Southern University Games 2004
SUC Water polo was held on the weekend of 31 July – 1 August at Monash University Clayton. This competition was held to organise rankings for AUS South region in the upcoming Australian University Games Perth 2004 competition, and MUPolo continued its form from last years AUC Gold Coast tournament. The Men’s team played exceptionally well against the much fancied RMIT and came away with a well fought draw 8-8, in the game of the tournament. The Women’s team followed up trouncing RMIT 11 – 1 with K Roberts leading the charge scoring 5 goals, and N. Brandt unstoppable in goals. Coach G. Thompson was delighted with the win, stating “It was an excellent opener for our campaign, considering a large number of these girls hadn’t played together before.”
The second and third matches for MUPolo were more convincing for the Men’s team, beating La Trobe 21-3 and Monash 10-2. Excellent performances by S. McCombe, C. Gronow, and N. Wawryk, with special mention to B. Chan for dominating in goals once again. The Women’s team had another relatively easy match against La Trobe, winning 11-1, with goals coming from C O’Donnell, B. Davidson and M. Zebrowski. However, the following match against Monash was a much tighter affair, and the team ended up drawing 6-6 in a tightly fought contest. K. Woolley was a standout with two early goals, and L. Wall having an excellent defensive game. However, the team began to tire in the last half and only managed to hold on for the draw against an underrated Monash.
The final day of competition was disappointing for the Men’s team, with Deakin failing to put together a team, meaning the Men’s team were handed a 5-0 win, thereby ending any hopes of winning the tournament. Coach J. Ogilvie suggested that “Deakin are a bunch of pansies that didn’t even have the decency to apologise for not turning up!” The Women’s team however came together and had another strong win, teaching the lowly Deakin a water polo lesson. Congratulations to L. O’Brien, M. Zebrowski and L.Morris for all scoring a number of goals in the final game of the weekend.
Results
| MU Polo Men | MU Polo Women | ||
| MELB 8 | RMIT 8 | MELB 11 | RMIT 1 |
| MELB 21 | LA TROBE 3 | MELB 11 | LA TROBE 1 |
| MELB 10 | MONASH 2 | MELB 6 | MONASH 6 |
| MELB 5 | DEAKIN (Forfeit) | MELB 13 | DEAKIN 2 |
Summary
Both teams remained undefeated for the weekend, with the Women’s team placing 1st and the Men’s team placing 2nd on goal difference, behind an extremely impressive RMIT. This gives both teams an excellent opportunity in Perth, especially as the Women’s team have a few players still to slot into the team. The Men’s team will miss the contribution of both C. Gronow and B. Chan in Perth, but will be lead strongly by S. McCombe as Captain.
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