31 January 2004 'Indian Summer' for Lincoln Sports Scholars

Going from the testing atmosphere of the exam room straight into the cauldron of international cricket in India left no time for any end-of-study relaxation for Lincoln University students Maria Fahey, Amanda Green, Sara McGlashan, Aimee Mason and Louise Milliken.

Together with recent Lincoln commerce and management graduate Kate Pulford, the quintet quickly swapped campus life for places in the New Zealand Women's Cricket Team, the White Ferns, and a month-long, six-match tour of India.

While most of the team had toured elsewhere overseas on previous occasions, it was the first time to India for all except the captain, coach and manager. And for Maria, it was her debut as a White Fern.

Amanda, Sara, Aimee and Louise all hold Sports Scholarships at Lincoln and Maria is a New Zealand Cricket Academy Scholar at the University. All are now entering the final year of Bachelor of Recreation Management degrees.

Louise, who comes from Morrinsville and plays for Northern Districts, says the tour was "amazingly well run ... perfect".

The New Zealand women had played India before, at Lincoln University in fact, at the start of 2003, during a quadrangular one-day international series featuring teams from Australia, New Zealand, England and India.

"We beat them on that occasion, but it was a different story on their home patch," says Louise. "We found them very strong at home and the result was a draw in the test and only one win for us in the five-match one-day series."

Despite November-December being northern hemisphere "winter" months, it didn't seem like that to the White Ferns and they were playing in temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees.

"However, we went prepared," says Louise, "and for our training back in the New Zealand summer we had worn thick jerseys and heaps of heavy clothing to build up our heat tolerance."

A highlight of the tour for the Lincoln University women outside of the cricket was receiving their exam results.

"We all got them either by email or phone," says Louise. "I got mine when we were in the south-west Indian city of Pune, and I was very happy to learn that I had passed everything."

Since then Louise has been awarded a Prime Minister's Scholarship for 2004 along with Maria, Sara and Amanda. These scholarships, funded through the New Zealand Academy of Sport, are aimed at supporting outstanding performers in all sporting codes.

In all, 16 Lincoln University students have been named in the national list of recipients for Prime Minister's Scholarships.

Lincoln University's Sports Scholarship programme, with which Louise, Sara, Aimee, and Amanda have all been associated, was established in 1999 and has gone from strength to strength.

Three sports were initially involved – cricket, rugby and netball – but the list has now doubled and covers hockey, table tennis and new in 2004, golf.

Academic success is essential for the Sports Scholars to hold on to their scholarships – which cover full tuition fees – and as a group they have shown an exceptional pass rate in their exams.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand