Trophy’s and medals handed at UJ’s 2019 sports awards held at Rand Park Golf Club
AUCKLAND PARK – Student athletes celebrated by their university for their year of on and off-court success.
UJ recently celebrated this year’s sports stars at their annual awards ceremony.
National representatives Amanda Mthandi and Taylor Dart received the Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year accolades at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Sports Awards function on 3 October. The pair were honoured at a gala function at the Rand Park Golf Club in Johannesburg after playing significant roles for South Africa in their respective sports this year. Mthandi was part of the SA soccer squad which took part in the world cup in July, while Dart represented the national hockey side in various tournaments during the year.
The third-year transportation management student Mthandi has had a stellar year on the soccer field at various levels. She was part of the University Sport SA (USSA) team which competed in the World Student Games in Italy this year, finishing eighth. The 23-year-old also turned out for the Banyana Banyana squad which won gold at the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) tournament.
Dart, who is studying an MTech in architecture, captained the UJ hockey team this year and represented the national side which took gold at the African Cup of Nations in Stellenbosch. In June, the 27-year-old turned out for SA in the FIH series finals held in India, where they finished as runners-up. Furthermore, he was in the team that qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The student-athlete award, which covers academic achievement and sporting excellence, went to squash star Alexa Pienaar. The MTech fine art student has averaged 77.90 per cent in her five years at UJ and is the top South African player at the varsity level. Pienaar also collected the Sportswoman of the Year silver medal after having been at the forefront of UJ’s recent USSA success, a tournament they have won eight years in a row. Last year, she captained the USSA team at the World University Squash Championships in Birmingham, England, coming second overall.
Related Article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/northcliff-melville-times/297722/uj-returns-home-with-silver-medals/
