Otter and Newton Abbot charge into girls' U17 finals

Defending champions London Otter comfortably booked their place in the U17 finals weekend of the Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships.

They won all three of their matches in the final qualifiers to claim top spot in Group A at Northampton School for Boys.

The London side opened up their campaign with a 20-5 win against Cheltenham and then beat last year’s runners-up, City of Liverpool, 17-2.

Their final match saw them cruise past Otter Futura 27-4 to give them a goal difference of 53 and a spot at the finals weekend, which takes place at Manchester Aquatics Centre on 14-15 April.

Cheltenham to join Otter in Manchester

Joining them from Group A will be Cheltenham, who beat Otter Futura 15-0 in their second Group A match.

They then faced City of Liverpool – who also beat Group A bottom club Otter Futura 11-4 – in a winner-takes-all decider.

And in a tense clash, it was Cheltenham who edged through, winning 6-5 to ensure second place in Group A.

Newton Abbot top of Group B and heading to finals

Last year’s U15 champions Newton Abbot also claimed a 100 per cent record as they topped Group B.

They opened up with a 8-7 victory over Tyldesley and followed that up with a comprehensive 27-1 win against Watford.

In their final match, they defeated City of Sheffield 7-5.

Tyldesley secured second spot with wins over City of Sheffield (10-6) and Watford (35-8).

Watford finished fourth in Group B after City of Sheffield won the match between the sides 26-2.

Qualification Round Results and Group Table

Click or tap on ‘PDF’ to download a match sheet for each fixture (coming soon).