Maties Netball recently claimed the University Sports South Africa’s (USSA) netball championship title for 2022.
Maties faced the Madibaz netball team from Nelson Mandela University in the USSA final on 9 July and won 44-20, according to G Sports.
The tournament ran from 5 to 9 July at Camp Discovery in Pretoria.
The USSA championship was a “challenging journey”, said Zanele Mdodana, head coach of Maties Netball.
“We had quite a few injuries going into this USSA championship and a lot of our players were involved in the Telkom netball league, so we didn’t have key players most of the time,” said Mdodana.
Zanele Mdodana, head coach of Maties Netball, took to Twitter to celebrate her and the team’s University Sports South Africa’s (USSA) netball championship win. According to Mdodana, who is the first black Maties netball coach since 2017, she led the team to victory after 27 years without a USSA title. PHOTO: Supplied/Zanele Mdodana
Players suffering from injuries before the tournament motivated them to keep going, according to Sian Moore, Maties captain.
“We’ve always said the game is bigger than any individual and the team was going to make the most of the opportunities that were given,” said Moore.
She added that everyone played their part and, because of that, they became champions.
“Being able to lift a trophy after 27 years was [something] only seen in movies […] It was poetic, the girls put everything aside for the sake of [the] team,” said Moore.
The clash of the alma maters
“Madibaz is my alma mater, […] They were the first team we played in the tournament on day one, and we beat them convincingly,” said Mdodana.
Zanele Mdodana, Maties head coach, details her experience of and feelings about playing against her alma mater in the University Sports South Africa’s (USSA) netball finals as “history”. AUDIO: Asive Mabula
She added that Madibaz was a team to look out for because of their fighting spirit.
Lana Krige, Madibaz head coach, who was the captain of the Maties netball team that last claimed the USSA championship title in 1995, said it was a “special connection” to play against Maties.
“[Your alma mater is] always the team you feel most emotional about, but it’s also the team you want to beat the most,” said Krige.
Lana Krige, Madibaz head coach, shared her experience of playing against her alma mater in the University Sports South Africa’s (USSA) netball finals. “It couldn’t have been more special,” she stated. AUDIO: Asive Mabula
The Madibaz entered the finals with only one frontline shooter and a goalkeeper on goal attack, according to Krige.
However, the team approached the final as “more [of] a celebration than a nervous prepping”, according to Krige.
Stellenbosch University’s Maties netball team beat Nelson Mandela University’s Madibaz team with a score of 44-20 to claim the gold at the University Sports South Africa’s (USSA) netball championships on 9 July. The tournament ran from 5 to 9 July. PHOTO: Facebook/USSA Netball
The season ahead
According to both coaches, the teams are looking forward to the Varsity Cup netball coming up in September.
“We’ve got about eight to ten weeks to gather our troops and get ourselves ready,” said Mdodana. “We are looking forward to the challenge and obviously the aim is to win it.”
The Maties team will also have their South African national players back from the Telkom netball league for this upcoming Varsity Cup season.
Madibaz, on the other hand, lost players due to injuries and age restrictions ahead of the Varsity Cup. According to the Varsity Cup quota, players can play until the year they turn 25, explained Krige.
However, the team is excited to have their “youngsters” get a chance to play, according to Krige.
“Varsity Cup is a bit different because we have more time to prepare in between games,” said Krige. “We’re looking forward to it and giving players more exposure to this high level [of netball].”