Sutton & Cheam retained a 100 per cent record in men's Championship 2 at Gloucester, but only after staging a remarkable last period rally against London rivals Penguin.

After three periods, Penguin led 5-2, a lead stretched to 6-2 when Taka Ota scored. Two superb solo goals from distance by left-hander Alasdair Wakeling then transformed the match in Sutton's favour.

The Penguin goal immediately came under siege and it was former Great Britain forward Chris Evans (pictured in white cap - by Trevor Hyde) who made sure of the points, scoring three times from the pit to snatch an unlikely 7-6 victory for his team.

Southampton beat Exeter 11-10 in same division, holding a comfortable lead for much of the game before the Devon club fought back towards the end. Panagiotis Logothetis (3) and Charles Roberts (3) were the leading scorers for Southampton while six of the Exeter goals were claimed by Darren Heagarty.

In Championship 4, Grantham scored 19 for a second time in the day, beating the young Sheffield Dolphins team 19-7.

Cheltenham stepped up their bid to retain the men's Super 5s title with a 13-8 victory over Invicta at Luton today.

In men's Championship 4 at Gloucester, Grantham outplayed Tyldesley 19-9 while Bedford held off a late challenge to beat Leeds 10-9.

Leeds Sharks were the only team to complete three matches on the opening weekend of women's Championship 1 at Northampton with a perfect record.

But they were pushed hard by Mid Sussex Marlins before winning 13-11. The score stood at 10-10 before the Sharks edged ahead in a closely fought final period with goals by Emily Pilkington, Georgina Dutton and Rhiannon Foulds. For Marlins, the leading scorers were Lauren Hand, Grace Walker and Danica Brazier, who all claimed hat-tricks.

Bernice Cowton led the way for Sheffield Sharks with seven goals in a 13-10 defeat of Penguin.

Picture: Mid Sussex Marlins goalkeeper Amy Styles.

City of Cambridge hold a slender one point lead in men's Championship 3 after completing their weekend at Grantham with a 16-10 victory over Ealing.

The sides were all square at 7-7 but Cambridge's six goals in the last period took them clear. Nick Ludford finished with five and Hamish Crichton and Tom Redman four apiece. Brian Whitlock contributed five goals in Otter's 13-7 defeat of Cheltenham Spartans.

In the reduced Championship 2 programme at Grantham, Manchester Hawks proved the stronger finishers against City of Birmingham, scoring five times in the final period without reply through Jack Wilczynski (2), Ben Riding (2) and James Salt to win 10-5. Danny Davis was again in good shooting form for Watford, scoring four in his team's 16-11 defeat of Hucknall.

Men's Championship 3 produced its third single-goal victory in four matches at Grantham today when Ealing beat Cheltenham Spartans 11-10. Cheltenham were 6-5 up at the halfway stage but five-goal Michal Vrabec led the London side to success.

Bridgefield and University of Bristol were all square at 11-11 late in their match, but goals by Lee Cadwallader, Peter Love and Matt Hanna ensured a 14-11 Bridgefield win.

In Championship 2 at Grantham, Danny Davis (4), Andy Holt (3) and Ciaran Walshe (3) were the lead scorers for Watford in a 12-7 defeat of Manchester Hawks.

Hucknall pulled off a remarkable 15-13 victory over Sheffield Sharks in women's Championship 1 at Northampton today, recovering after training 9-3 in the early stages.

They drew level towards the end of the third period and then edged clear in the last. Their leading scorers were India Wilkinson (4), Rachael Endy and Giorgia Bosworth.

Eight-goal Danica Brazier led Mid Sussex Marlins to a 21-13 defeat of Welsh Wanderers while Leeds Sharks picked up a second win - 12-7 against Otter Lutra. 

A goal in the very last second by Ben Walker earned Cambridge a dramatic 7-6 win over Otter in men's Championship 3 at Grantham today.

The game was even from the start and progressed to 6-6 midway through the third period. After that, it was a matter of Otter somehow surviving a Cambridge onslaught while suffering half a dozen exclusions. A point for Otter was on the cards until Walker's last-ditch effort.

In another closely fought match, Castleford lost for the first time in Championship 3 - 12-11 to York City. Castleford battled back from 8-5 down to pull level at 10-10 four minutes from the end, only for York to strike vital goals through Paul Floyd and Dean Toomey. Alex Hall's fourth goal immediately afterwards came too late to save his team. For York, Ben Pacey, Chris Burns and Nick Boaz all scored three goals.

Leeds scored four times in the last period through Emily Sutcliffe (2), Minnie Gale and Miriam Ridna to launch women's Championship 1 with a 6-3 victory over Hucknall at the Northampton School pool today.

Bernice Cowton led the way for Sheffield Sharks in a 15-10 defeat of Otter Lutra. Tyldesley recovered from 5-0 down at one stage to trail 7-6 before losing out 11-8 to Penguin.

Sutton & Cheam today announced with great sadness the death of Mark Shepherd, aged 54, who was a member of the club's all-conquering team of the late 1970s and early 1980s before captaining the next generation to its successes ten years later.

Mark swam successfully for Sutton from the age of eight before moving into water polo as a teenager.

It took Liverpool Lizards a long time to overcome strong resistance from old rivals City of Manchester in the key women's Super 5s clash at Leeds University.

Hazel Musgrove's early strike for Liverpool was the only goal until Emma Bartlett equalised three minutes into the third period. A Manchester exclusion soon gave Kathryn Fowler the chance to edge Liverpool ahead again. And the champions then took charge in the final quarter, scoring four times without reply through Rachel Drabble, Fiona McCann, Katie Hesketh and Laura Hesketh to win 6-1.

Danielle Elliot scored four of Coventry's eight first quarter goals on the way to a 15-7 defeat of Caledonia.

In women's Championship 2, Devonport maintained a 100 per cent record with an 11-6 victory over Leeds Hammerheads, including five goals from Robyn Greenslade and three from Bethany Ward.