The reigning Varsity Netball champions, the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Kovsies, showed their pedigree by progressing to the semifinals.
They did so after overcoming a six-goal deficit and scoring an important victory over the gutsy Stellenbosch girls, the Maties, in a match played on Monday, 15 September, in the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Multi-purpose Sports Hall in Johannesburg.
The final 15 minutes produced a physical and high-intensity battle, with both sides pushing hard for a win.Maties tried to fight back into the game, but Kovsies did not slow down their attacking dominance and secured a vital 47 − 55 victory.
This put Kovsies top of the rankings, going into the semifinals.
The two sides will meet again in the semifinal encounter on Monday, 22 September at the Callie Human Centre on the UFS campus at 19:00. The other semifinal is also a repeat match, between the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the North-West University (NWU) at the NWU Mafikeng Great Hall at 17:00.
The two winners will face each other in the final on 29 September.
The UJ team will be gunning to avenge an earlier defeat, with the Kovsies looking to do the same as their only loss was against UJ at the start of the tournament.
Led by Burta de Kock, Kovsies are a step away from another final that will see them building on their reputation as South Africa’s netball powerhouse − having won the title five times. With Rolene Streutker having left, De Kock is optimistic new stars will take the baton. Her team includes Liame de Lange, Reratilwe Letsoalo, Elene Vosloo, Xandri Fourie, Charne van Vuuren and Chanique Eyberg.
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