2004/2005 Waterpolo Intervarsities
It was early Friday morning last that 28 dedicated, and very tired DCU waterpolo players dragged themselves from bed to perform some "whup-ass" at the 2004/2005 Irish Intervarsity Waterpolo Championships.
NUI Galway proved too strong for the ladies in their first match, although they fought like they know how to keep the game to a 6-3 win for the hosts. The next game proved more fruitful and UL got a taste of some of DCU's fine finishing skills with an impressive 7-2 victory. A vicious QUB team knocked the nail in the coffin for our girls' championships as they unfortunately narrowly lost out in their last group match. Mucho respect has to go out to the girls though for a valiant effort and big improvement from last year.
Meanwhile, the well-oiled machine of the male team was on its course for revenge after last year's semi-final defeat. The group stages re-affirmed the need for 2 pairs of togs, and as much ginseng as the body could hold (which was also tested in the 2 nights of highly dubious after-hour frolics.) QUB were first up to get the DCU treatment and suffered a whopping 10 goal defeat at 12-2. The Galwegians, who later went on to reclaim the title, proved a tougher test. Even the left-handed round the back shots couldn't prevent a 5-2 defeat for our boys. The final obstacle to a semi-final place were UCC who put up a fair fight, until the superior DCU strength pulled the team away to a 10-5 win.
DIT were hotly favoured by many as the championship contenders, but after the first quarter, the DCU lads were holding a commanding 2-1 lead. It took until the third quarter for the skills of the 3 Irish U-19 players on the opposition team to really begin to show. DCU hung on till the end, and 3 goals inside the last 2 minutes gave the final score an unfair gloss: A brave defeat at 14-9.
Well done to all the crew for a fine display both in the pool and socialising with the best of them out of the water. May the fun and games continue.
The men's waterpolo team for the weekend
2004 Waterpolo Intervarsities
DCU unlucky in Waterpolo Intervarsities
DCU hosted the Irish
university waterpolo intervarsities in conjunction with
Trinity in the National Aquatic Centre on March 12th.
The event proved to be a huge success with 18 teams in
total from across the country entering the male and female
events.
There was a large
turnout of nearly 250 competitors for the event, the largest
turnout in the history of the competition which illustrates
the growing popularity of this physical and exciting sport.
DCU entered teams into both the female and male events.The
draw proved unkind to both teams as they were paired against
the reigning champions of the event, UCD for the ladies
and Queens for the men.
First up was the
turn of the ladies to face a very strong UCD team. The
inexperienced DCU team fought hard but eventually were
overcome.
Next up was the turn
of the men to face a strong Queens team. DCU came out
the victors in a gruelling match with a last minute goal
piping the reigning champions 4-3. Unfortunately for them
they were drawn against the pre-tournament favourites
Trinity in the semi-finals.
Trinity were equipped
with a very strong team and even boasted arguably Irelands
best waterpolo player among their ranks. Despite this
the DCU team battled throughout and were very hard done
by to lose out 7-5. The loss of several first team players
before throw in and some poor refereeing played a big
part in this loss.
Trinity went on to
play against NUIG in a gripping final and much to the
joy of the on looking crowd were beaten on sudden death
penalties after a 4-4 draw. A similar faith befell the
Trinity ladies team who put up a terrific performance
against UCD only to loss out in the shoot out. It was
a terrific day altogether. Many thanks to all the players
from DCU who did their college proud, especially those
who were playing for the first time.
Waterpolo Stuff
For any of you who are interested in the origins of the game of
waterpolo, here's
a brief history of the sport.