Juline Rossouw, goal defence and joint captain of the Maties, has praised their eye-gym coach Dr. Sherylle Calder as a big contributing factor in the team’s Varsity Netball success thus far.
Win or lose in Monday’s final against NWU-Pukke, the 2015 Varsity Netball campaign will be a successful one for the Stellenbosch students. In 2013, they only managed a sixth place finish on the log before improving to fourth place in 2014.
“We are really well looked after here at Maties and then, of course, I have to mention Dr. [Sherylle] Calder, the inventor of Eyegym. I truly believe our team sees the game differently than other teams. Along with Christi [Botha], her program has contributed immensely in our performance,” Rossouw said.
Monday’s 55-50 victory over UP-Tuks in Pretoria, which was totally against the odds, ranks at the top of Rossouw’s most memorable moments as a Maties player. Little more than three months ago, Maties suffered a heavy 33-61 defeat to Tuks in the semi-finals at the USSA championships.
“We stuck to the basics and kept possession. It was truly a team effort and when it’s a team effort winning comes easier. We’ve been working hard towards this in my five years at Maties. It’s our time now. This [the final] is really going to be a special and memorable moment.
“This is truly an opportunity for us to show what we are made of. We didn’t come this far just to be satisfied with being in the final,” she added.
Rossouw said they are aware of the threat a player like Sigrid Burger, goal shooter of the Pukke, poses.
“As mentioned by various teams and players, having a shooter as tall as Sigi is always hard to counter and, as seen in previous games, she’s an asset they rely on a lot,” she stated.
Rossouw, who was the FNB Player of the Match against Tuks, said she is “feeling great” about her own form.
