The last time University Sports of South Africa (USSA) awarded the title of best squash team to a university that wasn’t the University of Johannesburg (UJ), was in 2011.
Since then, UJ has come out on top every year bringing the trophy back to their Auckland Park campus. For the eighth consecutive year, they were crowned champions of squash on 5 July. Guided by coach Mike Bester and captain Blessing Muhwati, UJ continued their remarkable run of success at the games by defeating Nelson Mandela University in the final for the second year in a row.
Bester said the result was all due to the effort the players put in during the year. He added, “We have been fortunate to have had a pretty good squad in the last few years and some of them will be moving on next year, but winning the title again is just reward for the disciplined approach adopted by the squad members. Their dedication to training has been the reason behind this success story.”
Bester shared the reasons that contributed to their success and said it was not based on a programme they merely instituted each year, but rather that they had long-term plans in place. Bester explained, “For instance, when a first-year comes into the squad, we don’t immediately expect big results from him or her. Instead, we provide them with targets to reach each year so they can build their way to the top level of varsity squash.”
An example of how great this formula has worked is UJ squash star Alexa Pienaar. She walked away as this year’s winner of the individual tournament, taking her tally to three consecutive titles. Muhwati also had a strong performance as he finished third in the men’s section.
The team’s efforts were celebrated as Jennifer Preece, Panashe Sithole, Muhwati and Pienaar were included in the USSA team at the conclusion of the tournament. Pienaar also received the Chairperson’s Player of the tournament award and teammate Amukelani Zitha was named the most promising player.
