Maribyrnong Sports Academy has once again risen to the top of the Australian Schools tennis world by winning the boys division of the National Competition in Albury, while our girls team finished in 8th.
Starting with the girls, while their official place was 8th on the standings it is not indicative of the closeness of the competition over the week. On the first day our girls lost by a set to the team that went on to be runner up in the tournament. Super tie breakers had to be used to decide the winner of the girls second match on the afternoon of day 1. Unfortunately, the super tie breakers didn’t go our way.
On the third day MSA lost by one solitary game to the team that would eventually go on to finished third in the tournament. MSA Head Tennis coach Marc Souphlis says he is so proud of the girls and their efforts. “Our girls’ team can really hold their heads high after playing some amazing tennis and pushing very capable teams right to the limit. The work ethic they showed, and their determination will take them even further in the tournament next time around”
It was the first time the boys’ team had won the tournament since 2016. The boys went through the week undefeated which is an amazing effort but by no means did they have it their own way for the week. The effort put in by the team in the Semi final and Final was amazing. The Semi Final on Tuesday afternoon was really close, and the final went down to the doubles.
Early in the tournament the players had to overcome cramping and fatigue due to heat and humidity and having played 2 rounds in the same day. Recovery sessions were being held before the day’s play at 6am and after the days play at 7pm.
The final game of the tournament was played against Applecross High School in Perth. While our students are used to playing on the hard courts, this tournament was played on grass and due to the facilities available to Applecross back home it was expected they would have a large advantage.
Team captain Filip Sormaz lead the way for the Marby boys while Bridget Mihulka was the captain for the girls. Both were inspirational for their team winning big matches and staying engaged and supporting the team when it was needed.
Coach Marc Souphlis praised the effort of everyone involved “All in all this was an amazing week. I am so grateful to the many staff that came up and supported both teams and the parents that also made the journey to Albury. As a school I feel we represented so well. We have around a tenth of the budget of most tennis schools out there, and for us to compete at that level is an amazing feat.”
“Without the support of all the strength and conditioning staff, our dietitian, sports psychologists, PE teachers, coaches, parents, and athletes we would not have achieved the outcome we finished with. The trophy we won was won over a 3 year period including all the work that the students did through the covid period.”