UP Tuks kept their 2024 Varsity Netball championship title defence hopes alive in an enthralling must-win encounter which saw them come from behind to beat Sunday night’s log leaders UJ and dramatically edge Maties for the final berth at the Callie Human Hall in Bloemfontein on Monday, 23 September, 2024.
Tuks will now take on round-robin log-leaders UFS Kovsies in the second semi-final on Monday 23 September, while UJ and NWU will contest the first semi-final, with both semi-finals schedule for play in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
The final day of 2024 Varsity Netball champs round-robin action kicked off with Maties versus NWU. The first fixture of the day would see the third-place team up against the fourth-placed side. The Eagles proved to be too strong for their opponents as they secured a 54-38 win as they wanted to book their place in the semi-finals.
It was a tight affair in Q1 as both teams were looking to assert dominance early. However, it was pretty evenly matched and NWU managed to take a 13-9 lead. This trend continued and the two teams still put up a fight but NWU maintained their leading position and still had a handle on the match and to lead 21-16.
Q3 is where NWU took the game to Maties and forced the Cape side to make numerous errors that played in their favour. The final quarter proved to be the decisive one where they not only sealed a win but also their place in the semi-finals.
The second match of the day was billed to be filled with action. The reigning champions, Tuks faced log leaders UJ in what was also a repeat of last year’s final and it was the Pretoria team who grabbed a 56-48 victory.
As expected both teams came out guns blazing and with a Tuks currently occupying 5th place, they knew only a win would suffice if they wanted to put their name in the hat for a place in the semi-finals. The fight for the upper hand was on as it was the Orange Army who had their noses just in front to lead 12-11.
Of all the matches so far this is been the closest contest and the two teams continued to jostle for the upper hand but couldn’t be separate as they went into halftime level at 24-24. The defending champions then turned on the heat to take the lead for the first time in the match, 39-35. Tuks showed their pedigree and were able to seal an important win to seal their place in the semi-finals and hand UJ their first loss.
Wits got a come-from-behind 62-50 win against Madibaz in the third match of the day as both teams were playing for pride. The team from Gqeberha took and early powerplay in Q1 and used it to their advantage to get them a 16-11 lead. Wits proved to a be a tricky opponent in Q2 as they tried to keep pace with Madibaz but their opponents held on to the lead 31-26 heading into the halftime break.
Wits then built on their momentum and managed to overturn the lead to 40-45 in their favour. This continued in the final quarter of the match which saw Wits seal a great victory and earn their title of the ‘surprise package’ this season.
Kovsies flew straight out the blocks in their meeting with TUT and this saw them to an incredible 112-9 victory. UFS proved to be in a class of their own as they took an impressive 29-2 lead in Q1. TUT were not able to put a foot right against Kovsies which meant they were playing catch-up at this point with their opponents leading 60-10 at half time. The Free State team continued to power on and went on to obliterate TUT with a landslide victory at the Callie Human Hall.
The victory means that Kovsies finish top of the log and booked their semi-final place in front of their home crowd. TUT’s difficult night was made worse as they were received a 10 goal deduction for a transformation transgression.
The semi-finals take place on Monday, 30 September 2024 where UJ will host NWU and Kovsies will be at home to Tuks. The final will be played a week later, on the Monday, 7 October 2024.
Results and Fixtures of the 2024 Varsity Netball Tournament
Sunday, 1 September at the Wits Sports Hall
Wits Netball 33-78 UFS Kovsies NetballUJ Netball 46-38 Maties NetballUP-Tuks Netball 96-9 TUT NetballNWU Netball 85-49 Madibaz Netball
Monday, 2 September at the Wits Sports Hall
UFS Kovsies Netball 62-54 NWU NetballTUT Netball 13-77 Maties NetballUJ Netball 72-35 Madibaz NetballWits Netball 49-64 UP-Tuks Netball
Sunday, 8 September at the Madibaz Sports Centre
Madibaz Netball 47-81 UP-Tuks NetballWits Netball 42-68 Maties NetballUJ Netball 51-46 UFS Kovsies NetballTUT Netball 17-75 NWU Netball
Monday, 9 September at the Madibaz Sports Centre
UJ Netball 59-42 Wits NetballNWU Netball 62-61 UP-Tuks NetballMaties Netball 45-56 UFS Kovsies NetballMadibaz Netball 71-25 TUT Netball
Monday, 16 September
Madibaz Netball 26-79 UFS Kovsies Netball (Rembrandt Hall)UP-Tuks Netball 48-55 Maties Netball (Rembrandt Hall)Wits Netball 86-24 TUT Netball (NWU Mafikeng Great Hall)NWU Netball 39-64 UJ Netball (NWU Mafikeng Great Hall)
Sunday, 22 September at the Callie Human Hall
UFS Kovsies Netball 67-49 UP-Tuks NetballMaties Netball 63-22 Madibaz NetballTUT Netball 22-53 UJ NetballWits Netball 39-54 NWU Netball
Monday, 23 September at the Callie Human Hall
NWU Netball 54-38 Maties NetballUP-Tuks 56-48 UJMadibaz Netball 50-62 Wits NetballUFS Kovsies Netball 112-9 TUT Netball
Monday, 30 September at the Callie Human Hall in Bloemfontein
17:00 Semi-Final 1 UJ Netball vs NWU Netball19:00 Semi-Final 2 UFS Kovsies Netball vs UP-Tuks Netball
Monday, 7 October at Venue TBC
19:00 Varsity Netball Final TBC vs TBC
Teams Contesting the 2024 Varsity Netball Tournament
Leading Semi-Finals Qualifier – UFS Kovsies Netball – University of the Free StateSecond Semi-Finals Qualifier – UJ Netball – University of JohannesburgThird Semi-Finals Qualifier – NWU Netball – North West UniversityFouth Semi-Finals Qualifier – UP-Tuks Netball – University of Pretoria5. Maties Netball – University of Stellenbosch6. Wits Netball – University of Witwatersrand7. Madibaz Netball – Nelson Mandela University8. TUT Netball – Tshwane University of Technology
Main Photo caption: It was do-or-die for the defending champs Tuks who needed to beat the undefeated log leaders UJ, and their enthralling victory sees Tuks edge Maties for the last berth to Join Kovsies, UJ and NWU in upcoming Sunday’s Varsity Netball semifinals in Bloemfontein, after fierce final contests at the Callie Human Hall at the UFS on Monday, 23 September, 2024. Photo: Varsity Netball Photo: Varsity Netball
Photo 2 caption: Wits earned a come-from-behind win over Madibaz Monday’s third fixture, with both teams playing for pride. Photo: Varsity Netball
Photo 3 caption: Kovsies thrashed TUT to finish top of the log and book their semi-final place in front of a raucous home crowd. Photo: Varsity Netball
