Cheltenham’s Under 15 girl water polo players produced some outstanding performances as they won silver medals in a national competition.

They were competing in Swim England’s Under-15 National Age Group Water Polo competition at Manchester Aquatics Centre and it was the first time that a girls’ age group team from the club have won medals at national level.

A squad of 10 competed in Manchester and for some it was their first taste of national competition as they took on players from some of the best clubs from around the country.

However, at no stage were they overawed and they got off to a flying start, beating Watford 5-3 and Otter Futura 9-0.

Their only defeat in the group stage was to City of Sheffield, the competition’s eventual winners, which meant they came second in their pool to book a place in the semi-finals.

And it was at this stage that they produced their performance of the tournament as they defeated London Otter 5-3, showing true grit and determination against a very strong team.

The final was against City of Sheffield and by now Cheltenham were very tired. They put up a good fight and a 14-3 defeat certainly didn’t take the gloss off what was an excellent tournament for the club.

Coach Rich Middleton said: “The girls played amazingly, the defining moment was the win over Otter which no one predicted could happen. Bring on next year when hopefully the success will continue.”