Outstanding matches by two Moree girls in both singles and doubles propelled the New England Girls’ School’s tennis team to second place at the oldest girls tennis competition in the southern hemisphere in Sydney last week.
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NEGS tennis team captain Felicity Taylor and state age player Kayla Wicks, both from Moree, with fellow teammates Nichola Eliott, Karla Gatenby, Katie Gordon and Adelaide Sherriff served it up to 25 city and country girls’ schools competing for the Tildesley Shield.
Only Meriden School finished ahead on the final points table.
The Tildesley Shield is the premier tennis competition of the Independent Girls’ Schools’ Sporting Association.
A knockout competition, players continue until they lose a match, with each school’s for and against ratio determining the final placings.
Kayla Wicks played singles and won her first four matches 8-1, 8-0, 8-1, 8-0 before being defeated 0-8 by Meriden’s Sonja Balic, who has played on the European circuit.
Adelaide Sherriff won her first two 8-0, 8-1 then lost her third 3-8.
In the doubles, Felicity Taylor and Karla Gatenby defeated Queenwood 8-2 then went down to Abbotsleigh 3-8, and Nichola Eliott and Katie Gordon took their first match 8-7 before losing to PLC Sydney 2-8.
Team captain Felicity Taylor, a boarder from Moree, said she was happy with the result.
“While we didn’t make as many rounds as last year, we were expecting fifth or sixth place tops, so we were all really ecstatic at the result,” she said.
NEGS was one of only two schools to get all its players through the first round.
Overall, the NEGS girls took out 72 games for and had 44 against, proportionally the second best result.
“We are only a team of six but beat teams of up to 52 proportionally, with none of the sporting scholarships or resources the big schools have, so to do as well as we did was an amazing feat,” Taylor said.
“The atmosphere at Tildesley is always incredible.
“With around 500 girls playing, all the cheering from parents and staff, including from NEGS, was just fantastic.”
In third place was PLC Sydney followed by Roseville College, Ravenswood, Pymble LC, Kincoppal Rose Bay, Abbotsleigh, Wenona, MLC, Frensham, Queenwood, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Ascham, Loretto Kirribilli, St Catherine’s, Kambala, Brigidine College St Ives, Danebank, Tara, Loreto Normanhurst, St Vincent’s, Monte Sant’ Angelo, PLC Armidale, Calrossy and Tangara.
