University of St Andrews side are the best of British

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

It was a well-deserved success for the student team, who also placed second in the BUCS Premier North League, after a challenging season.

The side have had to cope with, and overcome, a series of disruptions throughout their season including the closure of their training and match facilities in Dundee.

That was followed by the closure of the training pool at St Leonards, forcing the town team to play several of their home games away.

But they shrugged off adversity to make their way through to the finals of the BUCS championship and there they beat Durham University, a team hitherto undefeated in the campaign.

Head coach Ian MacCallum couldn’t be prouder of a side who have refused to feel sorry for themselves despite various disruptions.

He told the St Andrews Citizen: “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, Gregor and Ross Whitaker and all of the staff at Saints Sport who have supported us this season."

Saints saved their best for last as they finished their season in style.

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.”

The championship-winning team were Katie Campbell, Bekah Kaufman, Amelia Downs, Kate Mackie, Amelia Peters, Caitlin Donnelly, Mackenzie Wiley, Claire Henry, Brynn Walsh, Maya Weerasinghe and Mikaere Todd. Player of the match was Amelia Peters.