SIX girls from South Devon were in the South West U17 team who finished a creditable fourth in the National Championships.

Catherine Harvey (Paignton), Laura Shears, Jess Shears (both Newton Abbot), Becky Langman, Gemma Morris and Rachel Litt (all Paignton) were all members of the 13-strong squad which exceeded all expectations in the water at the Walsall Gala Baths in Staffordshire.

Along the way they defeated fourth seeds Ireland (12-8) and trounced Scotland (11-4) en-route to the semi-finals, where they winning streak ended.

Top seeds North West A dispatched the South West 11-0 in the semi-final. The South West went into the third-place play-off game against the North East, which they lost 10-7 having been 4-4 at half time.

Doug Litt, a coach at Paignton and Rachel's father, said the South West went to the competition unseeded with no real idea what to expect or who they would do.

"As a first attempt at this level, this was an amazingly good performance by the team," said Litt.

"This is particularly true as they had only had one selection and training session, and hadn't actually played together as a team in any competitive match as the recent bad weather had disrupted planned training sessions.

"This performance shows that Water Polo in the SW, and Devon in particular, is becoming stronger and more competitive.

"All of the players worked hard all weekend and were at the very top of their game from first to last.

"For many this was a new experience, playing with new team mates and at a level well above what they are used to.

"All of the players learnt things about themselves and the sport, and have benefited from the experience."

Tuesday Birmingham from Cheltenham led the scoring chart with 15 goals. Shears hit 10 – four in the win over Ireland - with Langman, Harvey and Litt, all claiming one each.

Paignton and Newton Abbot Swimming Clubs both have water-polo sections. To find out more go to newtonabbotswimmingclub.co.uk or paigntonswimmingclub.co.uk.