Surf City women’s F Grade take away national superchamps title

Members of the Surf City Squash Club women’s F Grade team with the trophy they received for winning their tournament, held in New Plymouth, during the national superchamps week this month. The Surf City women’s F Grade team members are (from left): Aana Donnelly (coach), Jo McLean, Hannah Wallbank, Hinemairangi Pahau-Wilson, Julia Edwards, Honor Phillips, Josie Ovenden, Karli Bartlett and Nicola Bartlett (co-manager). Absent: Winsome Kennedy (co-manager). Picture by Paul Rickard

SQUASH

Surf City Squash Club achieved one championship, two runners-up spots and two top-four placings in the national superchamps week held around the country.

The women’s F Grade team won their tournament in New Plymouth, beating Geyser City Squash, of the Bay of Plenty district, 4-1 in the final.

It was the club’s first F Grade women’s title since 2010.

Team members Hinemairangi Pahau-Wilson, Josie Ovenden, Karli Bartlett, Julia Edwards, Hannah Wallbank, Jo McLean and Honor Phillips were runners-up in their pool and faced Auckland’s Eden Epsom team in the semifinal. They beat Eden Epsom convincingly, 4-1, with Wilson, Edwards, Bartlett and Wallbank recording 3-0 wins.

Later that day they played the final against Geyser City. Although the score was the same as that for their semifinal, the matches were much closer.

Team coach Aana Donnelly said it was an “epic experience” just to go away for the nationals, let alone take out the title.

“I was so proud of the girls, who all played their hearts out, and thankful for the guidance of my dad (Willie Donnelly), who is an incredible squash coach and supported the team in the lead-up and during our trip away.”

Willie Donnelly coached the men’s F Grade team — Keenan Ruru, Glacian Hyde, Deyzell Hiraka-Love, Hugo Phillips, Mana Ratahi, Dylan Wallbank and Ben Chadwick. Also competing in New Plymouth, they were out to secure the club’s third consecutive title in the men’s F Grade.

Seeded second, they held their ranking, losing 4-1 to the Auckland district’s strong Henderson team in the final to finish runners-up. The team included three junior players, whose growth during the week augured well for the future of the club.

The C Grade women’s team, playing in Timaru, also finished runners-up — a big improvement on their eighth seeding in the 10-team field.

Team members Catherine Harbott, Carol Goldsmith, Cathy Goldsmith, Casey Miller, Amy McNay, Raewyn Ross and Trudy Taukamo were coached by Daniel Newman.

“The girls had an outstanding week and gave everything they had,” Newman said.

In an “extremely tough” pool they won four from four.

One of the pool victories — a 3-2 win against defending champions Lakes Squash Rotorua — was the team’s highlight of the week.

“With the match score level at 2-2, Casey Miller played an outstanding game to fight from two match points down and win 16-14 in the fifth game,” Newman said.

“Casey played extremely well all week, going unbeaten. Catherine Harbott and Amy McNay also contributed wins in this must-win match-up. Catherine and Amy won four out of five games for the week, which was a great achievement.”

In the final, it was close all the way but the vital points went to the “extremely tough” SquashGym Palmerston North team, who beat Surf City 4-1. The Palmerston North team dropped only two matches all week.

The E Grade women’s team, who qualified only three weeks before the event, did well to finish fourth. They qualified as the district runners-up because winners Waipukurau could not attend.

Coach Awhina White pulled together Rosina Pennell, Tara Carroll, Rowena Chaffey, Stef White and Pani Mackey-Bartley at the 11th hour to form a team to go to Auckland to represent the district.

After finishing the round-robin stage runners-up in their group, the team came up against Central district qualifiers Ohakune in the semifinal. The Surf City team fought hard but fell just short with a 3-2 loss. Ohakune went on to win the event. Surf City lost the third/fourth playoff to Hamilton, 3-2.

“Given the limited preparation time for the team, this was a fantastic result,” club president Daniel Newman said.

The B Grade men’s team of John Van Velzen, Tohe Wanoa, Matt Ross, Tom Harbott, Jacque Davis, Torin Donnelly and Jereme Taylor also finished fourth.

“Coach Jarrod Carter did a fantastic job to lead this eighth-seeded team to second place in the pool,” Newman said.

“Their only loss in the group stage was to the top-seeded Mount Maunganui team.

“In the third/fourth playoff, the guys lost 5-0 to SquashGym, from the Central district.”

Newman said this was a fantastic result as in the previous four years the club had finished last in this grade.

Overall, he was “extremely happy” with the results.

“Given we had to default the district eliminations in June due to closure of the road to Napier, it’s fantastic we had the opportunity to send any teams at all,” he said.

The F Grade women qualified because they were the only Eastern district team who entered the qualification rounds in their grade, while the C Grade women beat Havelock North 4-1 in a playoff staged several weeks after the road closure. The other Surf City teams attending national tournaments were there as runners-up to Eastern district qualifiers who opted not to go to the nationals.

Newman said the club appreciated the help provided by sponsors and supporters.