Hosts shine at the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament
The St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament got off to an action-packed start on Friday, as top girls’ water polo schools from across Gauteng and the Western Cape joined KwaZulu-Natal’s finest in Hilton to do battle for the prestigious trophy.
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St Anne’s Diocesan College, playing in front of their home crowd, wasted no time setting the tone. They opened their campaign with a dominant 16-1 victory over St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, and followed that up with a clinical 12-1 win against Kingsmead College.
Carrying that momentum into day two, the hosts overcame a spirited Herschel Girls School side 9-7 to finish the group stage in first place in Pool A.
That set them up with a quarterfinals’ clash against Reddam House Umhlanga. In another hard-fought match, they came away with an 8-5 victory, raising hopes that they might match or even better last year’s runner-up finish.
Second in Pool D, Herschel convincingly handled Reddam House Bedfordview, the winner of Pool B, in the quarterfinals, easing to a comfortable 9-2 victory.
Roedean School, third in 2024, made a strong statement on day one, beating Rhenish Girls’ High 10-3 before downing the KZN Top 10 and Mackenzie Cup champions, Durban Girls’ College (DGC) 5-2
They completed a clean run through a tough Pool B with a 9-2 triumph over St Dominic’s. Their reward was a tricky and tough tie against the defending champion, Reddam House Constantia. It took everything they had, but Roedean pulled off a slim victory, advancing after a penalty shootout, which they edged 3-2, following a 7-7 draw in regulation time.
Reddam House Constantia and St Mary’s Waverley had got the ball rolling on Friday with a thrilling contest, won 4-3 by Reddam. St Mary’s bounced back later on Friday with a tight 8-7 win over Maris Stella.
After their loss to Roedean, Reddam House Constantia responded with character in the playoff round, brushing aside Reddam Umhlanga 7-1.
Herschel Girls School delivered arguably the most emphatic performance of the tournament so far when they dismantled St Mary’s Kloof 20-0 in a ruthless attacking display in Pool D. They also beat Kingsmead 10-3 to end day one undefeated.
Reddam Bedfordview got off to a strong start, defeating Reddam Umhlanga 11-6 before cruising to a comfortable 10-3 win over St Cyprian’s.
St Stithians College also impressed, rolling to an 18-4 victory over Maris Stella. Then, in a key clash between title contenders, they recorded a composed 7-3 victory over Reddam Constantia.
Saints faced DGC in the quarterfinals, hardly a kind reward for their hard efforts, but the Johannesburg school rose to the challenge and booked their place in the semi-finals with an 8-6 win.
Beaulieu College endured a mixed opening day, scoring a tense 8-5 win over St Cyprian’s College before narrowly falling 6-5 to Reddam Umhlanga in the afternoon.
Durban Girls’ College had a rocky time in the group stage. They won their Pool B opener 9-4 against St Dominic’s, but came up short against Roedean second time out. St Dom’s, meanwhile, bounced back with an assertive 12-3 victory over Rhenish.
RESULTS
Pool A
Reddam Constantia 4-3 St Mary’s Waverley
St Stithians 18-4 Maris Stella
Maris Stella 7-8 St Mary’s Waverley
Reddam Constantia 3-7 St Stithians
St Stithians 6-2 St Mary’s Waverley
Reddam Constantia 12-3 Marist Stella
Pool B
Roedean 10-3 Rhenish
DGC 9-4 St Dominic’s
Rhenish 3-12 St Dominic’s
DGC 2-5 Roedean
Rhenish 2-9 DGC
Roedean 9-2 St Dominic’s
Pool C
St Cyprian’s 5-8 Beaulieu
Reddam Umhlanga 6-11 Reddam Bedfordview
Beaulieu 5-6 Reddam Umhlanga
Reddam Bedfordview 10-3 St Cyprian’s
St Cyprian’s 7-8 Reddam Umhlanga
Beaulieu 4-9 Reddam Bedfordview
Pool D
St Anne’s 16-1 St Mary’s Kloof
Herschel 10-3 Kingsmead
Kingsmead 1-12 St Anne’s
St Mary’s Kloof 0-20 Herschel
St Mary’s Kloof 1-0 Kingsmead
St Anne’s 9-7 Herschel
Plate Quarterfinals
St Mary’s Waverly 12-2 Rhenish
St Dominic’s 6-4 Marist Stella
Beaulieu 5-0 St Mary’s Kloof
Kingsmead 2-0 St Cyprian’s
Cup Quarterfinals
St Stithians 8-6 DGC
Roedean (7) 10-9 (7) Reddam Constantia
Reddam Bedfordview 2-9 Herschel
St Anne’s 8-5 Reddam Umhlanga
Plate Playoffs
Rhenish (3) 7-6 (3) St Mary’s Kloof
Maris Stella (3) 4-5 (3) Reddam Bedfordview
Cup Playoffs
DGC 4-6 Reddam Bedfordview
Reddam Constantia 7-1 Reddam Umhlanga
