Match Report by Elissa & Fleur
MINC Victorious in Seattle! (Technically)
Having made the cross-country journey from New York to Seattle in dribs and drabs the night before, the somewhat bleary-eyed members of MINC who had signed up to participate in the USANA National Tournament met in the lobby of the Westin and departed for what we knew would be a long (but fun!) day of netball.
There were nine teams entered into the open women's tournament (including MINC) and there was a significant mix of abilities and experience amongst those teams. The MINC team played well as a unit and had convincing wins against the two Seattle teams, as well as Victoria and Richmond. Lisa and Fleur had a great day in goals, rarely missing an opportunity to convert and frequently taking their defenders by surprise with their sneaky passes to one another. Marissa was exceptionally strong in WA, getting out for almost every center pass and also taking some spectacular intercepts on the defensive side. Elissa was solid and fast in center, connecting with her wings and goalers well. Helen and Jen switched in and out of WD and both played very tight netball, often making it impossible for the opposition to pass forward on the center pass. Kate and Jess combined in defense as if they had been playing together for years, intuitively covering for each other and holding their defensive poses extremely well.
The MINC team came up against some rather fierce competition at times, particularly in the games against Alberta and British Columbia. It was great to see all team members hold their heads up and keep playing tough in those matches - it was quite the character-building experience (as was running inside after hearing someone shoot out the tyres of a car!). We're sure that some of the girls in those teams were 8 feet tall and they were remarkably talented (including the girl with the velcro hands!). MINC also had hard-fought losses against the San Francisco and San Diego teams.
All in all, MINC came out in fifth position for the day (precisely in the middle), having won four matches and lost four matches. However, due to a rather fortunate technicality whereby not all teams that were entered into the competition were actually registered with USANA, MINC came out as the 2009 USANA National Champions! Whoop whoop! Photographs were dutifully taken with the (simply enormous) trophy and medallions were proudly worn to dinner.
A big thanks to Tess for her organizing and coaching throughout the day - we would have been a mess without her. Thanks also to Lisa for sorting out the accommodation (what a bargain for such comfortable beds!) and to Kate for booking a fabulous restaurant with a wonderful view. Also to Mike and Ed for their efforts as drink boys, cheerleaders, photographers & unofficial coaches - very inspirational (although judgment is reserved until we see the "action shots" - Mike - please be kind).
