Ladies' 1st BUCS 28/01/2012

The 1st game of this year's BUCS tournament saw Southampton take on Exeter. During the 1st quarter, the two teams were level pegging, with neither side managing to break away. However, Exeter began to pull away in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, leaving the score at 9:1. Despite closing the gap in the 4th quarter, the difference was too great and the game score ended 11:4 to Exeter.

Taking Gloucester Ladies on in the next match, the Southampton girls were more determined than ever to turn things around. Within the 1st 3 minutes Southampton had brought the score line to 3:0. At the start of the final quarter Gloucester were yet to score; however, determined to salvage the game, Gloucester countered faster but couldn’t find enough space to really make a difference - the game 5:2 to Soton.

The 3rd of Southampton’s matches brought Marjons into the pool. Well known for being hot-headed, Marjons played a tight, physical game, giving away a penalty in the 1st minute of the game. With Southampton holding onto a lead throughout the game, a frustrated Marjons started to make desperate fouls. With both teams exhausted by a whole different game occurring underwater, few goals were scored and the game ended at just 4:3 to Southampton.

Southampton’s final match was against Plymouth. In the first 2 quarters, Southampton let their lack of post-exam fitness take its toll, allowing Plymouth to take a 2:1 lead. The score board seemed to kick-start the girls, with everyone working together to make space at the wings and watch for the opposition's drives, whilst timing the next 6 goals perfectly. Marking tight, and anticipating the swim back when possession changed hands, prevented Soton from conceding any further goals. The final score saw a win for Southampton 2:7.

Men's 1st BUCS 28/01/2012

On the 28th of January, after as much training as possible due to busy uni schedules, our men’s team had its first tournament (BUCS) and first game of the year. The British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS) tournament took place in Bristol University’s double-deep pool. Since last year, our team has been competing in the 1st Division of the tournament - finishing 1st or 2nd would mean that we would proceed to the finals, while finishing 4th (last) would mean demotion to the 2nd division for next year.

The teams we faced were Bristol, Birmingham and Plymouth. The first two teams beat us with large goal-differences in last year's BUCS, while Plymouth were promoted from the 2nd BUCS division last year.

The first game against Birmingham proved to be as difficult as was predicted; with very physical plays and good defences by both sides. The score in all of the quarters was always in favour of the opposite team, with one or two more goals scored, leading to an overal 10-7 loss for Southampton. Although our team lost, great improvement and co-ordination could be seen in our game.

The second game was against Bristol; a team that has always been one of the top teams of the tournament. The game was really strong, with endurance and team-play playing a huge role. Our team had a very good defensive game but were unable to be effective in attack. The final score of the game was 10-1 to Bristol.

The last game against Plymouth was going to determine who stayed in the division, since Plymouth had also lost all of their games. With our team’s captain being excluded for the tournament in the Bristol game, we were playing in an exhausted state. Mistakes by over tired players were visible from both sides. However, our team managed to create many more organised scoring opportunities than Plymouth, who mostly scored by mistakes of our team, in setting up defences or covering back to defend. The final score was 6-4 for our team, meaning that we stay in the 1st division for next year.

Scores:
N/A