NZ Junior Championships 2018With no rest for the wicked, the Canterbury Junior teams headed straight into teams’ event only a few hours after completion of individuals. Both Canterbury teams headed into the event as 4th seeds.
The girls played 5th seeds BOP first round and drew 2-2 but were unlucky to come out second best in the count back of games. The boys started off well beating 5th seeds Central 3-1 in matches.
After a bye 2nd round for both teams, the following evening presented oppositions of 9th seeds Central for the girls and Midlands for the Boys. The girls had a tough battle, which eventuated in an upset loss of 3/1. The boys fought hard against an evenly matched 9th seeded Midlands team and came out on top again 3/1.
The next matches were against 8th seeds, Wellington for the girls and 8th seeds Waikato for the boys. The girls played really well and won on count back of games after a 2-2 match draw. The boys gave it their best shot but were unfortunate to be defeated by Waikato 3-1 in matches.
The final round found our teams both playing top seeds, Waikato for the girls and Auckland for the boys. Both teams fought hard but were unable to seal a match. Matthias came close to taking a match for the boys winning two games but going down in the fifth set.
After a review of close results of the pool matches, this found the girls tied in matches for 3/4/5 in their pool but one game less than Wellington and Central, resulting in a final position of 9th overall with no further match to play. Unfortunately, this result didn't truly represent the closeness of the teams and they should be very proud of the effort and hard work they gave the competition.
The boys came 3rd in their pool and went into finals day playing off for 5th and 6th. The boys played Northland with a solid win of 3-1 in matches to come out 5th overall.
The players should be very proud of their efforts; they were competitive and showed great sportsmanship throughout the week. Next year Canterbury will have a number of the young talented players back again, which we all look forward to seeing them grow in this wonderful sport.
We would like to say a massive thank you to the Junior Team Managers, Richard Aitken and Bronwyn Knutson and the Junior Team Coach Adam Ordering, for giving up their time and for their amazing effort.
Boys’ Team: Caelum Betteridge (HH), Henry Aitken (WA), Paul Moran (MS), Henry Moran (MS), & Matthias Paltridge (HH)
Manager: Richard Aitken
Girls’ Team: Ruby Turnbull (CF), Amelia Wadsworth (MC), Leonie Marshall (MS), Ella Knutson (CF), & Petra Curd-McCullough (CF)
Manager: Bronwyn Knutson
Coach: Adam Odering
Watch Charlie Barker, Convenor of the Junior Selectors announce the 2018 team
