On Wednesday 7 November, Team BTC Netball travelled to the Plymouth Marjon University University to play in the AoC Sport Regional Championships. Having had a good start in league matches, Team BTC were confident that they could do well at this competition but were also eager to take on teams from higher divisions, to push and develop their play.

Team BTC’s first group match was against Weston College. Great attacking movement from Georgina Goodwin (C) and Hannah Stephens (WA) saw them dominate the attacking end, resulting in some great feeds into the attacking circle. Sophie Bond (GS) and Katie Harris (GA) worked exceptionally well together, ensuring they converted all shooting opportunities. Team BTC went on to win the game by 2 goals.

The second group game was against South Devon College. Team BTC got off to a strong start and great movement from Tilly Milburn (GA) saw them start to pull away. South Devon applied defensive pressure throughout the court, but Team BTC were too strong and went on to win the game.

The last group game was against a strong Truro College side, meaning Team BTC had to pull out a strong performance to win the group. Great determination and effort saw the team play to a great standard, with Olivia Handle (GK) and Emily Rossiter (GD) making countless turnovers. Unfortunately the Truro defence were too strong on the day, and took the victory.

These results saw Team BTC finish second in their group, meaning that they qualified for the semi-finals. They faced Exeter College, winners of the other group, so knew they would have to pull their best performance in order to reach the final. Team BTC tried their best to apply pressure to a confident Exeter side, with effective marking from Katie Bailiss and Jess Bull making important turnovers. However, Exeter were just too strong and went to win the final also.

Players’ player of the tournament: Emily Rossiter

Coach’s player of the tournament: Tilly Milburn and Hannah Stephens