Jensen Pletschke, who has grown in stature this season, will be a key player in the Madibaz ranks as they aim to improve their national ranking at the University Sports SA tournament this weekend.
The team from Mandela University in Gqeberha will report for duty at the five-day tennis event in Pretoria on December 2.
Pletschke, who will compete in his second USSA week, wants the Madibaz to build on their performance of last year when they placed third in the B-division.
“I feel that was a decent result, but I believe we can improve on it,” the second-year pharmacy student said this week.
The team have been at it for weeks with an eye on delivering the goods in 2024 when another top-three place will earn them promotion to the top division in 2025.
Besides the challenge of getting one over on the competition, Pletschke said coastal teams who travelled to upcountry events also had to “compete” against the heat and altitude — which meant adapting to the conditions was paramount.
He described his maiden appearance at the elite tertiary event, where the whole team reportedly played well, as “surreal”. But this time, with a spot in the A-division their ambition, the stakes are even higher.
After his USSA debut last season, the Madibaz No 1’s on-court performances were rewarded by the selectors.
This led to him being called up to the national team which competed at the Cucsa Games in Pretoria as well as an invitational quadrangular in Harare this year.
At the latter, Pletschke won two of three singles matches to help the South Africans seal third place.
“My trip to Zimbabwe has become a motivational tool to work harder as the level of tennis was very high,” the 19-year-old, who at the time described it as an “eye-opening experience,” said.
There he faced players who had just represented their respective countries at the Fisu (International University Sports Federation) Games.
He returned home to work even harder at his game.
“One of the particular elements I have tried to improve this year has been to play more strategically,” he said.
“This was one of the big lessons I learnt in Zimbabwe; I realised how important it was to follow a disciplined [and] tactical pattern.”
The USSA format has been rejigged from previous years, which means the men and women will compete as one team this time around.
There are only three singles matches (both men and women), two doubles (one each) and a mixed doubles.
Another change is three sections instead of the usual two, with Madibaz grouped in the second.
One year older and wiser, he (and his colleagues) cannot wait to get the show on the road.
“It’s going to be a blast.”
The team is:
Men: Jensen Pletschke, Gershin Williams, Ian Janse van Rensburg, Ryan Ntuli, Jacques le Roux
Women: Amelie Kruger, Jade Singleton, Jessica Gleaves, Genalyn Gazi. — Reuters
HeraldLIVE
Tennis star Pletschke key to Madibaz’s ambitions at USSAs
Image: SUPPLIED
Jensen Pletschke, who has grown in stature this season, will be a key player in the Madibaz ranks as they aim to improve their national ranking at the University Sports SA tournament this weekend.
The team from Mandela University in Gqeberha will report for duty at the five-day tennis event in Pretoria on December 2.
Pletschke, who will compete in his second USSA week, wants the Madibaz to build on their performance of last year when they placed third in the B-division.
“I feel that was a decent result, but I believe we can improve on it,” the second-year pharmacy student said this week.
The team have been at it for weeks with an eye on delivering the goods in 2024 when another top-three place will earn them promotion to the top division in 2025.
Besides the challenge of getting one over on the competition, Pletschke said coastal teams who travelled to upcountry events also had to “compete” against the heat and altitude — which meant adapting to the conditions was paramount.
He described his maiden appearance at the elite tertiary event, where the whole team reportedly played well, as “surreal”. But this time, with a spot in the A-division their ambition, the stakes are even higher.
After his USSA debut last season, the Madibaz No 1’s on-court performances were rewarded by the selectors.
This led to him being called up to the national team which competed at the Cucsa Games in Pretoria as well as an invitational quadrangular in Harare this year.
At the latter, Pletschke won two of three singles matches to help the South Africans seal third place.
“My trip to Zimbabwe has become a motivational tool to work harder as the level of tennis was very high,” the 19-year-old, who at the time described it as an “eye-opening experience,” said.
There he faced players who had just represented their respective countries at the Fisu (International University Sports Federation) Games.
He returned home to work even harder at his game.
“One of the particular elements I have tried to improve this year has been to play more strategically,” he said.
“This was one of the big lessons I learnt in Zimbabwe; I realised how important it was to follow a disciplined [and] tactical pattern.”
The USSA format has been rejigged from previous years, which means the men and women will compete as one team this time around.
There are only three singles matches (both men and women), two doubles (one each) and a mixed doubles.
Another change is three sections instead of the usual two, with Madibaz grouped in the second.
One year older and wiser, he (and his colleagues) cannot wait to get the show on the road.
“It’s going to be a blast.”
The team is:
Men: Jensen Pletschke, Gershin Williams, Ian Janse van Rensburg, Ryan Ntuli, Jacques le Roux
Women: Amelie Kruger, Jade Singleton, Jessica Gleaves, Genalyn Gazi. — Reuters
HeraldLIVE
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