Women’s squash teams enjoy stellar season
Club buzzing after winning two interclub and a superchampions title
Te Awamutu Squash Club is abuzz after an increased growth in competitive squash has ensured the women’s teams continue to thrive in both interclub and district competitions.
Following some big wins at the end of last year, three of the five Te Awamutu women’s teams earned finals spots in this year’s round of interclub competition.
The women’s B and C teams triumphed against some strong competition to win divisions four and five of the Winter Interclub Pennant.
The B team boasted a significant lead going into the play-offs after dropping only two matches throughout the 14 week season.
They faced a formidable Te Aroha team in their semi-finals match-up, winning by nine games to seven.
Determined not to slip at the last hurdle, the women’s B team finished their final in style dominating a weakend Hamilton team, winning three of only four matches contested due to Hamilton only being able to field three players after the late withdrawal of a team member through illness.
The road to the top was not as straight-forward for the women’s C team that lost to the third qualifier in the final round of competition.
But with cool heads and big comebacks they took out Lugton Park nine games to seven in the semi-final. The win secured a trip to Taumarunui to face the competition leaders who had dominated in previous encounters over the season. Te Awamutu rallied to finish strongly, winning 10 games to nine in a nail-biting final.
In addition to their strong performances in the Waikato Interclub competitions, several club members competed in the men’s B, women’s C and D grade divisions of the District Superchampions Teams Event for a second year running.
This annual competition gives clubs the opportunity to compete for strongest club in the district for each grade.
Te Awamutu women’s C team showed fantastic form in their matches to earn the right to contest the National Superchampions in Hawkes’ Bay later this month.
The men’s B and women’s D teams finished runners-up in their divisions, both falling one match short in some tense match-ups against Cambridge and Lugton Park respectively.
Members of both the women’s C and D grade teams were coached by Cliff Nightingale and Scott Hill in preparation for the competition.
Their ongoing commitment to mentoring and training has contributed significantly to the success story of Te Awamutu women’s squash.
The women’s A, men’s D and E teams all finished runners-up in their division finals of the Winter Pennant. The men’s B and C teams made it through to the semi-final of competition play.