South West storm to first win in girls' U18 Inter Regionals 2016

South West defeated North West Lightning at the Palatine Leisure Centre in Blackpool to lift the title at the ASA Water Polo Girls’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016.

The ASA Girls’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016 was contested by some of England’s finest young water polo players as they aimed to book a selection spot for the England Programmes squad for April’s EU Nations Cup in Denmark.

Playing in Division One, the South West side opened their campaign with two solid victories against North West Lightning and London.

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  Adele

  Adele Barns ready for the ball
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  Amelia

  Action between two players
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  Naya Patel protects the goal
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  Ellie

  Ellie Muncaster takes the ball
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  The goal keeper goes for the ball
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  North West Lighning player Molly Boniface-Ashton throws the ball
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  North East Steelers , winners of Division 2
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  Niamh Camp – North West Lightning goes for the ball
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  North West Thunder team, bronze winners
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In both matches, Milly Wordley – who was part of the England U17 team that finished fifth in last year’s EU Nations Cup – scored a hat-trick of goals for the region.

In their opening match of day two, the South West team faced a strong North West Thunder side and had to settle for a draw (7-7). But the team were able to re-focus and signed off with an 11-8 victory over the side from the Midlands.

On the podium, South West Water Polo separated the two North West sides with NW Lightning taking silver, and NW Thunder third.

Statistics

• Top Goalscorer: Milly Wordley (South West)

Team MVPs

• South West – Milly Wordley
• NW Lightning – Molly Boniface-Ashton
• NW Thunder – Annie Clapperton
• London – Lydia Toth
• Midlands – Fleur Kennedy

Division Two of the ASA Girls’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016 was hosted by the Midlands Region in Northampton and finished with North East Steelers securing promotion to Division One for next year after impressive performances throughout the weekend.

The Steelers were able to maintain their cool on day one with a hat-trick of victories against Wales (9-4), the East Region (6-1) and Scotland (4-7).

On day two, the team didn’t give the South East any room for manoeuvre as they won 11-0 in their opening match. North East then went on to seal the Division Two crown after a thrilling 4-4 draw against Ireland.

North East Steelers Head Coach Mark Sutcliffe said: “The girls delivered a very strong team performance, working with enthusiasm throughout every game. They implemented the team tactics and also demonstrated some individual flare.”

Statistics

• Top Goalscorer: Nia Sanders (Wales) – 26 goals
• Top Goalkeeper: Sophie Jackson (North East Steelers)

Team MVPs

• North East Steelers – Emily Pilkington
• Scotland – Carys Hardy
• Wales – Anna Jenkins-Delf
• Ireland – Sam Brown
• South East – Elouise Robb
• East – Poppy Mayall

Photo credit: Richard Clapperton