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North Island Secondary Schools Water Polo Championships

 
Hình của Ella Mitchell
North Island Secondary Schools Water Polo Championships
Bởi Ella Mitchell - Monday, 29 March 2021, 11:10 AM
 

North Island Secondary Schools Water Polo Championships

From Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 March the Premier A Water Polo competed at the Division 1 North Island Secondary School Championships held in Lower Hutt and Wellington.

The team had to deal with what was widely known as the pool of death. This meant there was some tactical decisions about which games the team needed to expend maximum energy. The tournament started with a loss to eventual winners, Hamilton Boys’ High School 11-2. This was followed later on Thursday with a 9-6 win over Tauranga Boys’ College, the first time that the Premier A team had beaten this school. On Friday morning, a 7-6 win over Rosmini College saw the team progress to the top eight.

A close loss to Sacred Heart College 9-7 in the first crossover match meant that the team would compete for 5th-8th place regardless of the outcome against the next opponent King’s College. In this dead rubber match, the Premier A team lost 14-11. In the 5th to 8th semi-final against Auckland Grammar the team played some exceptional attack and won 13-12 in a game where the final score did not reflect the dominance that Premier A team had in the pool. This meant a rematch against King’s College. This was a very close game throughout, with the lead changing multiple times. Pleasingly, the first seven goals that the team scored in this match all were by different players.  The Premier A team finished with the 13-12 win to claim fifth place. This is by far our best placing at North Island Secondary Schools.

Alex Odom was the top goal scorer for the team with 21 goals for the week, including scoring 7 against Auckland Grammar. Levi Timms wasn’t too far behind with 15 goals. Defensively, both Liam Edmunds and Cole Phillips were outstanding.

The team now looks forward to Nationals in Auckland which are being held at the end of April.