4 May 2023
South Africa’s leading boys’ school tennis teams will be in action from Friday, 5 May, to Sunday, 7 May, in Kearsney’s College’s annual Spar Tennis Festival, with matches being played at Kearsney, Saint Mary’s DSG, and Highbury.
Impressive line-up
The impressive line-up features Kearsney in Group Nadal, along with Affies, Paul Roos, who have won past two Spar Tennis Festivals, and Rondebosch Boys’ High. Group Federer includes Westville Boys’ High, Grey College, Pretoria Boys’ High, and Saint David’s Marist Inanda.
Paul Roos and Grey College have been the only winners since 2015, with the boys from Stellenbosch winning the title four times, Grey winning it thrice, and Covid-19 going unchallenged in 2020.
Paul Roos is, in fact, the most successful school in the history of the event, with 14 titles to their name, one of which was shared with Grey College in 2004. The Bloemfontein school has four wins, while Affies has taken the honours twice and Pretoria Boys’ High once.
Westville challenge
Since Kearsney won the event in its first two years (sharing it with Waterkloof in 1997), no KZN school has won it. This year, though, that could change. Westville Boys’ High has deeply impressive depth in their ranks. If they play to their potential and take advantage of familiar conditions, they could not only dethrone Paul Roos, but also topple top-seeds, Grey College.
The Westville line-up includes Guy Vorwerk, who has represented South Africa at under-16 level; Connor Doig, who also has national colours, and who, as an 14-year-old, won the open section at the 2022 Growthpoint Super 8 at Westridge Park; and Senthen Reddy, who was named in the under-18 national tennis squad last year.
Matthew Wilson, Lindo Gcwensa, Adam Logie and Johannes Adam provide quality depth, right down to the last player. Westville will need everyone to perform if they’re going to break the hold of Paul Roos and Grey College on the prestigious title, but they have the quality to do so.
Lindo’s making the most of Westville opportunity | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
KZN u19 player Caleb Fyvie, long a standout performer for the hosts, leads the Kearsney team, with Finn Conningham, whose father, Matt, played on the international junior circuit, playing at number two. Behind them, are another KZN u19 representative, Keegan Gevers, who is joined by Angus Fyvie, Jason Denekamp, Connor van Heerden and Luca Giai-Minietti.
Away from the courts, it is worth noting that Van Heerden finished tied for first in the South African Junior History Olympiad, while Denekamp received a Gold Certificate for finishing in the top five percent nationally!
Kearsney’s Connor joint 1st in SA Junior History Olympiad | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Grey College’s challenge will be spearheaded by Cornel Liebenberg, the son of former Free State and Proteas’ opening batsman, Gerhardus Liebenberg.
He was seeded seventh, but he finished as the runner-up in April’s Growthpoint National Junior Championships after ousting top-seed Drikus de Jager in the quarterfinals. Coincidently, it was De Jager who Westville’s Connor Doig defeated in the open division final of Growthpoint Super 8 at Westridge Park in 2022.
FIXTURES
(Morning sessions are from 8:15, afternoon sessions from 12:45)
Friday, 7 May
Morning
Group Nadal
Kearsney vs Rondebosch, Kearsney 3, 4, 5
Paul Roos vs Affies, Saint Mary’s
Group Federer
Grey College vs Saint David’s, Highbury
Westville vs Pretoria Boys’, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
Afternoon
Group Nadal
Kearsney vs Affies, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
Paul Roos vs Rondebosch, Highbury
Group Federer
Westville vs Grey College, Saint Mary’s
Pretoria Boys vs Saint David’s, Kearsney 3, 4, 5
Saturday, 6 May
Morning
Group Nadal
Kearsney vs Paul Roos, Kearsney 1, 2
Rondebosch vs Affies, Kearsney 3, 4
Group Federer
Grey College vs Pretoria Boys, Kearsney 5, 6
Westville vs Saint David’s, Highbury
Afternoon
Playoffs
Winner Nadal vs 2nd Federer (A), TBC
2nd Nadal vs winner Federer (B), TBC
3rd Nadal vs 4th Federer, (C) TBC
4th Nadal vs 3rd Federer, (D) TBC
Sunday morning, 7 May
Finals and playoffs
Final: winner A vs winner B, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
3rd/4th: loser A vs loser B, TBC
5th/6th: winner C vs winner D, TBC
7th/8th: loser C vs loser D, TBC
The Spar Kearsney Tennis Festival also enjoys sponsorship from Sportsmans Warehouse, Sanlam and Wilson.
For more at your fingertips’ info, get the Kearsney College Events app in the Google Play Store.
Kearsney College Events – Apps on Google Play
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