Girls’ action heats up on day two at Saints Water Polo Invitational
Day two at the St Stithians Water Polo Invitational was moving day in the group stage, with the top contenders separating themselves from the rest of the field.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
There was no slowing down Herschel Girls High who, after two dominant wins on Thursday, added a commanding 21–5 victory over Crawford Lonehill on Friday.
The Capetonians stamped their authority early, taking a 5–1 lead in the opening chukka and kept pressing the accelerator to lead 9-2 by halftime. In the third chukka, they doubled that score, going 18-4 up, before ending with a 16-goal margin of victory.
Later, they were made to work hard by Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Makhanda, but Herschel pulled out a hard-fought 7–5 win to finish in first place in Pool A with an unbeaten record.
Clarendon High School for Girls also impressed, posting a strong 8-4 win over Woodridge College before swamping Crawford Lonehill 18-2 to secure second place in the group. DSG Makhanda ended their Pool A campaign on a high, defeating Woodridge College 7–1.
In Pool B, St Anne’s Diocesan College, from KwaZulu-Natal, continued their fine form with a dominant 12–5 win over St Peter’s College. They followed that with a convincing 11–4 victory over Reddam House Bedfordview to keep their clean record intact.
The clash with Reddam Bedfordview was close in the early going, with the sides locked at 2–2 for most of the first chukka. St Anne’s broke open the tie late in the quarter to lead 3–2 and then gradually pulled away, stretching their lead to 5-3 at halftime, before adding four goals in the third and two more in the final chukka to seal a comprehensive win.
Reddam House Constantia bounced back from two narrow day one defeats with comfortable wins over St Peter’s College, by 10–5, and Collegiate Girls’ High, by 10-2. Reddam Bedfordview also scored a 7-4 win over Collegiate.
Pool C proved to be fiercely competitive, but Pearson High maintained their strong form with a 9–2 victory over St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls and shared a hard-fought 3–3 draw against St Mary’s Waverley.
Roedean showcased their attacking flair once again, overcoming Beaulieu College 8–3 before edging past St Mary’s 3–2 in a tense finish to top the group. St Dom’s wrapped up their pool campaign with a confident 8–3 win over Beaulieu College.
Meanwhile, in Pool D, the hosts St Stithians College continued to shine, producing an outstanding performance in a 10-6 triumph over Durban Girls’ College (DGC), which decided first place in the group. That win left Saints undefeated after an earlier 17-1 demolition of Kingsmead College.
DGC had earlier cruised past Rhenish Girls’ High 10–3, while Kingswood College stayed in contention for a quarterfinal spot with two wins, beating Rhenish 8–5 and Kingsmead 10-1.
RESULTS
Pool A
Clarendon 8-4 Woodridge
Herschel 21-5 Crawford Lonehill
DSG 7-1 Woodridge
Clarendon 18-2 Crawford Lonehill
DSG 5-7 Herschel
Pool B
Reddam Constantia 10-5 St Peter’s
Reddam Bedfordview 7-4 Collegiate
St Anne’s 12-5 St Peter’s
Reddam Constantia 10-2 Collegiate
St Anne’s 11-4 Reddam House Bedfordview
Pool C
St Dominic’s 2-9 Pearson
Roedean 8-3 Beaulieu
St Mary’s Waverley 3-3 Pearson
St Dominic’s 8-3 Beaulieu
St Mary’s Waverley 2-3 Roedean
Pool D
Kingswood 8-5 Rhenish
St Stithians 17-1 Kingsmead
DGC 10-3 Rhenish
Kingswood 10-1 Kingsmead
St Stithians 10-6 DGC
