The Southern 16-and-under girls won the national teams event in Christchurch yesterday.
In the last two rounds, the Southern girls beat both Auckland and Central 3-0 but they had to wait to see how main rival Waikato-Bays, which had beaten Southern after a final set tie-break in doubles, fared against Canterbury.
A 3-0 win would have given Waikato the title, while a 2-1 win would have meant a tie but Waikato would have taken the title, because of its earlier win over Southern. However, Canterbury, which was out of the running, beat Waikato 2-1, which meant Southern finished three points clear.
Beth Williamson scrambled a 7-6 third set tiebreak win over Alex Howe to keep the tie alive, then the Canterbury pair won a tense final doubles match 6-4, 6-3. The Southern team members were Libby Scott (Dunedin), Louise Oxnevad (Queenstown) and Sian English (Dunedin).
English played only the final doubles.
Scott earlier won the individual singles title, while Oxnevad won the consolation singles and the pair won the consolation doubles.
The new format of only two singles and one double helped Southern overcome its lack of depth, which been a problem at this level in the past.
Meanwhile, the Southern boys team completed a dismal series, losing 3-0 to both Central and Northern to leave without a single rubber.
In the 12-and-under girls competition in Hamilton, Southern beat Auckland 3-0 in the final round, but came fifth overall after two countback losses in earlier rounds.
The boys team came fourth, notching wins against Waikato and Northern but losing their other three ties.
