ST CATHERINE’S Prep registered a narrow 3-2 win over Our Lady of the Angels Prep to capture the 2014 Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association (JISA) Preparatory Schoolgirls Opening Netball Rally title at the Leila Robinson Courts yesterday.

Valerie Blake, coach of St Catherine aggregation, said her girls put in “a lot of hard work” and deserved winners.

“Before we actually thinking about winning the League, the team will have to qualify for the second round and see where it goes from then onwards, but we think the players came pull it off in the long run,” she added.

Last year, St Catherine was beaten in the League semi-final and had to play-off for third place, a match they lost.

In the third- and fourth-place playoff, Wolmer’s beat Emmanuel Christian Academy 3-1.

In the semi-finals, St Catherine crushed came out 3-2 winners over Emmanuel Christian Academy, while Our Lady of he Angels defeated Wolmer’s Prep 4-2.

The preliminary round saw Wolmer’s topping Zone One with maximum 15 points from five matches ahead of Vaz, who finished with 12 points.

St Catherine won Zone Two with 15 points from five wins with Hydel second on goal difference over Ardenne as they both ended with eight points each.

Our Lady of the Angels won Zone Three with maximum 15 points ahead of Quest with 12 points, while Emmanuel Christian Academy won Zone Four with 15 points from five games ahead of Sacred Heart Christian Academy who finished with 12 points.

Meanwhile, the preliminary rounds of the League competition are scheduled to begin on Thursday with 24 teams participating. Defending champions Our Lady of the Angels lifted the title by defeating Quest in the final last year.

Prior to the Rally competition, various sponsors’s representatives brought greetings and hoped for a very exciting and competitive league season and wished all the teams luck.

— Gerald Reid