18 November 2016 | Tennis Queensland

Brisbane Boys College came a nail-biting second place at the National Schools Teams Challenge held in Albury this week.

In a heart breaking grand final loss to Maribyrnong College, it all came down to the final doubles match.

Played at Albury, 24 teams were competing for a place in the World Schools Championships to be played in Brazil.

Here’s a wrap of how Brisbane Boys College progressed through the tough draw, according to the school’s Director of Tennis, Chris Rolph.

“The Brisbane Boys College team consisted of Casey Edwards, Ryan Hayes, Colby Norman, Bryn Nahrung, Finn Macnamara and Dane Sweeny. The team won all 6 matches to finish on top of their pool, setting up a semi-final against Prince Alfred College from South Australia.

In the semi- final, BBC won 3 of their 4 singles ties, and the first set in both doubles matches to make the final.

The final was played against Maribyrnong College (Sports Academy) based in Victoria. The BBC singles line up had to be changed slightly following an injury to Bryn Nahrung. The boys were in trouble early, with Casey Edwards and Colby Norman losing. Dane Sweeny, who played at number 1, was against the top  ranked U/16 player in Australia, and following a high quality match, Dane won 6-3, 6-4. Finn Macnamara was 7/6 3/2 down and fought back to win in the third, levelling the match at 2-2. BBC had to win both doubles to win the title and represent Australia in Brazil in 2017.

The pairs of Sweeny/Nahrung and Norman/Edwards won the first set on both courts. After Sweeny/Nahrung won their match, the title came down to the last doubles rubber, which went to a third set tiebreaker, which BBC lost 10-6.

To finish second at a National Championship is a great effort. The staff were very proud of the boys and the way they conducted themselves,” said Chris Rolph, Director of Tennis at Brisbane Boys College.

Thanks to manager Paul Setch  for all his help. Thanks ask well to the coaches, Andrew Rolph and Ben Mitchell,  who did a great job with the team and all other coaches who have worked tirelessly this year in the tennis program.”