The second half of term saw our luck change significantly, with very tough matches against Dean Close School (9‑18), Rugby School (1‑32) and Marlborough College, who were always going to be very strong opponents, (1‑42). The girls must be congratulated on maintaining such a strong fighting spirit despite those disappointing results. Training sessions were taken in good humour, yet were incredibly productive thanks to the help of Miss Betsy Willey and Mrs Rosie Pretorius. Our final game, against Bradfield College, saw the girls play their best netball of the season. I was incredibly impressed with the Yearlings’ C team’s magnanimous behaviour, enabling the Yearlings’ D squad to play half of that match so that they too got a final game of the season. The final score of a 9‑17 loss does not reflect the incredible efforts made by the C team, who actually beat Bradfield 6‑5 in the half they played. Such selfless attitude sums up the team, and every girl should be congratulated for the great improvements they made throughout the course of the term.
Miss Emily Hartley
Yearlings D
Record: played 4; won 2; lost 2; goals for 38; goals against 76; goal difference 38
Squad: Ronke Adetona (3rd, Ch), Ellen Currie (3rd, W), Victoria Edwards (3rd, Q), Sima Kheyfits (3rd, Ch), Varvara Konyaeva (3rd, W), Olivia Ladkin (3rd, Ch), Kaelan O’Toole (3rd, Ch), Regan O’Toole (3rd, Ch), Ing-Tarn Ruckpanich (3rd, Ch), Jilly Woodward (3rd, Ch) The season started with two cancelled matches – against Bromsgrove School and The Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Despite the disappointment, all of the players worked with both determination and a strong sense of team spirit to improve their matchplay. Under the excellent captainship of Victoria and Olivia, they showed tenacity in the match against Dean Close School, despite being behind in the second quarter, and went on to win the match 17‑11. That winning streak continued against St Edward’s School, Oxford, in which their newly-learnt passing skills, excellent defending, and Ellen’s shooting were the highlights. The next two fixtures, away against Rugby School and Marlborough College, proved to be too challenging and they were outclassed by stronger opponents. The team should be congratulated on their resilience and commitment to the sport. The improvement in the skill levels of individual members is to be commended as many of them had never played netball before. In many respects they have been a dream team and provided
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The Cheltonian 2014-2015
an excellent example of true sportsmanship at College.
Mrs Sarah Ramsay
Rackets After the trials and tribulations of last year’s 25th anniversary year, the College Racket Club’s season was a little more down to earth. That is not to say, however, that there were not one or two notable events and achievements. Under the leadership of Jamie Jamieson-Black (U6, H), the first pair was an ever-changing feast. Josh Dell (L6, H), Rhodri Hande (L6, S), Ollie Cookson (U6, L), George Key (U6, H), and our captain all represented College at the top level. Even as we approached the Public School Doubles Championships in March, we were not convinced that we had the correct College Pair. However, we won the lion’s share of games at that level, suffering defeats to Eton College, Harrow School, Winchester College, Tonbridge School and Clifton College. We were often in commanding positions but against the better schools we did not seem to know how to win. It did mean, however, that we were relatively strong at 2nd Pair, 3rd Pair and 4th Pair level, and that was born out with the results at Queen’s Club at the end of season. As ever, success is often monitored through one’s performance in the Public School Doubles
Championships at Queen’s Club and Josh and Rhodri, our eventual choice at College Pair, were drawn against the 2nd seeds, Wellington. We never quite showed the confidence or intensity, perhaps; despite a bright start, we went down 2‑4. Our 4th Pair (Ethan Dowling (L6, L) and George Cook (L6, Xt) failed to trouble the scorers, but both 3rd Pair, Jonothan Jamieson-Black (5th, H) and George, and 2nd Pair, Ollie and Jamie, got through to the semi-finals; the former succumbing to a very strong Eton pair, the other to Wellington – the top two seeds. Nevertheless, it was a bright end to the season for the players concerned. In Lower College, Jono and Max Dymoke (5th, NH) suffered many bitter-sweet moments. They won more than they lost, and at times they were excellent, but it seemed that all too easily they lost concentration. It was unfortunate that Max was injured for the Doubles. Lower down, Theo Taylor (4th, Xt), Sam Cook (4th, NH), Oliver Hill (4th, L) and Charlie Boyce (4th, S) all competed for a Junior Colts’ pair but never really convinced in their performances against the better pairs. There is still much promise, and victories over Malvern College, Rugby School, Charterhouse and Clifton College were good to see. Unfortunately, at Queen’s Club in March, a 2-3 defeat to Tonbridge School meant that Theo and Oliver fell at the first hurdle. Other Fourth Form pupils need to make some bigger improvements as there is an encouraging crop of Yearlings who managed to get, and use, a decent amount of court time, culminating in Oscar Butcher (3rd, H) and Ali Pearce (3rd, Xt) playing at Queen’s Club in both the