A total of six players with strong Port Elizabeth connections will represent the region when the finale of the Growthpoint SA Nationals squash tournament takes place in Pretoria from Thursday to Saturday (October 15 to 17).
A field of 16, eight women and eight men, will contest the showcase section of the event on the all-glass court at the Brooklyn Mall following the eight regional playoffs around the country at the weekend.
After the lengthy break caused by Covid-19, the sport announced its return in emphatic fashion as the Squash SA innovation to introduce regional qualifying events proved a huge success, with a total of 436 players competing at the different hubs over the weekend.
The local players who qualified for the event are siblings Rudi and Dewald van Niekerk and Lizelle Muller, as well as Jacqui Ryder, Hayley Ward and Danell Douglas.
Several of them now represent SA Country Districts on a provincial basis, but they came through the Port Elizabeth league system, which is perhaps a sign of the relatively healthy state of the sport in the province.
Rudi van Niekerk and Muller were comfortable winners of the Port Elizabeth qualifier, while Dewald van Niekerk and Douglas, who are studying at North-West University, won in Potchefstroom.
Ward was placed in the Bloemfontein hub and eased through with a 3-0 win over Izane Louw, while Jacqui Ryder showed all her experience to defeat Angelique Clifton-Parks 3-0 in Johannesburg.
Another PE player to catch the eye was Gerard Mitchell, who is studying at Wits in Johannesburg. Seeded 10th in the Joburg qualifier, he caused a few upsets to reach the final before bowing to the skill of the seasoned Rodney Durbach.
Now it comes down to the business end of the championships, with men’s defending champion JP Brits in line to target his second Nationals title.
But it wasn’t plain sailing for the top seed in the Northerns hub as he was made to work hard for his 3-1 victory over Andrew Martin in Sunday’s final.
Sadly women’s champion Milnay Louw had to withdraw from the qualifiers because of a back injury, which has installed Western Province winner Alex Fuller as one of the leading contenders for the title.
Fuller, with a world ranking of 35, comfortably beat Juanette le Roux in the WP final, but the men’s division in Cape Town saw a few interesting results, with top seed Gary Wheadon losing to No 4 Rudi Willemse in the semifinals.
Willemse, however, went down to third seed Mighael Lombard 3-1 in the final.
The players to qualify for the Nationals main event are (regional hub in brackets):
Women: Lizelle Muller (EP), Hayley Ward (Free State), Jacqui Ryder (Joburg Squash), Samantha Herbert (KZN), Teagan Roux (Midlands), Farrah Sterne (Northerns), Danell Douglas (North West), Alex Fuller (WP).
Men: Rudi van Niekerk (EP), Ruan Olivier (Free State), Rodney Durbach (Joburg Squash), Matthew Boote (KZN), Christo Potgieter (Midlands), JP Brits (Northerns), Dewald van Niekerk (North West), Mighael Lombard (WP).
Alan Straton
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