Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 48

SPORT
SCOTCH'S SPORTSMEN IN ACTION DURING THE
EXTRAORDINARY 2019/20 SUMMER SEASON
BELOW: THE SCOTCH 1ST VIII ON THE PODIUM IN
FIRST PLACE AS CHAMPION SCHOOLBOY EIGHT
OF NSW. LEFT TO RIGHT: HARRISON FIELDING
(BOW), BEN STRANG (2), BENJAMIN SYMONS
(3), JAMES ISLES (4), JOSH HILL (5), LEO PRICE
(6), CHARLES PERRY (7), THOMAS LEMPRIERE
(STROKE), ARCHIE GILL (COXSWAIN).
Championships. We hoped that this year’s campaign would add to
the recent dominance of Scotch crews at the Head of the River.
Members of the swimming squad were anxious to build on their
win in the All Schools Championship. The squad broke three Scotch
swimming records, with Dominic Tsui and Toby McOmish (both of
Year 10) each involved in two of these achievements.
The diving team was again aiming for second place at the APS
finals. Although defending champions St Kevin’s had showed the
best form of all schools, Scotch looked to have its strongest squad in
recent years and was poised to perform well again. Interestingly, we
have had four consecutive second places prior to the cancellation of
this year’s event. Captain Josh Palazzo (Year 12) and Year 7 boy Max
Morley won our best senior and junior awards respectively.
Most of our other sports programs were able to proceed for most
of the season. The most successful firsts team was our tennis team.
Defending last year’s title, the team was dominant before Christmas
and continued this form into the new year.
In the game against Haileybury College to decide the
premiership, our boys started well, winning the first four doubles
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Great Scot Issue 159 – May 2020
matches. Unfortunately, as the day progressed, Haileybury closed
the gap and we went down eight sets all and by the narrowest of
margins – four games. The team finished second, with Max Potter
and Simon Tarrant (both of Year 12) excelling as team leaders.
Badminton finished third, with the team winning all fixtures except
against Haileybury and a strong Caulfield Grammar team. The
emergence of Chauncey Yu (Year 7) bodes well for the team’s future
prospects.
Cricket enjoyed a roller-coaster of a season, with every game
except one resulting in a close finish. While runs were hard to get,
we bowled and fielded exceptionally, and we were constantly in
the matches. We finished the season with four wins, four losses
and two no-result games. An exhilarating partnership of 67 runs by
our numbers nine and ten against Caulfield Grammar produced a
thrilling one-wicket victory, only to be surpassed by a one-run victory
against St Kevin’s in the final game. The consistent performances of
James and Will Townsend (Year 12 and Year 10 respectively) stood
out throughout the season.