MSA Alumni WE 090723

As the Northern summer continues, so do the great performances from our Alumni. Have a look at these great efforts:

Athletics

After nearly 6 weeks off, Celeste Mucci has come back to competition with a strong second placing at an international meet in Montgeron, 14kms outside of Paris.  Celeste ran a sub 13 sec time in the 100m Hurdles in what is her first led up race to the World Championships, held in Budapest in mid August.

Badminton

Gronya Summerville made it through to the round of 16 in the Super 500 Canadian Open in the Women’s doubles, and the round of 32 in the mixed doubles.

Meanwhile current year 10 MSA student Shrey Dhand has finished off an amazing U19 Australian National Championships with a Silver in the Boys Doubles, Bronze in the Men’s Singles and Bronze in the Team Event.

Basketball

Johnny Furphy and Sa Pilami were a part of the NBA Global Academy tournament in Atlanta, Georgia   They played for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence team which went onto win the whole event. 

AFL

Western Bulldogs v Collingwood

Rhylee West had 16 disposals, 4 tackles and 3 goal assists in the Bulldogs 12 loss to the Premiership favourites Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.

Brisbane v West Coast

Cam Rayner had 21 disposals, 6 Marks and kicked a goal in the Lions demolition of the West Coast Eagles by 81 points.

St Kilda v Melbourne

Joel Smith was subbed on late in the Demons 21point victory against the Saints.

Port Adelaide v Suns

Three MSA Alumni figured prominently in the game, including Suns Captain Touk Miller, who has made a welcomed return to football collecting 20 possessions, 1 goal and 7 marks in his sides 33 point loss to the Power.  Meanwhile teammate Rory Atkins had 26 touches, 8 marks and gained 762m for the Suns. 

For the Power, Zak Butters had 22 touches, 4 tackles and 5 clearances in another solid performance. 

Geelong v Nth Melbourne

Paul Curtis had 10 possessions and 6 tackles in Norths 62 point loss to the Cats.

Essendon v Adelaide

Peter Wright kicked 3 goals 3 behinds and took 8 marks in the Bombers 18 point victory over the Crows

Fremantle v Carlton

Jordan Boyd had 10 disposals for the Blues, meanwhile Luke Ryan had 35 disposals, 10 marks and gained 880m for the Dockers in their 47 point loss to the Blues.

Spotlight: Naomi Chinnama

Naomi Chinnama is making waves in the world of women’s football, once again being selected for the Young Matilda’s which is the Australian Women’s U20 soccer team.

Naomi finished her schooling here at Maribyrnong Sports Academy in 2020, before turning her attention on becoming a professional footballer while home schooling herself.

Naomi started playing football in the Point Cook U7 boys team where her father was coach.  Her brothers also played, and Naomi was the designated defender while her brothers were the attackers in the team. 

She joined Maribyrnong Sports Academy in 2017 in Year 7 and continued to grow as a player and a student through her junior years.  Her PE teachers all describe her as a highly motivated person who was 100% dedicated to improving herself on and off the field.  A true leader in the making.

MSA Head Coach Adrian Mazzarella says “ Naomi has always been a student of the game. Always wanting to progress, looking to constantly improve her knowledge of the game, her technique as well as her physical conditioning. She has always had a growth mindset, appreciating feedback and not afraid to make mistakes. Most importantly, Naomi remained motivated to balance her Football and academic studies, pursing excellence in both.”

Naomi is currently with the Melbourne City Women’s team and described her playing style to the Football Australia website, “I would say that I'm composed under pressure. I analyse my game to help me with my tactical awareness. I see myself as a leader and I am also physical. I would describe myself as a warrior on the field because I will fight for my team until the end.

My team is basically my second family, so I just give it everything. I also have a passion for clean sheets, so I do take it personally if someone scores against us.”

Naomi sent this message of inspiration to our current student here at MSA.

We look forward to following Naomi’s progress over the upcoming years and know that she will take every challenge head on.  Good luck in the AFC Championships Naomi.

MSA Spotlight - WE 040623

It’s a medal winning World Championship week for our MSA Alumni.  There have been some amazing performances by our past students.  Check them out here.

Taekwondo

For the first time in 18 years Australia has won a medal at the Taekwondo World Championships, and it was won by our very own Leon Sejranovic who claimed bronze in the Men’s 75kg class.  Leon is currently one of our assistant Taekwondo coaches here at MSA and was coached by Olympian and former MSA Head Coach Ryan Carneli.  Leon now has to reset his focus on competing at the Roma 2023 Grand Prix in the heavier -80kg category next week. Congratulations to Leon and Ryan for an outstanding result.

Another former MSA Student, Olympian Reba Stewart, lost 2-1 in the round of 16 in the Women’s +73kg division. 

International Football

The young Matilda’s started off their 2nd round AFC Championships qualifiers with a 5-0 victory over Lebanon.  The temperature in Vietnam was pushing 40 degrees during the match and our own Naomi Chinnama started for the Young Matilda’s and was subbed off in the 75th minute.

A-League

After 2 years of Injury worries we say congratulations to MSA Alumni Seb Pasquali who as signed a contract with Western United for the 2023/24 season.

AFL

Melbourne v Carlton

Jordan Boyd had 9 disposals and 3 tackles in Carlton’s 17 point loss to the Demons at the MCG.

Port Adelaide v Hawthorn

Zak Butters had a fantastic game for the Power with 26 disposals, 8 marks, 7 tackles and a goal in Port Adelaide’s 55 point win over the Hawks at Adelaide Oval.

Gold Coast v Adelaide

After training by 35 points the Suns rallied to take a 25 point victory in Darwin against the Crows with Rory Atkins having 17 disposals and 395 meters gained. 

Essendon v Nth Melbourne

A last minute goal by “Super Sub” Massimo D’Ambrosio helped the Bombers get over the line by 6 points in a thriller at Marvel Stadium against the Kangaroos.  Massimo had 6 possessions and 2 tackles in the game after coming on and replacing Dylan Shiel at the 3 quarter time break.