St Anne’s and St Stithians to meet in St Stithians Invitational final
After three days of all-out action, the hosts, St Stithians College, and St Anne’s Diocesan College booked their places in Sunday’s final of the St Stithians Girls’ Water Polo Invitational.
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It will be a meeting of Saints, coached by Megan Sileno, and St Anne’s, the team she coached before moving to Johannesburg this year. Now, Cameron Wiid is in charge of the Hilton school’s side.
Both teams won through to the title game behind their strong defences, taking down some of the country’s top water polo-playing schools.
After sneaking by Durban Girls’ College (DGC) 6-5 in the quarterfinals, St Anne’s produced a composed and disciplined effort to defeat Herschel Girls School 7–4 in the semifinals, which brought to an end the Cape Town powerhouse’s unbeaten streak in the tournament.
The KwaZulu-Natal side started brightly, pressing Herschel from the opening whistle and taking control of the game early. Their sound defence also frustrated Herschel’s attack and led to them making costly mistakes.
St Stithians College continued their good run in their home waters, defeating the defending champions, Roedean, 6–3 in the second semifinal.
Earlier in the day, Saints exhibited resilience in the quarterfinals, where they edged past Reddam House Bedfordview 6–5 in a tense encounter. They had to dig deep in the closing minutes and struck from a penalty to secure their semifinal berth.
In the top crossover fixtures, Reddam House Constantia overcame Clarendon High School for Girls 4–2, showcasing their defensive grit, while Reddam Bedfordview held off a determined Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Makhanda 4–2 in a tight, tactical contest.
Kingswood College delivered a standout performance, pulling off a strong 10–7 win over Pearson High, while Durban Girls’ College (DGC) impressed with a composed 5–1 victory over St Mary’s Waverley, displaying excellent teamwork.
In the lower crossover matches, St Peter’s College powered past Crawford Lonehill 11–2, Collegiate Girls’ High held off Woodridge College 4–2, and Beaulieu College earned a confident 7–3 win over Kingsmead College. In one of the day’s tightest clashes, St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls scored in the dying moments to claim a narrow 6-5 win over Rhenish Girls’ High.
The qualifiers added yet another level of drama as teams battled for places in the final placement rounds. In the top qualifiers, Pearson High got by Clarendon 8–7 in a see-saw encounter, while St Mary’s Waverley held their nerve to squeeze past DSG Makhanda 6–5.
In the middle qualifiers, St Peter’s triumphed 10–9 over Beaulieu College after a thrilling back-and-forth contest, and Collegiate claimed a hard-fought 7–5 victory over St Dominic’s.
After falling just short in the quarterfinals, Durban Girls’ College bounced back with a determined 6–4 victory over Kingswood College.
Meanwhile, Reddam House Constantia claimed bragging rights in the all-Reddam derby, outplaying Reddam Bedfordview 8–5. The Cape Town school’s attacking fluidity and the depth of their squad was to the fore in their win.
RESULTS
Top cross-over
Clarendon 2-4 Reddam Constantia
Reddam Bedfordview 4-2 DSG
Pearson 7-10 Kingswood
DGC 5-1 St Mary’s Waverley
Bottom cross-over
Crawford Lonehill 2-11 St Peter’s
Woodridge 2-4 Collegiate
Beaulieu 7-3 Kingsmead
St Dominic’s 6-5 Rhenish
Quarterfinals
Herschel 16-3 Kingswood
DGC 5-6 St Anne’s
Reddam Constantia 1-3 Roedean
St Stithians 6-5 Reddam Bedfordview
Bottom qualifier
Crawford Lonehill 5-4 Kingsmead
Woodridge 8-3 Rhenish
Top qualifier
Pearson 8-7 Clarendon
St Mary’s Waverley 6-5 DSG
Middle qualifier
Beaulieu 9-10 St Peter’s
Collegiate 7-5 St Dominic’s
Semifinal
St Anne’s 7-4 Herschel
St Stithians 6-3 Roedean
Placing qualifier
DGC 6-4 Kingswood
Reddam Bedfordview 5-8 Reddam Constantia
FIXTURES
Sunday, 19 October
Position 20-3
07:45 – Kingsmead vs Rhenish @Olympic South (19/20)
07:45 – Crawford Lonehill vs Woodridge @Olympic North (17/18)
07:45 – Beaulieu College vs St Dominic’s @Main Polo Pool (15/16)
09:15 – St Peter’s College vs Collegiate @Olympic South (13/14)
09:15 – Clarendon vs DSG @Olympic North (11/12)
09:15 – Pearson High vs St Mary’s Waverley @Main Polo Pool (9/10)
10:45 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Kingswood @Olympic South (7/8)
10:45 – Reddam House Constantia vs DGC @Olympic North (5/6)
10:45 – Roedean School vs Herschel @Main Polo Pool (3/4)
Final
12h30 – St Stithians College vs St Anne’s @Olympic Pool
