Pamp’s Lionesses Roar in Water Polo League Title Victory

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete Isobelle ‘Izzy” Pamp, could not contain her delight after co-captaining the Sydney University Lionesses to their first Australian Water Polo League title in six years.

The Lionesses were too strong for the University of Western Australia Torpedoes, roaring to a 15-8 victory in the women’s gold medal finals playoff at Sydney Olympic Park to claim the overall crown.

The triumphant Lionesses contained NSWIS athletes Alexie Lambert, Ani Pamp, Izzy Pamp, Madi Powells, Sammi Hardingham and Luci Marsh (Marsh has a training agreement with the Institute).

It’s the first time the Sydney Uni Women have won the AWL title since 2017 – when they went through the season undefeated. Its fresh-faced side combined with some strong international players, including Spanish star and two-time Olympic silver medallist Anni Espar Llaquet, to deliver a memorable performance.

Pamp was impressive in goals, and her performance in the red cap went a long way to leading the Lionesses to victory.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so excited,” said Pamp of the triumph. “To be able to lead this group of girls to a Championship it just means the world to me.

“I don’t like to celebrate until that final buzzer goes, but it was such a good feeling as soon as it did. I had all this built up tension and I was ready to jump in the pool and cheer with my team.

“With a player like Bron Knox leading [UWA] we had to have a very tactical game plan to shut down her. She leads the team really well. The plan was to respect all their dominant players but at the same time believe in ourselves and that’s exactly what we did today to win.”

NSWIS Water Polo Head Coach, and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, Bec Rippon said it was pleasing to have six of the Institute’s players in the winning team.

“It was really good to see many NSWIS athletes in that group and a lot of athletes who have gone through the NSWIS program making up part of the Sydney Uni Team and really contributing to a big performance,” said Rippon.

In the men’s competition, UNSW West Magpies completed a thrilling 11-10 win over Sydney Uni Lions.