Maties Sport showcased their prowess at the recent University Sport of South Africa (USSA) Championships, claiming titles in multiple sporting codes.
The Maroon Machine took home gold in the women’s hockey, at the netball and rugby championships while adding a number of silver and bronze medals to an impressive medal tally.
Netball
Maties took on the University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) in the final of the A section of the USSA netball championships in front of a packed Coetzenburg Centre crowd, with hopes to retain their USSA netball title.
The visitors got off to a strong start, as they were first to draw blood and get on the scoreboard but great defensive play by Captain Syntiche Kabuya meant Maties could regain control and led at the end of the first quarter by 2 goals, the score was 11-9 to Maties. The Maroon Machine continued to go from strength to strength as the score soon became 25-23 by halftime. By the end of the third quarter, Maties led 38-32 on the brink of certain victory.
Maties rounded off a dominant performance in the fourth quarter, putting the exclamation mark on a 49-42 victory against Tuks, retaining their USSA netball championship title for a second year running.
Coach Zanele Mdodana has led her side to four finals (including USSA and Varsity Netball) and won three of them while remaining unbeaten in the last two USSA competitions (2022 and 2023).
The following Maties netball players also received awards:
Section A:
Syntiche Kabuya – Best defender
Sian Moore – Best shooter
Section B:
Carla Janse van Rensburg – Best defender
Hockey
Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams competed in the finals of the A division USSA hockey championships at Varsity College in Durban on Friday
Women’s Final
The Maties women’s hockey team faced off against NWU in the final of the women’s USSA hockey championship, hoping to go unbeaten and also retain their title.
Maties took their lead just before their halftime break with a brilliant short corner goal from Daniella Mendes after applying pressure for most of the game. Standout player and captain Ongeziwe Mali would make it 2-0 after her field goal extended Maties lead. The opponents would pull a goal back in the last quarter to make it 2-1, however, the ladies held on for an emphatic victory to secure the women’s USSA Hockey Championship.
At the medal ceremony, captain Ongeziwe Mali did a clean sweep with her hattrick of trophies won which included:
- Women of the Match (final)
- Top goal scorer of the Tournament
- Player of the Tournament
Men’s Final
The Maties men’s side took on Tuks in a repeat of last year’s final showdown.
An evenly matched contest saw a stalemate by halftime with neither side on the scoreboard, 0-0. After a slight disruption in play due to loadshedding, Tuks took advantage and fired three quick goals in the third quarter which left the Maroon Machine having to climb an uphill battle. As the fourth quarter loomed, Maties pulled a consolation goal back but proved not enough on the night.
The game ended 4-1 to Tuks, with Maties having to settle for the runners up medal this year around at the USSA championships. Brendan du Toit was awarded for his impressive performance throughout the tournament with the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award in the Men’s A Section.
Basketball
Women’s Final
Maties women basketball secured their spot in the USSA Basketball Section B final against WSU hoping to claim stake to the title.
Having been neck and neck in the first quarter, WSU took a slight five-point lead into the halftime break with scores being 33-28 in the opponent’s favor with Maties determined to put up a fight during the last two quarters.
The thrilling final went down to the wire as a hard-fought battle from Maties was not enough as they narrowly missed out on the USSA title by just one point. The game ended 53-54 to WSU, however, our Maties regained promotion to the A Section and came away with a well-deserved silver medal.
The men’s team finished in 6th position in the men’s A Section. Two Maties players were included in the USSA national team as well as received All Star awards in their respective sections: Lutho Skweyiya (Men’s A Section) and Dineo Fanampe (Women’s B Section).
Squash
The USSA squash championships took place in Johannesburg.
Earlier in the week, Maties took home three medals in the individual section; Imraan Haroon won gold in the men’s B section, Neil Henning won silver in the men’s C section and Stephanie Jones secured bronze in the women’s B section.
In the team competition, Maties made the semi-finals in both the Section A and Section B championships. The Maties sides narrowly missed out on finals and ended up taking home the bronze medals in both sections on Friday.
Rugby
Maties Rugby took on the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the final of USSA rugby championship at IIE Varsity College, Riverside Sports Field in Durban.
After beating Tuks and NWU in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, Maties were hoping to go 3 from 3 come the final. The north and south showdown was tightly contested in the first half but tries from Eric Basson and Louw Nel put Maties in the driver’s seat as they took a 5-point lead heading into the break, halftime score 12-7.
The Maroon Machine tightened their grip on the game, scoring three more tries in the second half as they headed to certain victory. Luke Burger was awarded the Man of the Match and newly appointed Head Coach Kabamba Floors added his first title with Maties after an emphatic 32-19 win.
Badminton
USSA badminton took place in Pretoria, Rembrandt Hall and Maties put on a valiant display at the competition. Results breakdown:
Maties collected bronze after defeating hosts Tuks in the final match of the teams event. The women’s doubles team placed second in the open competition. Additionally, three bronze medals were awarded for women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, as well as a silver medal for women’s doubles.
Our Maties fared well in the A Section Women’s Ranking [Top 6]:
- Nina Swart (3rd)
- Jada Freeman (4th)
- Surica Snyman (5th)
- Erna Sconeece (6th)
By Kimara Singh