Pretoria,Tswane, South Africa: Northerns A laid down an early marker that they are a team to be watched when they registered a notable win over Eastern Province A on the opening day of the Growthpoint Squash Interprovincial in Pretoria on Monday.
The host province is seeded fifth in the women’s Kaplan Cup, and with Eastern Province (EP) being ranked second, their 14-9 victory can be considered something of an upset.
Defending women’s champions South African Country Districts (SACD) A had a bye on Monday, while Joburg Squash A also made a statement with a thumping 19-4 win over Western Province A.
The Northerns-EP clash was keenly contested throughout, but the key result came in the No 2 match-up which saw Jacqui Ryder (EP) up against Kim McDonald.
In a PSA tournament earlier this year Ryder got the better of McDonald in straight games and she seemed on course to repeat that when she led 2-0.
The Northerns player, though, was not about to throw in the towel and she showed great determination to take control of the next three games for a crucial win that put her team 3-1 ahead in matches.
EP No 1 Hayley Ward had the measure of Helena Coetzee in the final match, but by then the damage for the coastal team had been done.
There was another titanic battle earlier in the tie when Kaylee Hunt had to hang tough to beat EP No 5 Dani Shone.
Hunt led 2-1 before Shone gave her team a glimmer of hope by taking the fourth, but the Northerns player regained the initiative to win the deciding game 11-5.
Jarvis Cup men’s champions SA Country Districts A made an impressive start against an outgunned EP A team, winning 20-0, while Joburg Squash A, in the same pool, were equally dominant with a 19-5 win over KwaZulu-Natal A.
They were within a whisker of making it a clean sweep and Joburg No 4 Dean Nortier will look back with some disappointment on his 2-0 lead against Justin de Neef, which the KZN player transformed into a 3-2 victory.
It was the reverse of the first match on court when Mark Dunn (Joburg) trailed 2-0 against Luke Bakke before digging deep for a win in five games.
In the red group, Western Province A were outplayed at the top of the order against Zambia A, both Rodney Durbach and Gary Wheadon losing in three games. But the rest of the team took control for a hard-earned 14-9 win.
Even though they lost two matches, Northerns A will be pleased with their 18-6 winning outcome over SA Country Districts B.
They came close to maximum points because both of their defeats came in five games as SACD players Reuel Videler and Jimmy Schlebusch ensured the hosts did not have it all their own way.
Monday’s results were:
Women’s Kaplan Cup
Northerns A bt Eastern Province A 14-11 (Northerns first): Helena Coetzee lost to Hayley Ward 3-0 (11-7 11-9 11-9), Kim McDonald bt Jacqui Ryder 3-2 (5-11 4-11 11-6 11-6 11-6), Mariska Wiese lost to Kacey-Leigh Dodd 3-0 (11-6 11-8 11-5), Lara Patrick bt Anlen Murray 3-1 (11-5 13-11 7-11 11-7), Kaylee Hunt bt Dani Shone 3-2 (4-11 11-9 11-7 4-11 11-5)
Joburg Squash A bt Western Province A 19-4 (Joburg first): Teagan Roux bt Karen Schultz 3-0 (11-7 11-4 11-1), Jennifer Preece bt Juanette le Roux 3-1 (11-6 5-11 11-8 11-5), Shannon Harvey bt Katie Mayhew 3-0 (12-10 11-3 11-3), Tayla Diepenbroek lost to Cass Erasmus 3-2 (11-4 4-11 5-11 11-8 11-4), Nadia Ramchandra bt Nicole Gliddon 3-0 (11-9 11-4 11-7)
Men’s Jarvis Cup
Red group
Western Province A bt Zambia A 14-9 (WP A first): Rodney Durbach lost to Kundanji Kalengo 3-0 (11-6 11-9 11-8), Gary Wheadon lost to Kelvin Ndhlovu 3-0 (11-8 11-5 11-5), Mighael Lombard bt Sam Siame 3-0 (11-9 11-8 11-7), Seth Flisberg bt Manda Chilambwe 3-1 (11-8 7-11 11-5 11-3), John-Ross Malloch bt Ray Simbule 3-2 (8-11 11-7 11-6 6-11 11-6)
Northerns A bt SA Country Districts B 18-6 (Northerns A first): Damian Groenewald bt Ian Oosthuizen 3-0 (11-2 11-4 11-3), Ruan Olivier bt Jonathan Just 3-0 (11-7 11-3 11-4), Sipho Ncube bt Luke van Vuuren 3-0 (11-9 12-10 11-3), Andrew Martin lost to Reuel Videler 3-2 (6-11 13-11 11-9 4-11 11-8), Mark Schickerling lost to Jimmy Schlebusch 3-2 (11-2 6-11 11-8 6-11 11-8)
Blue group
SA Country Districts A bt Eastern Province A 20-0 (SACD A first): Dewald van Niekerk bt Warren Bower 3-0 (11-4 11-7 11-6), JP Brits bt Dean Venter 3-0 (11-7 11-4 11-7), Rudi van Niekerk bt Sips Mpini 3-0 (11-8 11-8 11-4), Dylan Niemack bt Tyrone Dial 3-0 (11-8 11-6 15-13), Jonty Matthys bt Jason le Roux 3-0 (12-10 15-13 11-6)
Joburg Squash A bt KwaZulu-Natal A 19-5 (Joburg A first): Christo Potgieter bt Matt Boote 3-0 (11-7 11-3 11-7), Devon Hendrikse bt Daniel Smith 3-0 (11-4 11-6 11-4), Mark Dunn bt Luke Bakke 3-2 (5-11 4-11, 11-8 11-5 11-4), Dean Nortier lost to Justin de Neef 3-2 (7-11 7-11 11-3 11-9 11-5), Michael Wood bt Adrian Hansen 3-0 (11-7 11-3 11-7)
Ends.
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Caption:
Kim McDonald and Jacqui Ryder IPT 2023: Northerns A player Kim McDonald prepares to unleash a backhand during her match with Eastern Province’s Jacqui Ryder on the opening day of the Growthpoint Squash Interprovincial in Pretoria on Monday. Picture: Supplied
Picture credits: Supplied
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