Squash has made its mark this year, with the 1st team doing especially well in the local girls’ schools’ league and the Border Ladies’ 3rd League, winning both comfortably and always showing keen sportsmanship too. The depth of players is also a credit to the school, with quite a few of our players juggling practices with other sports too.
The first term Border Schools’ Ranking tournaments once again showed our depth, although a number of our players were not available for the July tournaments as they had other commitments. Girls who were ranked this year included:
U/14 : Casey-Jade Hechter
U/16 : Stacy Opperman (2), Courtney Collins (8)
U/19 : Diana Farrer (4), Caileigh Stap (5), Tanielle Wilson (7), Laikyn Victor (8), Rosanne Clark (11)
The Border Schools’ U19A (Diana Farrer), U/16A (Stacy Opperman) and U16B (Courtney Collins) teams were all placed in the top three places at the Inter-Provincial tournament in July, showing the strength of our players nationally.
At the end of the 1st term, our Top 6 players (Diana Farrer, Caileigh Stap, Tanielle Wilson, Stacy Opperman, Laikyn Victor and Rosanne Clark) took part in the DSG Squash Festival, with 5 other schools, where we rose to the occasion admirably, beating DSG 18 – 3, Kingswood 18 – 2 and Stirling 18 – 2 and losing to Queenstown Girls’ High 17 – 8. We were thus placed 2nd overall. Stacy Opperman, playing at No. 4, was the star of the team, being unbeaten in all her matches..
In the 2nd term, we won the Derby day fixture against QGHS, which necessitated a playoff with them to determine the team for the Top Schools’ Tournament from Border. Unfortunately we narrowly lost this 3 – 2, with only 5 points separating the teams! During the term, 4 players represented the school at the All Girls’ Festival in Pretoria, namely, Tanielle Wilson, Stacy Opperman, Kayla Jordaan and Courtney Collins. They gave a good account of themselves, in the face of tough opposition, and were placed 4th overall. In this term, we entered 4 teams in the Girls’ Schools’ Leagues, with the 1st and 2nd teams winning their respective leagues. We would like to record our thanks to Mr Currin and Mr Sammons for assisting with matches.
In the 3rd term, to add variation to the leagues, the boys and girls leagues combined and some entertaining games were played against ‘new’ opposition! The 1st team only lost to the Selborne teams, and were victorious against the Stirling and Hudson Park Boy’s teams! This success was continued by the top four players in the Border Ladies’ League (Diana, Caileigh, Stacy and Tanielle), as they completed 4 rounds of matches against the local club sides, losing only 1 match the entire season from March to September. They were thus awarded the 3rd League Trophy at the Border Squash Prizegiving, in addition to being given a special award for their contribution and sportsmanship – a true honour for us. Caileigh Stap was also named as the Most Improved Player in the Ladies’ Section. We express our appreciation to the parents of the first team players for their support during the season and assistance at matches.
In this term, the Inter-House Competition was also played, with Ketchen winning on a count out of points from Gittins, followed by Hunter.
However, the 3rd term also brought immense sadness, as Tanielle Wilson’s mother succumbed to illness at the end of July. Then at the beginning of the September holidays, the girls were devastated by the sudden passing away of Tanielle. The 1st team especially, is still trying to come to terms with this, and we all attended her funeral service, where Caileigh spoke movingly on our behalf. Our sincere condolences are extended to her father, Duncan, on his tragic loss. A plaque in her memory is to be placed in our squash courts, as she showed a real passion for Squash and commitment to the team. She was also awarded the Donovan Trophy in her memory at the Sports Awards assembly, with Kirsty-Leigh Donovan presenting it personally to the 1st team girls, who received it as Tanielle’s fellow team-mates.
Congratulations to the girls awarded Colours this year: Diana Farrer and Stacy Opperman; the Most Improved player – Stacy Opperman; Squash Champion for 2009 – Diana Farrer, with Stacy Opperman the Runner-up.
We bid farewell to our Squash Captain, Caileigh Stap, who has served Clarendon Squash so faithfully from Grade 8, and her fellow Matrics – Unam (Vice-Captain), Mikaela, Leah and Sasha - for their contribution to the game at Clarendon. Hopefully, this will not be the end of your participation in this great game!
Finally, our gratitude is extended to Mrs Harrison and Mrs Voke for their organisation and to Jason le Roux, our coach, for his regular input into our court skills. We also appreciate the time that Mr Sammons and Ms September spend with the Social group, encouraging them to enjoy the game at a less competitive level.