Cooper Gibson was chosen as tournament MVP in the Boys U16 Division 2 competition. Photo / Supplied
Cooper Gibson was chosen as tournament MVP in the Boys U16 Division 2 competition. Photo / Supplied
The Tauranga Water Polo Club continues to make its mark on the national scene with all five teams at the New Zealand 16 and under and 18 and under championships winning medals.
The standout performance came from the Tauranga B team in the Boys 16 and under second division.
Aftercruising through their six matches in pool B, they accounted for Waitakere Gold 4-2 in the semifinal to set up a decider against North Harbour Blue.
Tauranga B were down by three goals with four minutes to play but came home strongly, scoring six unanswered goals to win 9-6.
Star player Cooper Gibson was named as the MVP of the second division.
The Tauranga B team in the Boys 16 and under second division. Photo / Supplied
Tauranga Water Polo Club head coach Lionel Randall says this is a team of 15-year-olds and will form the core of the Boys 16 and under A team at next year's championships.
The A team did well this year, losing the Boys division 1 final to North Harbour Maroon 7-3.
The Girls 16 teams were also in fine form in the 16 and under championships.
The B team took out the silver medal in Division 2. After whipping Rotorua 10-1 in the semifinal, Tauranga B went down to North Harbour Black 5-2 in the gold medal match.
The Girls 16 and Under A team reached the semifinals, losing 8-3 to Atlantis Tridents of Auckland before making amends in the bronze medal match winning 3-2 against Manurewa's Mountfort Toki.
The Only Tauranga team in the 18 and under championships also went well.
The Boys team was in a weak pool and made the most of it with easy wins over Canterbury 12-2 and Marist Blue of Auckland 18-1.
But then reality struck as they went down to North Harbour Maroon 12 –5, and then 10-2 to Marist Red in their semifinal.
But there was success in the bronze medal match with 7-3 triumph over Waikato.
