AYWPC wrap | Day 11
Published Wed 23 Jan 2019
The 12&U Men’s and Women’s champions were crowned, while the field was narrowed to just two teams in the 16&U age divisions after day 11 at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.
WATCH ALL 16&U MEDAL MATCHES LIVE AND FREE
All medal matches for the 16&U finals day will be steamed live and free via the OVOPlay App. Simply download the App in three easy step to watch today.
| 8:30 AM | 16&U Boys | 7th-8th | Hunter Hurricanes A | Adelaide Jets |
| 9:30 AM | 16&U Boys | 5th-6th | Drummoyne Red | UWA Bears |
| 10:45 AM | 16&U Girls | 7th-8th | Mermaids Blue | St Rita's College |
| 11:45 AM | 16&U Girls | 5th-6th | SNB Breakers | Melville Marlins |
| 1:00 PM | 16&U Girls | Bronze | UTS Balmain Tigers | Sydney Uni Blue |
| 2:15 PM | 16&U Boys | Bronze | River City | DVE Aquatic |
| 3:15 PM | 16&U Boys | Gold | Sydney Uni Blue | Barras |
| 4:30 PM | 16&U Girls | Gold | Mermaids Pink | UNSW Yellow |
Read more about Brisbane Barracudas topping the 12&U Men’s podium – click here.
Read more about Mermaids Pink clinching the 12&U Women’s gold medal – click here.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS & UPCOMING 16&U FINALS FIXTURES
Women’s 16&U gold medal match: Mermaids Pink vs UNSW Wests Killer Whales Yellow
The 16&U Women were on show across two different pools in Brisbane city with the major semi finals taking place at Somerville.
Local Brisbane team Mermaids upset the back to back plans of defending champions UTS Balmain Tigers beating them 7-5 in the first major semi-final.
Meramids’ Kate Blew said the whole group knows it is a great result but there is still one more match to go.
“It was a very close match, it was goal for goal most of the time and it was very physical but we came away with a good win in the end.
“I’m really excited for tomorrow and also a little bit nervous, but really proud of the girls and how hard we’ve worked to get to this point,” she said.
Currently undefeated in the competition, Mermaids have big match experience on their side after they claimed the Queensland state title last year.
In a New South Wales verse Queensland match finals matchup they will have their work cut out for them against NSW state champions UNSW Wests Killer Whales Yellow after they defeated Sydney Uni Lions Blue 7-5.
Men's 16&U gold medal match: Sydney Uni Lions Blue vs Barras
In the 16&U Men’s division Andrej Grgurevic from Sydney Uni Lions Blue was delighted with their 4-3 semi-final win over River City.
“To be in the whole game and then at the end our coach gave us a play to run, we tried it once at training and it worked but to execute it in a game for the win is amazing.
“In the 14&U competition last year we lost in the crossover group to finish 9th but now to be playing for the gold medal thanks to these boys is something else,” he said.
Ball in hand with the scores locked and under a minute remaining Grgurevic netted the match defining goal.
“If I didn’t sore that I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
“It’s been a fun tournament and we’ve stuck together a steam which is great,” he said.
After topping their group stage and winning all their games to date Sydney Uni Lions will pose a formidable opponent for Barras.
Barras accounted for DVE Aquatic/Richmond in the men's second semi final fixture 7-2.
After a close game up until the fourth quarter, the home town team kicked into gear to cement their spot in the gold medal match after they topped their pool with three wins.
Earlier in the tournament both teams came face to face during phase two matches which saw Sydney Uni with the upper hand, 8-5.
