Water polo teams return triumphant

TT went into the annual tournament as the overwhelming favourites and were eyeing success in the Boys Under-18, Boys Under-16 and Girls Under-18 divisions.

The triple crown was missed last year with only the Boys Under-18 team unable to cop the gold medal.

TT will have to wait another year, however, as the 2009 campaign finished identically to 2008 with TT claiming two out of the three titles which was good enough to take the Overall gold and the regional honours. TT’s Girls Under-18 team were the prized-jewels of the TT squad, retaining their crown with a flawless performance in their category. The TT girls finished undefeated, winning their five matches to take the gold for yet another year. TT were led by the talented Kelcie Ferreira as well as the prolific Kelly Chin Lee.

The defending champions edged hosts Curacao 7-6 in their final game with Kelly Chin Lee bagging a hat-trick while Nicola Welch, Renee Chin Lee, Dayna Gillezeau and Jordan Laughlin added one each.

Meanwhile, the TT Boys Under-16 team were also crowned champions of their division for the second consecutive year defeating Curacao 11- 10 on Sunday to take the title with four wins and one defeat. Ryan West scored three while Jonathan Gillette, Adam Hanna and Simon Chin Lee each scored a brace. Daniel Tardieu and Marc Stauble chipped in with one each.

TT’s quest for a clean sweep of the titles fell short as the TT Boys Under-18 team had to settle for the silver medal. The ‘Polo Warriors’ got a consolation victory over Curacao, their first of the tournament. TT beat the hosts 11-6 to end their campaign with one win, one draw and two defeats. The TT team failed to find their rhythm early in the competition digging themselves a deep hole to get out of. The start of their campaign was disappointing but the team would be pleased with their showing in their final two matches of the division.

The TT teams were managed by Peter Gillette and coached by Alan Too- A-Foo.