St Stithians Preparatory tennis teams dominate district tournament
St Stithians Preparatory girls' and boys' A teams claimed the Rising Stars District Tennis titles at Ellis Park, beating a strong field of fifteen schools.
St Stithians Preparatory’s girls’ and boys’ A tennis teams celebrated after winning the Rising Stars District Tennis Tournament at Ellis Park against a field of 15 schools.
The girls’ A team, comprising Georgia Frankish, Rhea Padayachee, Lucy Frankish and Camilla Schroeder, swept their opening match, before beating their own B team in the quarter-final. “Playing against your own school is tough, but I told the girls to go out and play the ball and not the player,” said coach Nadine van Dyk. They beat Unika A in the semi-final without dropping a set, then defeated rivals St Mary’s A in the final.
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Van Dyk praised the team’s composure: “Our girls kept their consistency and game plan together throughout the whole weekend, keeping their unforced mistakes to a minimum.” She noted that the squad, which includes two Grade 6 learners, one Grade 5 learner and one Grade 4 learner, was young but formidable.
The girls’ B team, made up of Lucia Bester, Keira Keevy, Megan Dumaresq and Savannah Brebnor, recovered from their early loss to finish fifth, beating St Mary’s C and De La Salle Holy Cross College girls’ A team in tie-break deciders.
On the boys’ side, head coach Renier Moolman said the toughest test came in the semi-final against Unika Primary. After losing the doubles point, number one Samuel Simpson levelled the tie, giving number two Andrew Heyns extra motivation to seal the win. In the final, against De La Salle Holy Cross College, the boys won the doubles point first, before completing victory in both singles.
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Moolman praised Benjamin Bell, a late addition who moved up three places in the team, saying he stepped up and performed extremely well. He also credited the girls’ B team’s resilience, and pointed to the programme’s culture. “We must always give a 100% effort, but never forget that it must still be fun as well.”
Teams now turn to the national leg of Rising Stars and Tennis South Africa events in December, with the girls’ Sun City Tournament set for October.
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