U16 Netball Regional Finals - FULL REPORT

Our U16 netball team travelled to Bournemouth at the weekend to take part in the National School Regional Netball Tournament. Thank you to all who watched live and supported the team on our Instagram page - TGGS_PE. 

The girls were representing Devon and faced some fierce competition from the start but with our formidable defence made up of Izzy Baker, Issy Mills, Sienna Mitchell and Amber Dennison they were able to prevent many goals being scored in the first 2 matches which they won, defeating Canford School 12-7, followed by a win against Ribston Hall High School 17-6. 

Next up was Redmaids' High where the team were challenged to the full, but with a strong consistent attack led by centre Evie Lewis and WA Amy Cornish, they were able to beat them 15-12. 

Our shooters, Faye Kinsella and Lily Rutland, were exceptional throughout the tournament with an approximate 98% success rate. They scored 127 goals in eight games between them. 23 of those were from their convincing win over Mounts Bay Academy who scored 8, followed by a 16-9 win against St Mary's Caine. The final game of the section was against Millfield and the team had to 'dig deep' to keep calm and strong throughout. It was a well fought match but unfortunately they lost 14-11.

Whilst this was disappointing, it did not last long because we soon learned that our TGGS team were through to the semi final. Here they met Maynard, and every member of the team played with an extremely high level of skill and accuracy, determined to win. This they did convincingly, 21 goals to 8. 

The win led them to the final where they met Redmaids' High School once again. It was the 8^th game of the day and the whole team played with every bit of energy they had left. Having beaten this team by just 3 goals earlier in the tournament it was always going to be challenging. The final score was a loss of just 2 goals (12-14).

The team was soon celebrating the fact that they hold the title of runner up of all the U16 netball teams in the Southwest of England and they have now earned their place at the National Finals on the 12th of March.!

Congratulations to Captain: Amber Dennison (WD), Issy Mills (GK), Izzy Baker (GD), Sienna Mitchell (GK / WD), Evie Lewis (C), Amy Cornish (WA), Lily Rutland (GA), Faye Kinsella (GS) and Anya Malow (res). 

We were very lucky to have parental/family supporters on the day, which helped keep the spirits high throughout and we are all very grateful to them. A huge thank you must also go to Miss Mac and Mrs Greaves for giving up their weekend to take on various essential roles and support the team.

Thank you to all the players for their exceptional play, their good sportsmanship, their great company, and their positive attitude throughout the day. I am so very proud of all of them and all they have achieved, and they should be incredibly proud of themselves.

Ms Oyo