Pienaar chases more success for UJ squash

Defending champion has her sights set for further success about the University Sport South Africa squash tournament which will take place in Cape Town from 30 June to 5 July.

Not only is the University of Johannesburg (UJ) star aiming to capture another individual title, the team will also be targeting the overall title as the squad strives to continue a remarkable record in the week.

Last year, UJ won the title for the seventh straight year in Port Elizabeth and they want to add to that when they defend their crown at University of Cape Town (UCT).

Led by experienced players such as Pienaar, Kyle Maree and captain Blessing Muhwati, even though they have lost their number 2 women’s player, Kacey-Leigh Dodd, UJ will again be leading title contenders.

“We had some good continuity from last year, with Kacey-Leigh, who is the only one who left the team,” said Pienaar, who is doing her master’s in fine art.

“This leaves Jennifer Preece to step up and play number 2 for the first time, while Panashe Sithole, a talented first year and the newest member of our team, will slot in at number 3.

“I believe this will give us great depth, which is so important at a tournament such as this. The team has a lot of potential for the future.”

She added that the men’s team also contains plenty of experience, with Maree, Muhwati and Tyrone Dial who were all part of last year’s title-winning squad and this year they are joined by Amu Zitha, one of the top U19 players in the country.

The USSA week will start with the individual tournament, which runs from Sunday to Tuesday.

Pienaar, who lives in Linden, Johannesburg, defeated the experienced Lauren Siddall in last year’s finals and will be chasing her third straight title in Cape Town.

“Naturally, defending the title is my main goal but I want to do so in a good spirit and to be an example to young up-and-coming players,” she said.”

Pienaar felt that the competition of the individual title would be tough. “My own teammates, Jennifer and Panashe, are right up there and then there are players like Hayley Ward from Nelson Mandela University, Danell Douglas from North-West University and Mariska Wiese from Pretoria who will all be difficult to beat.”

The individual tournament plays an important role in the USSA week because the varsities are ranked for the team event on how well their players do in the individual section which will be followed by the team competition from Wednesday to Friday.

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