Weekend Wrap, May 27-29

Hockey

Five NSWIS hockey players have been named in the Australian Kookaburras team for the Champions Trophy in June, including: Tom Craig, Matthew Dawson, Blake Govers, Simon Orchard and Tristan White. 

The Kookaburras will look to continue their run of good form that saw them recently seal a series win against Great Britain in Perth. 

Of the five NSWIS players selected, Govers starred in game two against Great Britain to score three of Australia’s four goals, while both he and Orchard scored in Australia’s final game. 

You can read more about the Kookaburra’s test series win against Great Britain HERE. 

ANZ Championship

The NSW Swifts have produced an edge of your seat performance to defeat the Queensland Firebirds, snapping the Firebirds’ 21-game winning streak in front of a record crowd in Sydney. 

Despite losing captain Kimberlee Green to injury before the first centre pass, the Swifts went on to produce a strong second half performance that put them ahead following a 22-26 deficit at half time. 

Susan Pettit led the team with outstanding form under the post, while Laura Langman, Paige Hadley and Abbey McCulloch were a force to be reckoned with in the midcourt.  Hadley was inevitably named most valuable player of the game courtesy of her third quarter where she produced key turnovers for the team. 

Swifts head coach Rob Wright was pleased his side was able to turn around a 10-goal loss to the Firebirds in round five and claim the top step on the league ladder. 

“We were good today, but later in the year we’ll need to find a little bit more,” Wright said. 

“We think the Firebirds work so well as a unit and we felt that more movement was needed in the first and second quarters.

“I always think you’re a chance if there’s only four in it. We threw some ball away because of their (the Firebirds’) really good defensive pressure in the first half, but I felt if we could just tidy that up then we’d be back in it… and we did, which was nice to see.”

The Swifts now enjoy a week off with a bye next weekend and will return to the course at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on June 11. 

Water Polo

The Australian women’s water polo team, the Aussie Stingers, have stolen a 5-4 victory against the USA in the final game of their best of three test series, which concluded at Beckman High School, California. 

With nine NSWIS athletes on tour with the team, it was Sydney’s Nicola Zagame who stood up to put the ball in the back of the cage in an extra man play with just 49 seconds left on the clock. 

After being beaten 14-11 and 11-5 in the opening two games against the USA, this result will give the Stingers confidence ahead of the World League Super Finals in China next month – the last chance for players to impress for Rio selection. 

Canoe Sprint World Cup

NSWIS paddler Lachlan Tame has partnered with Ken Wallace to win a silver medal in the men’s K2 1000 at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in the Czech Republic. 

The result marked a sharp turnaround in form for the duo, after only last week recording their worst international result when they had to settle for the C Final in Duisburg, Germany. 

The race was won by German duo Marcus Gross and Max Rendschmidt, who had changed their race tactics on the fly to begin their run for victory art the half way point, which Tame said surprised he and Wallace. 

“They did [surprise us], and that hurt us, they hurt us bad,” Tame said. 

Fellow NSWIS paddler Riley Fitzsimmons as well as Jacob Clear, Jordan Wood and Wallace then added a silver in the men’s K4 1000m behind a strong German team. 

Meanwhile the recently Rio qualified Naomi Flood placed fifth in the B Final of the K1 500m race. 

Rowing 

A trio of NSWIS rowers has helped the Australian Rowing Team open their medal tally for the international season on the final day of the World Rowing Cup 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland. 

Leading the charge was NSWIS athlete Cameron Girdlestone in Australia’s Men’s Quadruple Sculls as he joined with Karsten Fosterling, Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff and James McRae to sew up the gold medal, won when the Aussies broke free of Great Britain at the 1500m mark. 

Meanwhile the Men’s Four had a late change to include NSWIS rower Josh Hicks in the stroke seat to sub for the ill Alex Hill. Hicks combined with Josh Booth, Josh Dunkley Smith and Will Lockwood to be leading early. 

However with just two metres to go, Dunkley-Smith caught a crab, which handed the British victory after the two teams had been going stroke for stroke. 

Also tasting medal success was NSWIS rower Genevieve Horton in the double sculls alongside Sally Kehoe, the pair also going home with a silver medal. Only a resurgent Lithuanian duo denied the Aussies gold.