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…but youngsters are snapping at their heels

Thursday 5 May 2016

WEB U16 and U19 celebrate with coaches

GSAL netball players are celebrating a sporting first, winning two titles at the England Netball national schools competition.

The teams, who are supported by Michael Lewin Solicitors which is headed up by Abbie Keech(OG95), are following a well-established tradition of netballing success at GSAL.

The double victory, by the U16 and U19 teams, came just a week after the U19s had claimed another national championship, the Independent Schools Netball Cup, to complete GSAL’s treble of national titles at the end of the season.

Just three schools, including GSAL, had a team in all three age groups at the England Netball national schools finals, held at Roedean School in Brighton. The country’s top 18 teams in each age category, U14, U16 and U19, initially played out the group stages in a bid to reach the semi-finals.

GSAL’s U16 and U19 teams came through their groups unbeaten with some convincing wins. The U14s, playing in their first national finals, missed out on the semi-final by just one goal.

The U16s had a comfortable win against Aylesbury High in the semi-final, to meet Oldham Hulme in the final. In their group match against Oldham they had achieved a remarkable comeback from 8-3 down at half-time to win 12-9, so they knew they faced a tough final. However they held their nerve for a 10-4 win, taking the title and the trophy for the most goals scored in the whole tournament – a huge 116 goals in the group stages alone.

The U19 team came through two close-fought matches in the knockout stages, winning their semi against Fallibroome Academy 12-9 and edging to a 10-9 win against Beaconsfield High in the final. They won the national title and the defence trophy for conceding the lowest number of goals in the tournament.

Cath Johnson, head of netball at GSAL, said: “The girls at the national finals were complimented by a number of umpires and other coaches for their excellent play and positive attitude. Thank you to all staff and pupils – this has been a fantastic end to a great season.”

Photo by Adam Scott

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