British Water Polo
LANCASTER TO DEFEND THREE-YEAR TITLE
Five-time champions Lancaster will be looking for a fourth
win in a row when they compete at the British Water Polo Championships
in Manchester this weekend.
Lancaster men's team, who won the competition in 1999, 2000
and every year since 2003, are hoping to perform in a strong
field where any of their three opponents - Rotherham, Bristol
and Cheltenham - could pose a threat to the title.
In the women's event, defending champions Sheffield face
Manchester, Liverpool and Hammersmith Penguins.
Lancaster men's captain Chris Hartley is realistic about
his team's chances.
"There is always pressure on the team to win and reach
the highest standards, but with such strong competition it
can go either way," he said.
"In the preliminaries last weekend, Cheltenham looked
very strong. They're a young up-and-coming team so they may
be a threat.
"It's all about winning the games, and if we can do
that we could take the title again. It depends who performs
best on the day."
Despite their training pool closing for refurbishment at
the end of 2005, and a couple of players missing, Lancaster's
performance last year leads Hartley to believe they could
win again.
"We had a depleted squad last year and we were down
to our bare bones, so it was great to pull through and secure
the win," he said.
"Most of us have been playing together since we were
16 and as we're now 30-odd, that makes quite a number of years.
"It's difficult to predict the winner as every team
is in for a chance."
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