The Gunnedah-based St Xavier’s Primary School tennis team placed third at last week’s Todd Woodbridge Cup event at Sydney Olympic Park.
The eight pupils from St Xavier’s competed in the Stage 2 division comprising year 3 and 4 students, while schools came from all over New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory for the event.
Each pool had a team from Metro Sydney, Northern, Central, Southern NSW and ACT, while all fixtures were of the doubles format.
Boys played against boys while girls played against girls, before there were mixed pairs contests.
Round-robin matches were followed by knock-out semi-finals and a grand final, with St Xavier’s winning all of its pool matches before going down five games to three against St Joseph’s in a semi-final which featured some one-point margins.
St Xavier’s achieved its third placing after winning five games to three against Kincoppal Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart, with Kangaroo Valley Public School finishing first while second was reigning titleholder St Joseph’s Laurieton.
Most of the St Xavier’s competitors had at least one parent in attendance, while Georgina Nichols was the team manager. Preparation included training sessions with Gunnedah-based tennis coach and Louis Tennis Academy owner Craig Louis.
St Xavier’s sport coordinator Jessica Stevenson said the St Xavier’s students “played brilliantly and were equally fantastic”, while Frank Plevey received the Sportsmanship Award which reflected the positive attitude shown by the whole team.
“It is an amazing achievement to finish third at the Todd Woodbridge Cup, taking on some of the best tennis players from around the state,” she said.
“We have placed at Todd Woodbridge before, but not for seven or eight years.
“St Xavier’s is very proud of the Todd Woodbridge team.
“They are to be congratulated for their impressive performances and their outstanding display of sportsmanship at the event.”
