Tara Murray
Two rising squash stars made the most of the opportunity to represent their country at the 2022 Trans Tasman Test Series.
Hillside’s Joanne Joseph and Melton’s Tina Ma were part of the Australian team that took on New Zealand in late December, with the Australian team coming home with the win.
For Joseph, it was the chance to finally represent Australia after being selected two years ago, but not being able to play due to COVID-19.
Ma was selected to play in the under-15 age group, despite just being 12.
Joseph, who started playing squash after watching her father play, said she was thrilled to finally get to play for Australia.
“I felt very grateful for being able to represent my country in the first Trans Tasman in the past two years,” she said.
“It was an amazing experience and I was so happy to be selected as I was chosen for the Trans Tasman team in 2020 but unfortunately the event got cancelled due to COVID and I never got my chance to play for my country.
“Being in the 2022 Trans Tasman team and contributing to our win against New Zealand was such a significant moment for me and I will work hard to get into the next one.
It was a successful tournament for Joseph, being both of New Zealand’s top players in the under-17 age group.
She said she took a lot out of the event.
“I am very proud of myself that I was able to contribute to our success even though it was my first tournament playing in under-17s,” she said..
“I feel that one of the biggest things I will take away from this is the fact that all my hard work and training leading up to representing my country paid off and I was able to beat two New Zealand girls.
“I will definitely work harder now to improve my game and strive to be selected for the national team once again. “
For Ma, representing Australia caps off a big 12 months. She said it was an honour to represent Australia.
“I never would’ve thought I would be wearing the green and gold top to represent my country when I was 12,” she said.
“I felt very accomplished that all the hard work and training I was doing got me somewhere I dreamed of when I first started this sport.”
Ma faced some big challenges in the titles, facing New Zealand’s top two players in the under-15s.
Ma said it was something different for her.
“Even though I lost both my matches, I played my best and had nothing to lose, but I still felt like I had a lot to work on and adapt to their style of playing.
“Overall, I was fairly pleased with how I played in the Trans Tasman.”
Ma said she was keen to represent Australia again this year and would train hard to make that happen again.
For both girls, who are part of the Squash Logic Melton’s Oz squad program, the next focus is the Australian Junior Open
“My coaches have created a new training plan for me, so I’ll do my best playing in the under-15 girls for the next upcoming tournament, the Australian Junior Open,” Ma said.
Joseph said, “ I look forward to playing in under-17s and trying hard to reach a podium place. “Although it is my first year playing under-17s, I am going to go into the tournament with a goal to reach the finals.”
