Academy Athletes lead NSW to Victory

Written on the 18 March 2015 by SWSAS

The South West Sydney Academy of Sport has had a fantastic run with 18 past and present softball athletes represent NSW at the National Softball Championships held in Canberra and Blacktown during January.

10 current Academy athletes lead the charge at the Under 17s Championships held in Canberra in February, leading NSW to victory in both the Male and Female categories.

The NSW U17 Boys put in a flawless display, winning 5 out of 6 round games. A strong pitching performance from Chris Gillies kept Western Australia to only five hits and helped secure the 8-5 Championship win for NSW. Chris Gillies was rewarded for his performance by being named the tournaments 'Best Pitcher' and the 'Player of the Finals'. Academy athlete Logan Campbell also took home the tournaments 'Best Batter' award.

The NSW U17 Girls team also delivered an outstanding performance winning 10 out of 11 round games.  An outstanding performance from Academy athletes Gabrielle Plain and Maddison Smith in the final, saw NSW take out the final game 8-1 against Queensland. Academy athlete Gabrielle Plain was named the female 'Best Pitcher' and 'Most Valuable Player' and was selected to represent Australia in the Under 19s World Championships to be held in Oklahoma City, USA in August.

In the U19's men's competition, NSW and ACT proved to be the best two teams across the event, and rightfully made it through to the grand final. This was a contest that promised plenty and in the end NSW came out too strong with a 8-0 win. Former Academy athlete Luke Ollerenshaw took home the 'Best Pitcher' award for the tournament. The victory capped a very successful month for NSW with such great success at the U17s and U19s level.

Academy executive director Gerry Knights speaking on behalf of the Academy's Softball coaching and support staff said, the Academy was most proud of its participating athletes' who all featured prominently in their various championships. And, our congratulations go to Robbie Moore, Logan Campbell, Chris Gillies, Estacio Zaynth, Blake Jackson, Henry Groth, Blake Bell, Maclaine Lowe, Issac Mcdonald, Luke Ollerenshaw, Kaide Risby, Matthew Roberts-Osborne, Izack Rossi, Tai Whaanga, Gabrielle Plain and Maddison Smith.