Last week the Tenison Woods College senior netball team won the top title at the 2022 Waverley International Schools Netball Championships.

The event is held annually at the Waverley Netball Centre, hosting schools from across Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore over four days of competition and is open to school-aged teams from all countries.

Tenison Woods College entered two teams, a junior side (15 years and under) and a senior outfit (15 years and over).

The senior girls had an extraordinary carnival, only losing one minor round game to Rowville College to sit in second place heading into the finals.

In the first semi-final against St Mary’s College, the girls won and secured their place to play in the decider against Maribrynong.

The girls started nervously in attack and Maribrynong moved the ball well and shot from long range, despite the defensive pressure of Paige Lucas, Ellie Bouchier and Portia McRae.

Tenison Woods College went into the quarter time break down by four goals, but increased its intensity in the second term with Tess Porter applying pressure, while Bouchier and McRae made some timely intercepts to help the Titans be within one at the half time break.

The third quarter was Tenison’s best as players moved the ball well in attack.

Siobhan Adams and Daisy Tunkin used their speed and smarts to deliver the ball to Lillie Paul and Annelise Janssen with the latter shooting accurately and from long range to be the stand-out shooter on the court to snatch a four-goal lead at three-quarter time.

They again started well in the fourth term with Bouchier and McRae combining well to shut down the goalies.

Matilda Lamb entered the game mid-way through the quarter and provided drive out of defence.

Tunkin continued to run hard on the wing and set up scoring opportunities to be awarded with best on court honours.

The win was a fantastic result for the girls who played outstanding netball throughout the championships.

Coach Donna Denton said she was thrilled to be able to coach the senior girls to a win in the competition.

“They are very talented athletes and played well throughout the week and the grand final win was a great reward for their commitment to representing the college at sporting events,” she said.

The 15 and Under junior team consisted of 10 girls from Years 9 and 10, led by captain Macey Griffith.

Griffith was vital throughout the tournament with her shooting accuracy, while vice-captain Ava Collins used her height to be tough to beat in the ring.

The girls were determined to experience success and got off to a great start taking three out of four wins.

There was a strong focus on playing possession netball and executing a steady high intensity game.

Alex Hudson’s speed and Eva Crowe’s defensive pressure made the opponents struggle to score.

Day 2 was set to be a tough day of competition to ensure the Titans remained in the top four on the ladder.

Cara Nulty and Poppy Venn were assets to the team with their ability to play multiple roles on the court.

As fatigue started to set in on the third day of competition it took a whole team effort to maintain a top four position heading into the finals.

Madison Harrold worked hard in the middle to create turnovers along with Mia Gysbers who was vital on the defensive end.

Holly Flint was a positive influence on the team – never dropping her head – while Niah Faulkner was an adaptable player who worked hard to ensure she played her role on the court.

The final day saw the team claim fourth position after two hard games in the semi-finals.

Overall, the junior team only lost three games across the tournament, two games of which were to the overall winners of the championship.

It was a fantastic four days and the team represented Tenison Woods College with pride.

Tenison Woods College has attended the competition for a number of years, with the junior girls team winning their division in 2015.

The last time this competition was held was in 2019, where the senior girls placed sixth and the junior girls team A placed third with the junior team B placing 16th.