The Sydney Uni women’s water polo team looked rusty early but warmed up to score a comfortable 10-7 win over arch-rivals the UNSW-Wests Killer Whales in their National Water Polo League (NWPL) season opener at SUSAC on Friday night.
The Lions led 3-2 at the first break but lost their way in a poor second quarter, with the scores locked at 5-5 at half time.
A 3-0 third period virtually sealed the game for the home side before an even last term.
Keejsa Gofers, Sarah Harris, Gabby Wikman and Gi Clark scored two goals apiece, with Isobel Bishop and Emily Scott adding singles for the Lions.
Star defenders Hannah Buckling and Bronte Halligan missed the match with serious injuries and their availability is questionable for the early part of the season.
Lions coach Ian Trent was happy with the win but added, “It’s great to start the season off with a victory, particularly against the Killer Whales, who we always find difficult to beat. However it’s also great to know that we have a lot to improve on. Our next opponents will be especially hard to beat.”
The Lions face up to the newly re-named Victorian Seals in a round 2 home encounter on Friday night at 8.30pm, as well as Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm.
Sydney Uni’s men’s team started slowly but recovered from a 5-1 deficit, to narrowly go down 8-7 to UNSW-Wests on Friday night.
