With a rollercoaster of results, the University of Johannesburg netball team have ended their 2016 spell on a positive after walking away with an encouraging win against UCT to conclude their competitive crusade on a high as they finish on sixth position with 17 points.
Throughout the month-long campaign, UJ started off slowly with two losses against the Madibaz and NWU-Pukke before finding their feet and registering their first win against VUT. The win propelled them to a higher point on the prestigious log which saw an increase in their confidence and overall performance against their formidable contenders, nonetheless, two losses followed the Auckland Park side that saw them drop further down as they lost valuable points, keeping them out of the top four.
With a change in attitude, Leigh-Ann Zackey-Smal’s charge took over the driving seat as they gained their first win against Kovsies in four years and completed the season with 69-46 win over UCT, cementing their place in next year’s challenge.
UJ captain Deancke Rohde said she is extremely happy with her squad as they displayed a consistent improvement in performance throughout the tournament.
“Unfortunately we came sixth but at the end of the day, we did extremely better than I thought we could have. As a team, everybody pulled their weight and got together and ending off the season on a high was important for us as it brings up the confidence for when we start again next year.”
The lanky goal-shooter shares some of the highlights of this year and said there were a lot of memorable moments this year, naming the win against Kovsies their ultimate high.
“Everybody played the full four quarters until the whistle blew and even though there were some girls sitting on the bench, the atmosphere and their presence helped us perform well on court.”
Rohde said that it would be too tough to point out who in the squad did well this year as all their results were a team effort.
“Everybody pulled their weight and together we were really strong on the field.”
Rohde adds it would be difficult to guess who could win the cup but she has her money on UP-Tuks.
“I think out of everyone, they [Tuks] played very consistently and remained consistent in their performance.”
By Liziwe Mbha
