ARIANNA Guppy, a Year 12 pupil at Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, was named as the Most Valuable Player at this weekend's U19 South West Counties lacrosse tournament.

Arianna, who also plays lacrosse for Wales at U18 level, was independently selected from 180 players across 10 teams as the most instrumental player of the tournament. Speaking about her award she said, "Although I was delighted to be chosen as MVP, I'm also really proud to be part of such a great hard working team with great support from our coaches."

Lou Scott, PE teacher and Head of Lacrosse at HMSG, added, "This is an amazing achievement for Arianna. To be selected as the top player from such a large field speaks volumes about her talent. She is a fantastic role model for peers and younger players; she never misses a training session and always trains at match intensity. This award goes to show that a positive attitude and hard work pays off."

Arianna was part of the Monmouthshire 'A' team who competed against teams from Berkshire, Wiltshire & Dorset, Gloucestershire & Worcestershire and Hampshire & Oxfordshire. They suffered only one loss; 0-5 at the hands of eventual competition winners Berkshire. A 4-4 result against Hampshire & Oxfordshire meant the final standings were awarded on goal difference with Monmouthshire taking third place overall.

In addition to Arianna, seven other Monmouthshire players were selected to trial for the South West regional team; captain Menna Rose, vice-captain Gabriella Bligh, goalkeeper Alexandrea Mapps and midfielders Emanuella Kefalas, Matilda Powell, Poppy Thompson and Christina Stevenson.

U19 coach, Gemma Morgan, herself a player with many years of International experience and expert in the field of team development, said, "It was a pleasure to watch the girls play, especially in the last half of their game against Berkshire where they were simply fantastic. It was a great team effort with some impressive individual performances."

Monmouthshire also fielded an U19 B and U15 A team. Both sides finished the tournament without a win but performed valiantly and valued the experience.