On a winning streak: Ōtūmoetai College squash teams boast successful month

Ōtūmoetai College squash players Grace Spencer, Mia Bowles, Kayla Bowles, Hope Kennerley, Gen Kennerley and Erin Wyllie. Photo / Emma Houpt

Squash players at Ōtūmoetai College are on a winning streak - taking home gold at a national and an offshore tournament within the same month.

The six students - varying in age from years 9 to 11, took first place at the New Zealand Secondary School Teams Championships held in early August.

It was the second year in a row the school's team had picked up the national title.

Year 13 student Kayla Bowles said the team was seeded to win so they were "feeling a bit of pressure" when the competition started.

She said they tried to "train as much as possible" in the lead-up, but on the day won within their first three games of the finals against Takapuna Grammar.

"We were so nervous," she said.

"Then we won after the first three games - so there was no pressure on the last two people to play."

Year 11 student Erin Wyllie said there were "so many people watching and yelling" but she was just trying to stay calm.

"It felt good that I didn't have to put pressure on the last two players."

Three of the players - Gen Kennerley, Grace Spencer and Erin Wyllie - then went on to win the transtasman tournament later that month, representing the junior national squad, going head-to-head with students from across Australia.

The trio played in Queensland alongside two other students from Takapuna Grammar and Marlborough Girls' College.

Wyllie, who started playing squash at the age of seven, said it felt "quite crazy" to be representing New Zealand overseas.

"It almost didn't feel like it was real," she said.

Mia Bowles said winning an offshore tournament "felt pretty amazing".

The team, who train between four to six times a week, all agreed they "put in a lot of time" and had made sacrifices when it came to their social lives to reach their level of success.

They also felt the school attracted top squash players, with Kayla saying the team's success would not waiver in the coming years.

"I am the only one leaving one next year - and the team is going to be the same for the next two years. So there are going to be some pretty good players for quite a while."