Squash | Swanepoel On Track With Win In Growthpoint Junior Nationals

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa:  Defending U15 champion Christian Swanepoel stayed on track for another title with a solid performance on the second day of the Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals Squash Championships in Cape Town on Friday.

Christian Swanepoel- of Eden plays a backhand during his match against Enre van Zyl of Western Province in the U15 division on the second day of the Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals Squash Championships at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday. Swanepoel won 3-0.

Friday, 16 August 2024 Challengers ready to stake a claim for South African titles

The young Eden player, who finished on top last year with a 3-2 win over Milan Raffa, was in full control in his match on the all-glass court at the V&A Waterfront against Western Province’s Enre van Zyl.

It is still early days because there are further matches on Saturday and Sunday, but Swanepoel sent an ominous warning to his rivals by dropping just seven points in the 3-0 victory.

After Thursday’s qualifying, the players in the U15, U17 and U19 divisions were divided into two pools of four and they are now playing a round-robin format to decide the final positions.

Swanepoel knows there will be some tough matches ahead, with Eden colleague Ross Smorfitt in the mix after he won his Friday encounter against Logan Kidson (Northerns) 3-1.

A number of players in the different age-groups will be looking to maintain their top ranking positions.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Makayla Naidoo was the U15 winner last year and now is a leading contender in the U17 division after making a good start to the round-robin phase with a 3-0 over Brianna Robinson (Easterns).

 Elzandri Janse van Rensburg- of Northerns plays a forehand during her match against Vivienne van der Schyff of Free State in the U17 division on the second day of the Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals Squash Championships at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday. Janse van Rensburg won 3-0.

But looming large in her pool is Northerns star Elzandri Janse van Rensburg, who was the runner-up in 2023 and comfortably got past Vivienne van der Schyff (Free State) 3-0 on Friday.

Kate van Biljon- of Border plays a forehand during her match against Rylee Howells of KwaZulu-Natal in the U15 division on the second day of the Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals Squash Championships at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday. Van Biljon won 3-0.

This makes her a strong challenger for the title, but Northerns player Starla Phillips is also in the mix after both registered 3-0 victories on Friday.

In the boys’ U17 division, Juan-Corne Brand (Northerns) had a good start when he subdued WP’s Joseph Feast in three well-contested games.

Juan-Corne Brand- of Northerns plays a backhand during his match against Joseph Feast of Western Province in the U17 division on the second day of the Growthpoint SA Junior Nationals Squash Championships at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Friday. Brand won 3-0.   

Feast pushed it to 13-11 in the first game, but thereafter Brand took control to put himself in a good position to challenge for the title after finishing runner-up to Northerns colleague Judah Phillips a year ago. Phillips is now in the U19 section.

Defending U19 champion Luhann Groenewald showed he will be a tough nut to crack as he raced past Matthew Earl in three games, while top women’s U19 player Dene van Zyl (SA Country Districts) dropped a game to Ellena Chemaly-Sutherland (KZN) but had enough in reserve ease through 3-1.

Friday’s results were:

Girls U15

Pool A: Starla Phillips (Northerns) bt Gemma Clark (Border) 3-0 (11-0 11-2 11-5), Kate van Biljon (Border) bt Rylee Howells (KZN) 3-0 (11-8 13-11 11-4)

Pool B: Genevieve Lang (WP) bt Kaylee Verster (Joburg Squash) 3-0 (11-4 11-1 11-7), Alyssa Arcangeli (Northerns) bt Mienke Stander (Winelands) 3-0 (11-6 11-3 11-6)

Girls U17

Pool A: Elzandri Janse van Rensburg (Northerns) bt Vivienne van der Schyff (Free State) 3-0 (11-1 11-2 11-4), Makayla Naidoo (KZN) bt Brianna Robinson (Easterns) 3-0 (11-6 11-8 11-6)

Pool B: Hanrie Duits (Eden) bt Lia Viljoen (Winelands) 3-0 (11-5 11-9 11-6), Anushka Janse van Rensburg (Northerns) bt Ashley Smorfitt (KZN) 3-0 (11-8 11-6 11-7)

Women’s U19

Pool A: Dene van Zyl (SA Country Districts) bt Ellena Chemaly-Sutherland (KZN) 3-1 (11-6 8-11 11-3 11-5), Bianke Pienaar (North West) bt Chante Leppan (Northerns) 3-2 (2-11 11-8 11-7 10-12 11-5)

Pool B: Cara Knott (Border) bt Cailyn Nieuwoudt (WP) 3-1 (11-7 11-7 4-11 11-9), Alex Azevedo (WP) bt Demi Senekal (Northerns) 3-0 (11-7 11-2 11-5)

Boys U15

Pool A: Ross Smorfitt (Eden) bt Logan Kidson (Northerns) 3-1 (11-3 14-12 7-11 13-11), Christian Swanepoel (Eden) bt Enre van Zyl (WP) 3-0 (11-2 11-1 11-4)

Pool B: Tom Hardman (KZN) bt Liam Hart (WP) 3-1 (11-6 11-7 4-11 11-6), Joshua Edwards (Border) bt Rupert Good (WP) 3-0 (11-8 11-1 11-7)

Boys U17

Pool A: Juan-Corne Brand (Northerns) bt Joseph Feast (WP) 3-0 (13-11 11-6 11-5), Thomas Boutall (WP) bt Joel Rix (Winelands) 3-1 (7-11 11-2 11-4 11-4)

Pool B: Wian Fourie (Border) bt Dean Katzin (Free State) 3-0 (11-5 11-5 11-6), Aiden McNeill (KZN) bt Benjamin Southwood (Northerns) 3-0 (11-9 11-4 12-10)

Men’s U19

Pool A: Luhann Groenewald (Northerns) bt Matthew Earl (Border) 3-0 (11-7 11-2 11-2), Devon Osborne (WP) bt Connor Earl (Border) 3-2 (8-11 11-6 9-11 11-1 11-4)

Pool B: Judah Phillips (Northerns) bt Louis le Riche (Winelands) 3-1 (11-5 11-7 11-13 11-8), Gary Chapman (Joburg Squash) bt Jan-Darius Smuts (Northerns) 3-1 (11-7 4-11 11-8 11-5).

Photo credit: Petri Oeschger

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