• South African Country Districts take men’s Jarvis Cup for fourth straight year

Cape Town, South Africa: JP Brits drew on his vast reservoir of experience to register a thrilling win over Clinton Leeuw to guide South African Country Districts (SACD) A to their fourth straight Growthpoint Interprovincial men’s squash title in Cape Town on Friday.

The SACD skipper fought back courageously from 2-0 down against his talented Western Province (WP) A rival to win 11-9 in the fifth game, putting his team 2-0 up in matches.

South African No 1 Dewald van Niekerk then put the finishing touches to another Jarvis Cup triumph as he dismantled WP opponent Mighael Lombard in three games to ensure victory.

Earlier, SACD No 3 Jonty Matthys had given his side the perfect start with a 3-1 win over Ian Oosthuizen. It put them on track for a decisive eventual result of 20-5 and a record of not having last an individual match the whole week.

In the women’s Kaplan Cup, Western Province A suffered their first loss of the week, going down to Northerns A, but still picked up enough points to secure their first title since 2013.

Northerns went into the final showdown 18 points behind the log leaders and despite a tremendous effort to win 16-10 they still ended 12 points off the pace, with WP finishing with 69 points.

Eastern Province  (EP)A, who also had three wins and a loss, finished third on 54 points.

The victory for Northerns was built on the successes by Awande Malinga and Helena Hudson, who won 3-1 against Karen Schultz and Siyoli Waters, respectively.

Expectedly, WP No 1 Alex Fuller steadied the ship with a solid 3-0 over Kimberley McDonald, but No 5 Jordin Phillips held her nerve in a fascinating encounter with Miranda Lang, eventually winning 12-10 in the fifth game to earn Northerns the victory.

With the match result finalised, the last tie between WP’s Juanette le Roux and Lara Patrick was a typical example of the spirit and competitiveness associated with the Growthpoint Interprovincial.

Patrick trailed 2-0 but fought with incredible heart to level the encounter before Le Roux finally pipped her on the finish line, winning the fifth game 14-12.

Growthpoint Interprovincial Squash Tournament

Cape Town, South Africa

Friday’s results were:

Women’s Kaplan Cup

Northerns A bt Western Province A 16-10 (Northerns first): Kimberley McDonald lost to Alex Fuller 3-0 (11-3 11-3 11-3), Helena Hudson bt Siyoli Waters 3-1 (12-10 11-8 6-11 11-5), Awande Malinga bt Karen Schultz 3-1 (11-8 11-8 3-11 11-5), Lara Patrick lost to Juanette le Roux 3-2 (13-11 11-6 7-11 8-11 14-12), Jordin Phillips bt Miranda Lang 3-2 (8-11 11-2 11-6 4-11 12-10)

Eastern Province A bt SA Country Districts A 15-8 (EP first): Hayley Ward bt Alexa Pienaar 3-0 (11-4 12-10 11-4), Kacey-Leigh Dodd lost to Lizelle Muller 3-0 (11-7 11-6 11-5), Jacqui Ryder lost to Alouise Campher 3-1 (11-9 11-9 9-11 11-5), Anlen Jarman bt Lisa Venter 3-1 (14-12 11-3 5-11 11-7), Bianca Keeley bt Kyla Hartzenberg 3-1 (11-6 7-11 11-3 11-4)

Final log: WP A 69, Northerns A 57, EP A 54, SACD A 27, Joburg Squash A 26

Men’s Jarvis Cup

Final:

SA Country Districts A bt Western Province A 20-5 (SACD A first): Dewald van Niekerk bt Mighael Lombard 3-0 (11-2 11-4 11-2), JP Brits bt Clinton Leeuw 3-2 (8-11 5-11, 11-9 17-15 11-9), Jonty Matthys bt Ian Oosthuizen 3-1 (11-6 11-3 5-11 11-9), Reuel Videler bt Rodney Durbach 3-1 (11-7 11-6 10-12 11-5), Gareth Craigen bt Justin van der Poel 3-1 (11-6 11-7 11-13 13-11)

Third place:

Northerns A bt Joburg Squash A 17-8 (Northerns first): Damian Groenewald lost to Christo Potgieter 3-2 (11-5 5-11 4-11 11-8 12-10), Jarrod Cousins bt Luke Jacoby 3-0 (12-10 11-6 11-9), Mark Schickerling lost to Sipho Ncube 3-1 (12-10 9-11 11-6 11-9), Reece McLachlan bt Ethan Robinson 3-2 (11-6 6-11 11-9 9-11 11-7), Brett McLachlan bt Mark Dunn 3-0 (11-7 11-6 11-5)

Fifth place:

KwaZulu-Natal A bt Joburg Squash B 18-6 (KZN first): Luke Bakke bt Diodivine Mkhize 3-0 (11-4 11-7 11-5), Daniel Smith bt Brian Mncube 3-0 (11-4 12-10 11-5), Justin de Neef bt Jordan Wilkinson 3-1 (3-11 11-5 17-15 11-8), Adrian Hansen lost to David Sibanda 3-1 (9-11 11-2 11-8 11-8), Robert Moody bt Amukelani Zitha 3-2 (14-12 11-6 4-11 10-12 11-5)

Seventh place:

SA Country Districts B bt Zambia A 17-6 (SACD B first): Warren Bower bt Sam Siame 3-2 (11-5 13-11 7-11 9-11 11-7), Luke van Vuuren bt Manda Chilambwe 3-1 (11-7 7-11 11-3 11-7), Johan Venter bt Elvis Ngosa 3-1 (11-6 10-12 11-2 11-5), Hayden Worth bt Samuel Kabwe 3-2 (6-11 11-9 6-11 11-9 11-9), Etienne Schutte lost to Changa Mubanga 3-2 (8-11 4-11 12-10 11-9 15-13)

Photo credit: Justin Fletcher Photography