Squash | Northerns Women Fire Opening Salvo In Growthpoint Squash Week

Men’s champions SACD A make confident start in Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa: Northerns A women fired the first shots at the Growthpoint Interprovincial squash tournament when they inflicted a rare defeat on defending champions SA Country Districts (SACD) A in the opening round in Cape Town on Monday.

SACD have dominated the women’s Kaplan Cup in recent years, with five title wins in a row, but their Pretoria-based rivals came out with all guns blazing in their clash at the Western Province Cricket Club.

Host province Western Province A also sent out a message that they are on a mission to prove a point in the women’s competition, comfortably negotiating their first match against Joburg Squash A, winning 20-3.

In the men’s Jarvis Cup, titleholders SA Country Districts A laid down an early marker as they blitzed Joburg Squash B 20-1.

Mighael Monday: Western Province A No 1 Mighael Lombard moves in to play a backhand in his match against SA Country Districts B opponent Warren Bower on the opening day of the Growthpoint Interprovincial squash tournament in Cape Town on Monday
Photo Credit: Justin Fletcher

Northerns A showed early intent in their clash against SACD A women as the promising Awande Malinge, first on court at No 3, helped to set the foundation for victory with a 3-0 win over Alouise Campher.

Awande Malinga : Northerns A player Awande Malinga stretches to play a forehand during her match against Alouise Campher of SA Country Districts A on the opening day of the Growthpoint Interprovincial squash tournament in Cape Town on Monday.

She was immediately backed up by Lara Patrick and Jordin Phillips, who also swept their opponents to make sure they would pick up the five bonus points for a win even before the fixture was completed.

SACD A retrieved the situation somewhat through wins by Alexa Pienaar and Lizelle Muller, but have some ground to make up after losing 15-6.

Lizelle Monday: SA Country Districts A player Lizelle Muller reaches to play a forehand during her match against Northerns A opponent Helena Hudson on the opening day of the Growthpoint Interprovincial squash tournament in Cape Town on Monday.For the WP A women, it was not quite as straightforward, but they still managed to collect maximum points.

Their biggest challenge came at No 3 where Karen Schultz, after dropping just four points in the first two games, suddenly found herself battling for survival as Tayla Dunn fought back courageously to level the match at 2-2.

The deciding game went down to the wire, but Schultz eventually prevailed 11-9, a result her teammates capitalised on to eventually record a decisive victory.

In the men’s Jarvis Cup, SACD A, with three-time Growthpoint national champion Dewald van Niekerk at the helm, were seldom challenged by the Joburg Squash B side and only Gareth Craigen dropped a game in their 20-1 triumph.

However, their biggest rivals in pool one, Northerns A, kept pace with them by easing past KwaZulu-Natal A in a contest which will stand them in good stead for their matches ahead.

The KZN outfit fought all the way, but in each tie Northerns were able to move into the extra gear when it counted to maintain their challenge for the top spot.

The men’s A section is divided into two pools of four, with cross-pool playoffs on Thursday and Friday.

WP A and Joburg Squash A stamped their authority in pool B with routine victories, defeating SA Country Districts B (20-0) and Zambia A (20-1) respectively.

Monday 8 July 2024 results were:

Growthpoint Interprovincial Squash Tournament

Cape Town, South Africa

Women’s Kaplan Cup

WP A bt Joburg Squash A 20-3 (WP A first): Alex Fuller bt Teagan Russell 3-0 (11-4 11-7 11-7) Siyoli Waters bt Shannon Harvey 3-1 (11-5 11-8 6-11 11-5), Karen Schultz bt Tayla Dunn 3-2 (11-1 11-3 9-11 6-11 11-9), Juanette le Roux bt Gillian van Vlaanderen 3-0 (11-6 11-7 13-11), Miranda Lang bt Giorgia Dates 3-0 (11-1 11-4 11-2)

Northerns A bt SA Country Districts A 15-6 (Northerns A first): Kimberley McDonald lost to Alexa Pienaar 3-1 (7-11 11-2 11-8 11-8), Helena Hudson lost to Lizelle Muller 3-0 (11-9 11-9 11-9), Awande Malinga bt Alouise Campher 3-0 (11-4 11-9 11-5), Lara Patrick bt Lisa Venter 3-0 (11-7 11-8 11-2), Jordin Phillips bt Kyla Hartzenberg 3-0 (11-6 11-6 11-7)  

Men’s Jarvis Cup

Pool 1:

SA Country Districts A bt Joburg Squash B 20-1 (SACD A first): Dewald van Niekerk bt Diodivine Mkhize 3-0 (11-4 11-2 11-4), JP Brits bt Brian Mncube 3-0 (11-2 11-1 11-3), Jonty Matthys bt Jordan Wilkinson 3-0 (11-6 11-6 11-9), Reuel Videler bt David Sibanda 3-0 (11-4 11-6 11-5), Gareth Craigen bt Amukelani Zitha 3-1 (13-11 11-5 8-11 11-7)

Northerns A bt KZN A 20-4 (Northerns A first): Damian Groenewald bt Luke Bakke 3-0 (11-7 11-6 11-2), Jarrod Cousins bt Daniel Smith 3-1 (11-6 11-9 7-11 11-9), Mark Schickerling bt Justin de Neef 3-1 (7-11 11-2 11-9 11-6), Reece McLachlan bt Adrian Hansen 3-1 (11-6 13-11 7-11 11-7), Brett McLachlan bt Robert Moody 3-1 (11-2 9-11 11-3 11-8)  

Pool 2:  

WP A bt SA Country Districts B 20-0 (WP A first): Mighael Lombard bt Warren Bower 3-0 (11-8 11-3 12-10), Clinton Leeuw bt Luke van Vuuren 3-0 (11-5 11-8 11-5), Ian Oosthuizen bt Johan Venter 3-0 (11-8 11-8 11-5), Rodney Durbach bt Hayden Worth 3-0 (11-4 11-4 11-8), Justin van der Poel bt Etienne Schutte 3-0 (11-2 11-4 11-2

Joburg Squash A bt Zambia A 20-1 (Joburg A first): Christo Potgieter bt Sam Siame 3-0 (11-1 11-5 11-9), Luke Jacoby bt Manda Chilambwe 3-0 (11-6 11-2 11-8), Sipho Ncube bt Elvis Ngosa 3-0 (11-5 13-11 11-7), Ethan Robinson bt Samuel Kabwe 3-1 (9-11 11-5 11-7 11-1), Mark Dunn bt Nana Owusu-Sekyere 3-0 (11-3 11-8 11-4)

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