The netball action commences on 14 September and runs until 20 October. There are eight universities taking part in the competition, namely: Stellenbosch University (Maties), University of the Free State (Kovsies), North-West University (Pukke), University of Johannesburg (UJ), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), University of Cape Town (UCT), Vaal University of Technology (VUT), and the University of Pretoria (Tuks).
Last year’s winners Kovsies will be aiming to replicate their form in 2013. They managed to edge out tournament favourites Pukke, who had gone the entire campaign unbeaten until Kovsies beat them 40-44 in a tightly contested final.
Round one sees last year’s finalists Pukke host Maties, UJ welcome VUT, UCT take on NMMU and Tuks open their campaign with a difficult fixture in the Free State against defending champions Kovsies. Tuks narrowly lost out last season, with Kovsies winning by 53 points to Tuks’ 46.
All the teams will then travel to Port Elizabeth for a three-day round of fixtures, running from 20-22 September. Tuks will face Maties, VUT and NMMU. Tuks will play at home on 29 September when they face UJ in Pretoria. The teams then travel to Johannesburg where Tuks will face UCT and Pukke in the last round of group fixtures.
The ladies from Pretoria will be looking to improve on last year’s performance where they finished fourth, losing out by a mere four points in the semi-final to Pukke.
Image provided.