Under-15 netballers punch above their weight

Wairarapa punched above their weight at the North Island under-15 girls netball championships which finished in New Plymouth on Tuesday.
Coming sixth out of 24 teams in division two represented an excellent performance with coach Kelly Sargent especially impressed with their growing self belief.
"They did really well, better than most people would have expected," Sargent said.
"We always knew they had the ability to be competitive, and the more they played the more competitive they became."
Wairarapa finished second in their pool behind Eastern Waikato, a team to which they lost by just the one goal, 23 to 24.
Before that they had beaten Manganui 19-17 and Opotiki 47-14 and lost to Rotorua 30-35.
Entering the playoffs for between fifth and eighth placings Wairarapa met Hutt Valley Development, a side which had defeated them comfortably earlier in the season. This time though it was Wairarapa who emerged the winners in a thriller which saw them triumph by 21-20.
Wairarapa's final opponent was Kapi Mana and again there was big improvement from the 27-goal loss they had suffered to them a few weeks previously.
Kapi Mana won by only the 10 goals, 36-26, on this occasion.
Evie Langlands and Katarina Matapuku were the spearheads of the Wairarapa defence while shooters Bailey Pederson, Charlotte Pope and Talia Hullena also did themselves proud.