The Penguin Rockhoppers (a.k.a. 3rds) claimed the Women’s Championship 3 title at Walsall on Saturday (28 January). This came as something of a surprise to us because Southampton started the day as favourites with a 100% winning record across their six previous matches. But this all changed early on when Southampton were beaten by a young Tyldesley side and then again by Polytecnic.
Our first game was against Hucknall. We fought hard but so did Hucknall and at half time we were 6-8 down. It required a serious team talk from Nora to rally the troops and boost morale, getting us fired up and hungry for the win. With a hat trick from Laura Hues and plentiful goals from Nora Benko, including the winner in the last minute, the Rockhoppers secured victory, 13-12.
The pressure was really on for our second game against Invicta. If we lost then Poly would claim the trophy because they had beaten Hucknall. Excellent defending, including saves from Michaela, meant that Invicta did not score until the third quarter. In a strong team effort with some lovely on-on-ones by Fee Greer and Vicky Miller we secured a comfortable win 8-4 took the Championship 3 title.
A fantastic end to a fantastic season for the 3rds.
Top row (L-R): Fiona Tranter, Emma Stapleton, Rhia Haycock, Laura Hues, Vicky Miller, Julia Hornig, Michaela Capkova
Bottom row (L-R): Fiona Greer, Nora Benko