South Africa’s emerging squash talent will take centre stage from 2pm in the Growthpoint SA Nationals in Cape Town on Saturday when the country’s best U17 players clash for the honour of being crowned national champion.
The all-glass court at the V&A Waterfront will see top seed Savannah Ingledew of Midlands kick off proceedings against talented Northerns player Awande Malinga, followed by the boys’ final at 2.30 between the unorthodox Luhann Groenewald, also Northerns, and Seth Flisberg of Western Province.
These young stars will set the scene for the senior SA Nationals finals, starting at 3.30 with the women’s match between Lizelle Muller and Milnay Louw, and then the men’s contest at 4.30 between Dewald van Niekerk and Christo Potgieter.
Ingledew and Malinga should deliver a fascinating finale to the girls’ competition, both having clearly displayed their skills in their earlier rounds of the tournament.
Malinga, though, did not have it all her own way in the semifinals against the fiercely competitive Elske Garbers of North West.
Although the Northerns player came through 3-1 in the end, there was little to choose between the players and fortunes fluctuated throughout the match.
After taking the first game 11-7, Malinga conceded the next 15-13 and had to fight with all the weapons at her disposal to subdue her opponent’s challenge, eventually winning the last two games 12-10 and 14-12.
In the post-match interview, she said was excited to be in the final, an early arrival in Cape Town having helped her to become used to the glass-court conditions.
“I’m feeling good at the moment and have played well so far,” the 16-year-old said. “I came early to Cape Town to get accustomed to the environment and the playing conditions, so I think that helped me.”
She knows, however, that Ingledew, who played No 1 for the Midlands team at last month’s Growthpoint Interprovincial in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth, will be a formidable opponent.
“I have played Savannah a few times and we have always had close matches in the past,” Malinga said. “But I have regrouped now and am ready to give it a full go for the title.”
The top-seeded Ingledew has rushed through her section of the draw, booking her place in the final with a 3-0 win over Border’s Kelly Emslie.
She has plenty of big-match experience, but will also be aware of the dangers posed by the skills of Malinga.
The boys’ final throws up an interesting showdown between top seed Groenewald, whose two-handed style is extremely effective, and tall WP player Seth Flisberg.
The talented Flisberg, who started the tournament at No 6, caused something of an upset by defeating third seed Patrick Weir in the first round and followed that up by eliminating second seed John Anderson in Thursday’s semifinals.
It marks him as a player to watch, but he knows he will have to maintain the intensity against the top-seeded Groenewald.
The Northerns player employs a two-handed approach on most shots which, despite what the purists might feel, has seen him emerge as someone to take seriously on the court.
“It is something I started when I was very young,” Groenewald said, “and although some coaches suggested I should change, it is something which works for me.”
His opponents have felt the sharp end of his style and it will be fascinating to see how Flisberg handles the approach of a player whose ability to play at a consistently high level has seen him rise up the junior rankings.
Thursday’s results were:
SA Nationals
Women’s semifinals
1-Lizelle Muller (SACD) bt 4-Alexa Pienaar (SACD) 3-0 (11-7 11-5 11-7)
2-Milnay Louw (Northerns) bt 3-Hayley Ward (EP) 3-0 (11-7 11-7 11-5)
Men’s semifinals
1-Dewald van Niekerk (SACD) bt 4-Rudi van Niekerk (SACD) 3-0 (11-2 11-8 11-6)
2-Christo Potgieter (Joburg Squash) bt 3-Ruan Olivier (Northerns) 3-0 (11-4 11-6 11-6)
SA U17 Nationals
Girls semifinals
1-Savannah Ingledew (Midlands) bt 4-Kelly Emslie (Border) 3-0 (11-4 11-5 11-8)
2-Awande Malinga (Northerns) bt 3-Elske Garbers (North West) 3-1 (11-7 13-15 12-10 14-12)
Boys semifinals
1-Luhann Groenewald (Northerns) bt 4-Joshua Deutschmann (Joburg Squash) 3-0 (11-9 11-9 11-5)
3-Seth Flisberg (WP) bt 2-John Anderson (Joburg Squash) 3-1 (9-11 11-6 11-4 11-6)
Saturday’s order of play is
2pm: U17 girls’ final: 1-Savannah Ingledew (Midlands) v 2-Awande Malinga (Northerns)
2.30pm: U17 boys’ final: 1-Luhann Groenewald (Northerns) v 2-Seth Flisberg (WP)
3.30: Senior women’s final: 1-Lizelle Muller (SACD) v 2-Milnay Louw (Northerns)
4.30: Senior men’s final: 1-Dewald van Niekerk (SACD) v 2-Christo Potgieter (Joburg Squash)
Ends
FREE TO USE PICTURES
Captions
Groenewald.jpg: Top seed Luhann Groenewald of Northerns (front) will be chasing the Growthpoint SA U17 Nationals boys’ squash title when he takes on Seth Flisberg of Western Province at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Saturday.
Awande.jpg: Second seed Awande Malinga of Northerns (front) will be chasing the Growthpoint SA U17 Nationals girls’ squash title when she takes on top seed Savannah Ingledew of Midlands at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Saturday.
Picture credit: Photo credit: Carl Fourie/BLD Communications
For free TV news inserts in English, Afrikaans, and Vernacular to contact David van der Sandt at david@tvsportsnews.co.za
For radio clips please contact Michael Vlismas at ursula@vlismasmedia.co.za
Media Contact
BLD Communications
Bruce Davidson;(+27) 083 212 2401, bruce@thebldgroup.com