Fun in the Sun & PCNL April 17th /18th 2010
April 26, 2010
Fun in the Sun 2010
This year’s Fun in the Sun Tournament could well have been our best ever – San Diego United fielded 3 teams for the first time in our history. So firstly – Thank you to everyone who turned out in the white and black – you made this! It’s also (I believe) the first time one of our teams has won our tournament, so secondly – Congratulations to the Dolphins!!
Six teams played in the tournament, with the Stars, Silicone Valley Nettas and the Waves travelling down. The standard was very even among all teams, but we all play to win, so we have to talk about the winners! The Dolphins might have claimed to be the shortest team of the weekend, but they were very effective – Keren’s attacking skills were used to great effect and combined to some fast and slick play in the circle with Joey, who played like she’d been doing it for years. Kara, Jodie, Laura and Naomi were a forceful centre court and Lisa and Kate P provided turnover ball all day. Even the Netta’s with their height advantage couldn’t get enough ball to get a win against the Dolphins. MVP was Jodie, who throughout the weekend showed fantastic timing, vision and speed.
The Sharks had a mixed day, winning enough to place 3rd and should be proud of themselves. MVP Jet playing in her first ever competitive tournament did us proud – even if she saved her best intercept for when she was filling in for the Dolphins! Kristine showed again how much potential she has, with continuing improvement and some really classy goals. Steph led by example in the middle, with Kate D, Cath and Justine running all day long, Alison, Heather and Ants were a great defensive unit and combined their play with words of wisdom and encouragement for Jet.
The Whales might not have had success on the scoreboard, but that didn’t reflect the games they played. Against the Sharks the Whales led for much of the game, only for the Sharks to sneak the win at the end. Claire was the shooting stalwart ably assisted by Sam and Karen, in the middle David, Celia, and Gillian worked hard all day and Tanya and Barb fought for every ball. A cameo from Kerrin added to their cause but unfortunately the Whales finished in last place. MVP was Tanya, who played with so much energy all weekend.
We had a great day which was contributed to by many people. Huge thanks are due to Barb, Sharon and Sam for organizing, Tanya for providing all the tables and coolers, David for a fantastic snack stand and Lisa for once again making the raffle so good – due to everyone’s very generous donations (I’m still gutted about winning nothing!).
All of the travelling teams commented on the standard of play and San Diego on fielding 3 teams of such a high standard. I can only think of one thing that would make FITS better next year… persuading Sharon out of retirement!
PCNL
“That’s a long way to come to get burnt- eh?” – yes Kerrin, I think it was!
San Diego United were victorious in both PCNL games played this weekend. On Saturday morning, even before the tournament began we played the Silicone Valley Nettas. This team plays a very distinct, arial style of netball, but San Diego were more than up to the challenge. With changes at every quarter and all 12 squad players getting game time, nothing seemed to disrupt the flow. Defense was strong and disciplined, centre court showed speed and creativity and shooters were well timed and accurate in finishing off possession into goals. Congratulations to the whole team, a score line of 70-21 is a great start to the 2010 PCNL campaign. Squad: Keren, Claire, Kate E, Sam, Kara, Joey, Jodie, Steph, Naomi, Alison, Tanya and Barb.
On Sunday morning, with aches, blisters and bruises from Saturday fresh in everyone’s minds we took on the 2009 PCNL champions Riptide from the Waves. This was a highly anticipated game, and it began at a high tempo, both teams going goal for goal for the first few minutes. San Diego were scoring freely and toward the end of the first quarter turnovers by Kerrin, Tanya and Alison in defense let us pull away by 9 goals. This trend continued into the second quarter, with a half time lead of 12 to San Diego. Jodie and Lisa had played a great centre court combination for 2 quarters, running their socks off and providing some awesome passes into the circle. During the second half, some of the pace went out of the game, with a little of the quality. An injury to Lisa in a nasty clash led to more changes but at ¾ time we had held onto our lead. The final quarter saw lots of turnovers for both teams, but the Riptide defense was not able to stem the San Diego attack – their sometimes formidable zone defense didn’t prove a problem as our centre court now led by Sam and Kara, found a way through, with Keren still running the attack after a full tournament and 2 full games! The final whistle went after the last 15 mins of some scrappy play, some beautiful moments, a little too much backtalk, and a lot of effort, leaving San Diego victorious 56-43.
Congratulations to everyone, and particular thanks to Claire and Barb on the bench on Sunday, to Sharon for timekeeping, David for scoring, Karen for her physio skills, and to those who came out to shout and show support. Undefeated so far in 2010 – keep this going girls and lets bring the PCNL title to San Diego!
