Pink Round
In support of Australians affected by breast cancer, Mercedes College joined SAAS and SACSSGSA to raise awareness for the Pink Round across all sports in Week 8 (22 to 25 June 2022).

Our teams were provided with pink ribbons to wear in their hair and were encouraged to wear as much pink as they could in a way that positively represented the school and it was great to see so many players, coaches and parents supporting the initiative.

The Pink Round aims to generate discussion around breast screening and show support for the 20,000+ women and men diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia every year.

Open Girls Netball Knockout Report
In late May the Open A Netball team travelled to St Michael’s to compete in the first round of the SA School Knockout Competition. Mercedes College has, in the past, been well regarded in this competition and even won the grand final in 2018, but in recent years we have struggled to regain this title. The Open As team was therefore eager to return to the finals day and begin a new legacy of excellence within the Mercedes College netball community.

Game 1 vs Cedar College | Cedar proved to be a fast opposition, posing a challenge for our defenders to slow down their ball movement. As the girls began to take control of the tempo of the game, they also took a convincing lead by the end of the first quarter. From there the task was to maintain and build on this lead, particularly as it was likely that the day's results would come down to percentage. Mia Tuhou-King provided composure within the goal circle demonstrating excellent accuracy, proving herself to be a pivotal element in what became a convincing win.

Game 2 vs St Michaels | The girls entered game 2 with confidence following their win and, with only 30 minutes recovery, were able to come together to play four great quarters. St Michaels had a strong defence that made it difficult to transition down the court, leading to their six-goal victory. Despite the result, our defensive pressure worked tirelessly to break down their attack line. Special recognition goes to Laura Spicer, who was our last line of defence in GK and provided relentless defensive effort to consistently turn ball and allow opportunities to score goals. The girls left everything out on the court and we look forward to facing this team in our Saturday morning competition.

Game 3 vs Westminster | Our final match was undoubtedly the most challenging game of the day. Westminster is one of the most regarded school teams in the state, and our girls faced them with the pressure of added fatigue of prior games. Our opposition cemented their position on the scoreboard early, however our girls adapted to their challenging defence and at times were a match for the Westminster team. Emerson McDougall proved to be an asset with her agility, ball handling and decision making. I commend her tenacity and her willingness to maintain her best netball despite the score.

Westminster ultimately took out the game however, it was a privilege to watch the girls develop their skills and connections both on and off the court. While we were unsuccessful in progressing to the next round of knockout, I am immensely proud of the girls hard work and resilience. As a team we look forward to refocusing on our Saturday morning competition and hopefully continuing to find success in our so far undefeated season.

Jessie Grenvold
Open A Coach

Open Girls Football Knockout Report
Our Open Girls Football team were faced with a cold and windy day for their SA School Knockout Competition at Blackwood High School. With a number of team members graduating last year, the team had a fresh look about it with several girls making their debut.

Game 1 vs Henley High School | Henley proved to be too strong, playing a level above in both skills and work rate. Our team showed plenty of heart against the stronger opposition, with plenty of players having some really important moments throughout the game. The midfield trio of Maddie Box, Violet Patterson and Sophia McArthur were outstanding, winning plenty of contested football and getting forward momentum. Millie McCarthy was dominant in the air and stopped many Henley attacks and, in her debut game, Emma Fox played fantastically and built her confidence as the day went on. Our captain Grace Kemish played her typical physical game and provided plenty of rebound from the backline in what ended as a six-goal loss.

Game 2 vs Blackwood High School | The girls had a point to prove in their second game and from the opening bounce played with a great balance of hardness and skill. The girls played a fantastic team-first brand of football, winning by six goals with plenty of special moments throughout. Clementine Miller played her best game for the school, with a dominant performance in the ruck, along with Phoebe Holliday who stood out in the forward line. Phoebe was well supported by the talented duo of Coco Taylor and Zara Downes, who were dangerous all game and finished with some classy goals. Ava Barton and Paris Young were everywhere around the ground and had plenty of attacking plays with the football in hand. Lily Braddy and Sophie Kennedy were excellent in the backline with their dour defence and intercepts being the highlights of their individual games.

Despite not progressing in the Knockout Competition, our team took away many positives from the experience, with plenty of confidence now instilled in the younger girls who had their first taste of senior football. We now turn our attention to Intercol where we are aiming for a fourth consecutive victory against our archrivals St Ignatius.

Go the Camels!

Logan Hill
Coach

Student Achievements
Congratulations to Laura Fitzgerald (Year 10) who competed in the Australia Diving Open Championships – Commonwealth Games Trials in Melbourne on 3 June. It was Laura’s first Open level competition where she was competing against the best in the business, including recent Olympians, in the 3m springboard event. Laura came 14th overall and only missed the final (top 12) by 5 points. This means that Laura is in the top 14 divers in Australia! Well done Laura on qualifying to compete at the event, you should be extremely proud of yourself; we certainly are.

We also applaud the success of Yeon Sue Choi (Year 8) who competed last month for SA for the 2022 Australian Judo National Championsip. Yeon Sue's Gold Medal for Under 44kg Senior Girls makes her the Australian Judo Champion. Congratulations on an incredible achievement Yeon Sue!

Grace Morton (Year 8) has been selected to represent School Sport SA at the forthcoming School Sport Australia 13 to 19 years swimming championships. The championship will be held in Brisbane in August 2022. Congratulations and good luck Grace!

Finally, catch up on all of the girls' results from across the Sports Desk for Term 2 here.

Tamae Ninos
Secondary Girls Sport Coordinator

If your daughter, or someone you know in the Mercedes Community, has achieved highly in her chosen sport/activity please contact me via email or phone. Include as much detail as possible and include a photo if you can. The Mercedes Community would love to hear about it.