The Kovsie netball team – Khomotso Mamburu in particular – has had an excellent start to Varsity Netball 2018. Mamburu, who plays goal defence and wing defence, became the first Kovsie player in the history of the series to bag two Player of the Match awards consecutively.

The Kovsies won both their opening matches with ease. Their big win over the defending champions, Tuks, by 68-43 in August, was the biggest defeat the Pretoria students have ever suffered in the competition. 

The Kovsie netball team, who are the two-time champions of 2013 and 2014, also earned a bonus-point victory in August when they drubbed the University of Johannesburg by 69-29. The Kovsies are now joint first on the log.

They faced the Vaal University of Technology in the Callie Human Centre this past Sunday, followed by a meeting against the University of the Western Cape on Monday afternoon.

Khomotso, an LLB Law student who was voted Player of the Varsity Series last year, has received three Player of the Match awards, which is just one less than the Kovsie record of four held by Karla Pretorius, playing for the team from 2013 to 2015. 

Meanwhile Karla, a postgraduate student, is making huge strides overseas. Her club, Sunshine Coast Lightning, won the Australian league for a second consecutive year on Sunday. She was named in the Team of the Tournament as goal defence. Karla finished the tournament with 50 incepts, which were the most in the tournament.