University of St. Andrews: Women’s water polo team sinks opposition

The University of St Andrews women’s water polo team have won the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championship for a second time.

The Saints Water Polo women’s team beat the University of Durham 12-9 in the water polo final in Nottingham as part of BUCS Big Wednesday (23 March), one of the biggest days in the university sporting calendar.

It was a well-deserved success for the student team, who placed second in the BUCS Premier North League after a challenging season. The closure of their training and match facilities in Dundee was followed by the closure of the training pool at St Leonards, meaning the St Andrews team had to play several home games away.

The team’s hard work and determination in the face of adversity saw them reach the play-offs where they played Newcastle in the quarter finals, progressing to face Manchester in the semis. After defeating a strong Manchester side the team claimed their final spot against the University of Durham, who were unbeaten in the campaign so far.

Saints Water Polo finished their season with a strong performance to take the title and Captain Bekah Kaufman said: “We have worked so hard all season for this; I am so happy that we performed on the day and are bringing the Championship back to St Andrews.”

Head Coach Ian MacCallum added: “It has been a really challenging season but I can’t say enough about the determination and resilience of this team. I am delighted the seniors have ended their career at St Andrews as National Champions. It really has been a team effort and I would like to pay tribute to our coaching team Alison Rintoul, Allan Gartshore, Scott Teister, and Gregor and Ross Whitaker, and all of the staff at Saints Sport who have supported us this season.”