St Hilda's beat Westlake Girls' 4-2 yesterday to finish third in the national secondary schools finals in Albany.
Earlier, St Hilda's had qualified top in its group after beating Nga Tawa College and Palmerston North Girls' High 6-0 and beating second seed Westlake in round robin play.
However, in the crossover semifinals, the Dunedin school was beaten 4-2 by St Peter's (Waikato).
No 1 Libby Scott had an excellent tournament, losing only to Heidi Stewart (St Peter's), but this loss left her less experienced team-mates too much to do in the lower order.
Scott and Georgia Hume went through unbeaten in doubles and Hume was outstanding in winning all her singles at No 2.
Jessie Stevenson, Kate Ellison and Lucy Kitchen, in the lower order, provided strong backup in the round robin phase, but found it hard against players from the much larger girls' schools.
For Scott to win nine from 10 and Hume to be unbeaten reflects their dedication and fighting spirit.
Hume is available for several more years, while Scott is likely to move offshore to further her career.
