Tennis Results Best in School's History

HBHS is emerging as a national contender in the Secondary Schools' Tennis Championships.  The code has enjoyed a renaissance under the care of Mr Erceg, who recently organised the Super 8 Tennis Competition on the school grounds.

The 2012 National Secondary School Tennis finals were held at the Albany Tennis Centre in late March.  It was a momentous occassion for Hamilton Boys' High School to qualify for this competition as the top Waikato tennis school.  The top five players in the school, comprising of Luke Hamilton, Scott Johnson, Jake McCartney, Liam Whittaker and myself, competed against the top eight schools in the country.

Pool play begain with a class against eventual runners-up, Auckland Grammar, where we were defeated 5 - 1.  A tough third-seeded Christchurch Boys' High School were also too strong for us and were the victors, 4 - 2.  In our final pool play match, we were able to overcome a strong New Plymouth Boys' High School with an outstanding display, 4 - 2. 

Our third place finish in pool play situated us in the 5 - 8th place playoffs. We followed on from the victory against New Plymouth to produce a very convincing 5 - 1 win against Wellington College, after taking a 4 - 0 lead as a result of the singles' competition.  Our final match of the tournament was the playoff for fifth place against John McGlashan College in Dunedin.  After singles, the scores were locked at 2 - 2, but with sound doubles' performances, we were able to secure the win, 4 - 2.

Overall, we placed a creditable fifth in New Zealand, bettering our seventh place last year, and ending the term with the best results we have had in the code throughout the school's history.

I would like to thank Mr Erceg for his significant contribution to the success of the event.  His guidance and support have been hugely appreciated by all of us.

M Sheedy

Captain of Tennis