NMMU pull off stunning squash win
CHAMPIONS NMMU A showed they would not easily concede their EP men's first league squash title with a commanding 12-3 win over closest rivals Sunridge SuperSpar Londt Park B at NMMU this week.
In inflicting the first defeat of the season on Londt Park, Jason le Roux's team transformed a five-point deficit into a four-point advantage with two rounds remaining in the first half.
Clearly, their second-round clash on September 2 will be highly influential in the destiny of the title, while both teams will be focused on dropping as few points as possible in their remaining fixtures.
The match on Tuesday stood interestingly poised after the first two matches, with NMMU winning both to lead 6-3 in games. But then the varsity side delivered a stunning coup de grace as Kyle Schwarz and Le Roux romped home in straight games against Rudi van Niekerk and Greg la Mude respectively.
Le Roux capped a superb win when he outplayed La Mude, delivering an array of outstanding shots and reading his opponents' game well.
Earlier, Londt Park No4 Peter Ryder, suffering from a back spasm, had given a typically gritty effort to fight back from 2-0 down to hold matchpoint at 10-9 against Andre Labuschagne. But he then uncharacteristically put two drives in the tin to give the NMMU man a key win.
At No3, Jarryd Terblanche dropped the first game but then proved too skilful and controlled for Dewald van Niekerk, winning 3-1.
In the women's league, Londt Park B continued to leap ahead of the rest, beating NMMU 12-1, while Rhodes registered their first win of the season in a tight 8-7 result against Westview B.
This week's results were:
Women Sunridge SuperSpar LP A bt Saders A 10-4 (LP first): L Goosen bt D van Eyk 3-0, C Levey lost to K de Kock 3-1, T Dowling bt C Walland 3-1, K Trevarthen bt J Price 3-0
Sunridge SuperSpar LP B bt NMMU 12-1 (LP first): J Ryder bt S O'Grady 3-1, J Dodd bt D Cooper 3-0, B la Mude bt A Changfoot 3-0, K Hoy bt N Langdon 3-0
Saders B bt Wv A 10-4 (Saders first): A Murray lost to J Byrnes 3-1, L O'Grady bt D vd Merwe 3-1, A Fraser bt M Bailey 3-0, W Theron bt N Roth 3-0
Rhodes bt Wv B 8-7 (Rhodes first): N Ramchandra lost to K Schepers 3-1, C Ross bt B Kohne 3-1, A Farrell bt C Matthys 3-0, J Davies lost to K Rowe 3-1
Men Sunridge SuperSpar LP A bt Saders 11-5 (LP first): A Senekal bt P Mason 3-1, G Hall bt D Schultz 3-1, Q Masters bt M Westcott 3-0, N Bigge lost to M Oshry 3-2
NMMU bt Sunridge SuperSpar LP B 12-3 (NMMU first): J le Roux bt G la Mude 3-0, K Schwarz bt R van Niekerk 3-0, J Terblanche bt D van Niekerk 3-1, A Labuschagne bt P Ryder 3-2
Old Grey bt Wv 12-2 (OG first): B Nomkala bt L Sigele 3-0, B Forbes bt L Petersen 3-2, J Wessels bt D Hahn 3-0, T Ncamani bt D Strydom 3-0
Profiles bt Rhodes 12-2 (Profiles first): S Bailey bt S Euijen 3-2, D Bigara bt M Hedges 3-0, G Plaatjies bt S Kelly 3-0, R Webster bt P de Levey 3-0
ýThe latest EP first league logs, subject to ratification by the logkeeper, are:
Men (six unless stated): NMMU A 79 (7), LP B 75 (7), Profiles 59, LP A 51, Old Grey 44, Saders 29, NMMU B 24, Rhodes 19, Wv 16.
Women: (six unless stated): LP B 78 (7), LP C 58, Saders B 56, LP A 41, NMMU 41 (7), Wv B 38, Saders A 37, Wv A 32, Rhodes 17
- Neale Emslie
