NZSS Netball Tournament profile: St Andrew’s College

The St Andrew's College Senior A netball team finished second at the recent SISS qualifying tournament for nationals.

In their 100th year, St Andrew’s College will once again feature at the NZSS Netball Championships in Rotorua in the second week of the school holidays.

St Andrew’s College have qualified for the 16-team tournament over each of the past four years, having finished 10th in 2014 and 15th in both 2015 and last year.

StAC qualified second for nationals at the recent SISS tournament, losing to Dunedin’s St Hilda’s Collegiate 38-33 in the final, after beating Dunedin’s Columba College 40-28 in their semi-final. They also won this year’s Canterbury Supernet competition.
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Some questions and answers below from team captain Samantha Molloy.

School: St Andrew’s College
Coaches: Kirsty Carline
Captain: Samantha Molloy

Team Members:
Samantha Molloy, Olivia Clark, Jess Allan, Amelia Holmes, Olivia Tutty, Amelia Sharpe, Georgia Woollett, Heitawhiri Cooper, Brianna Fidow, Kate Allan, Alice Thomson, Emily Allan.

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What’s it going to take for your school to do well in the NZSS Nationals coming up in Rotorua?
We need to get our connection working quickly and that applies to off court as well, we need to make sure that we are respecting and enjoying each other’s company off court as well.

What local competitions has your school team played in this year and how did your team go?
We have played in the Saturday Christchurch Netball competition, where we moved up a grade from Senior 1 to Premier 2 and placed 4th. We played in the Christchurch SuperNet Secondary Schools Netball Competition, which we won.  We played in the South Island Secondary Schools Netball Tournament, where we were runners-up.

Who are your school’s closest rivals on the netball court?
St Margaret’s College have always been a rival school having been strong contenders of the SuperNet Shield over the last few years.

Tell us about a couple of memorable matches your team has been involved in this year?
One of most memorable matches would have to be beating Villa Maria in the Supernet semi -final - and then also following this up at South Islands, beating them again to qualify for semi-finals and Nationals.
 
Another memorable game is the win we had over old rivals St Margaret’s College to take the SuperNet Shield. This was memorable as St Margaret’s have always been a tough side to play and this is the first year we have beaten them.

What’s the age make-up of your team?
We have five Year 13 students, so we are an old team. We have two Year 12’s, two year 11s and three Year 10’s. There is one girl playing her fourth and final nationals tournament – Olivia Clark (previously Palmerston North 2014, Ashburton 2015, Lower Hutt 2016). Jess Allen and Samantha Molloy are playing in their third and final national tournament (Ashburton 2015, Lower Hutt 2016) and Amelia Holmes, Amelia Sharpe and Olivia Tutty are playing in their second national tournament. (Lower Hutt 2016).

What’s the strength of your team?
We have a lot of fight in us and we are known for being down at half time and then fighting back, we do not give up until the game is over.

Are there individuals in your team that also play other sports?
We have a few girls that do athletics, touch, volleyball and rowing. Some play basketball competitively and socially as well.
 
Does your team have a motto or a mascot or any pre or post game rituals or preparations?
We have a school smurf as a St Andrew’s College Mascot. Our team motto/quote would be, ‘You can lead the horse to the water but you can’t make the horse drink.’ We also love it when our manager (Megan Hutton) raps to Vanilla Ice’s – Ice Ice Baby.
 
What other support has your team received to get to allow it to operate at the level it does?
Huge support from our parents, they have been amazing!   Shoe Clinic for sponsoring us with new shoes for the season. We made a video to thank them, which you can see on the Shoe Clinic Riccarton Website or this link -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e44XU6Zh7GY&feature=youtu.be -  It’s quite a laugh!  Also coaches that have done specialist sessions with us – Ana Galvin and Ronelle van Dongen.  And special shout out to our fitness sports and conditioning trainer – Todd Henderson aka ‘Toddie the Hottie.’