It’s been a roller coaster start to the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament for Stellenbosch University as they scored a runaway victory over Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and narrowly beat the University of the Free State (Kovsies) in the first two matches of the season at the University of Pretoria this past weekend.
Maties shrugged off the disappointment of losing last year’s Varsity Netball final on home turf against Kovsies, with a 86-21 drubbing of TUT on Saturday (17 September) – one of the biggest victories in the competition’s history, with the biggest being Tuks beating VUT 110-28 in 2018.
The Pretoria team stayed within touching distance in the first quarter, scoring eight goals against the formidable Maroon Machine. Maties stepped it up a couple of notches in the second quarter though, with Protea goalkeeper Nicola Smith not giving the TUT shooters much space.
The Stellenbosch lasses picked up where they left off after the half-time break, continuing their total dominance over the Tshwane outfit. Both teams rotated their bench to keep the tempo up in the last 15 minutes of the match.
Maties captain Sian Moore capitalised on her chances in the goal circle, with the shooter earning herself the player of the match award. After the encounter, she said five players made their debut in Varsity Netball, so it was absolutely great for the depth of the team. “It was inspiring, they did what they were supposed to do, they stepped up and I’m really proud,” Moore related.
The last fixture of the second round of the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament saw a repeat of the 2021 final when Kovsies and Maties took the court for the big clash on Sunday (18 September). And like last year, Maties came away with the first win in the round-robin stage, beating the defending champions 57-53.
The 2021 runners-up set the tone as their pace and perfect execution by Moore in the goal circle saw them outplaying Kovsies in the first quarter. They stretched their lead to seven points in the second quarter with Kovsies goal shooter Alyssa Trahms failing to convert her chances.
Kovsies dug deep after the half-time break and levelled the scores at one point, before Maties regained the lead at the end of the third quarter.
The last 15 minutes saw fresh legs for Kovsies, who used their power play to great effect in closing the gap to one point with four minutes to go. The Maroon Machine, however, managed to carve out the win by the final whistle.
