Christchurch Winter Interclub – Women’s Division 1 FinalsThis week was the climax of the 2019 Winter Interclub round for the Division One ladies. Spirits were high as each team was hopeful to come out on top of their playoff, and there were lots of supporters around to cheer each other on! All the div one games were played at Christchurch Football this week.
Hoon Hay took the title for this 2019 winter interclub round!!! It was always going to a close one between these two rivals, with both teams having won all bar one round through the round robin - and Burnside's only defeat being against Hoon Hay. It also seemed like a bit of de ja vu, as some of the ladies playing tonight had just faced each other in their Monday night men's interclub round. Kate and Kelsi took the court first for the night. Kelsi has been on top of Kate the past couple of matches, so Kate was determined to change this, and came out firing in the first set. However, she didn't keep it up and Kelsi came back fighting. Three very close sets followed, with Kelsi coming out victorious once again 3-1. Sue and Kayti were next up. Kayti was going on following a win against Sue the previous night (and with jumping up to an A2 grade!! Congrats girl!), so both ladies were out on a mission. It was a great battle with some excellent rallies, and could have very easily gone for longer, however Kayti finished in a clean three setter. The final match of the night was between the number three ladies Judy Smith (BS) and Nadia Karati (HH). It was tit for tat with both ladies moving each other all round the court and moving well. It was a nail biter to the end, with Judy taking the match in five. HOON HAY WON 2-1.
It was a clash between clubmates for the 3/4 playoff this round and highlights just how closely matched the football teams are as they've been following each other closely on the table all round. The number one's started the night off with a bang, with a close 15-13 set. From this, Petra really came into her stride and took control of the middle of the court winning the next two sets efficiently. Next on where the number two ladies, Cheree and Ella. With both ladies having powerful length shots, they would have to switch things up slightly to have the advantage. Ella was the one to come out on top, taking the match in three. With one match a piece for the two teams, it all came down to the number threes. Molly has been improving a lot over the round, so this wasn't an easy match to predict. The first two sets were extremely close, with Molly taking the second set 18-16, however, this didn't stop Michelle. She stepped it up to take control of the next two sets, securing the win for Football 1. Final Result: Football 1 finished 3rd and Football 2 finished 4th.
First up were the number three ladies, Robyn and Liza. Liza took the first two sets, but in the third Robyn started to pick on Liza's game a little more, taking the third set 15-13. This wasn't enough to deter Liza though, as she finished the match in the fourth set. Next up were the number two seeds, Jess and Di. The first set gave a glimpse of how tight these two ladies are to one another, with Jess just taking the first set 15-13. Di came back, taking the third set, however, Jess came back on the court with her eye on the prize, taking final set to win the match for Linwood. For those keeping track, that makes the overall score all tied up! The final match of the night was between the number one ladies, Grace and Jamie. Grace continued her streak and gave a dominant performance for the last game of the round. Jamie did her best to get Grace out of the middle of the court, but could only slow her down, not stop her. Grace took the match in three finalising the win for Christchurch. Final result: Christchurch 1 finished 5th and Linwood 1 finished 6th.
The number two ladies were the first to take the courts. Yi-Lin just took the first set 18-16, but Jo answered back taking the second set 15-8. Two well fought sets followed, with Yi-Lin putting Burnside on the score board with a 3-1 win. Next up were the number one seeds, Jemma and Chwee. You could tell just how seriously Jemma was taking the match tonight as we missed hearing her normal squealing and outcries that you can normally hear throughout the whole venue! Similar to the previous match, Jemma took the first set, but Chwee came back to take the second. It was a tight battle, with the final set being a close 16-14 win for Jemma which pull off a win for Christchurch in four. Much like two of the other courts, this also put the ladies in a position of each team having one win each going into the final match of the night. Despite Heather taking the final match in three, the games were long enough to match a five setter! Fi and Heather had one of the longest sets of the round for their third set, with Heather finishing it off 23-21(and the first two sets were similarly close, but not quite so extreme)! This secured the win for Burnside 2, leaving Christchurch 2 with the "Wooden Spoon" this round. Final result: Burnside 2 finished 7th and Christchurch 2 finished 8th.
This was a really strong finish to a great winter round! Well done to all the ladies that competed throughout the round, and we look forward to seeing everyone back in a couple of weeks for the Spring round!
