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UFS tennis team clinch ninth USSA title

10 December 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Supplied

The country’s number one student team and South Africa’s second-best club. This is the bragging rights earned by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) tennis team after winning the 2019 University Sport South Africa (USSA) Tennis Championship.

The Kovsie team claimed their ninth consecutive USSA title on Friday 6 December in Stellenbosch, winning all their matches. The team comprised both men and women – a combination which has been in place since 2010. Since 2010, there has been only one name on the USSA trophy, with the Kovsie team winning from 2010 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2019. The competition was not hosted in 2016.

In the 2019 USSA final against Maties, Kovsies was declared the winner, with the score 7-1 after completing seven singles matches and one doubles. A match consisted of four men’s singles, four women’s singles, two men’s doubles, two women’s doubles, and two mixed doubles.

Arne Nel, Ruben Kruger, Handre Hoffman, Heinrich Willemse, Ester de Kock, and Reze Opperman all won their singles in straight sets. Kruger and Willemse combined for a win in the only doubles match.

On their road to victory, the team had wins over the North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, and the University of Pretoria. The victory over the University of Pretoria in the semi-final was revenge for the Sun City University Championship in March, where they denied Kovsies a fourth consecutive crown in that competition.

Another feather in the cap for Kovsie tennis was that two team members, Willemse and Kruger, along with two management members – Marnus Kleinhans and Janine de Kock, respectively UFS tennis coach and team manager – were chosen for the South African team to the World Student Games in July.

News Archive

Minister praises the Faculty of Law

2009-02-13

At the launch of the Faculty of Law at the UFS's celebration of 100 years of jurisprudence, under the theme "Iurisprudentia 100", were, from the left: Judge Faan Hancke, Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law and Chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Lex Mpati, President of the Highest Court of Appeal, Mr Surty, Judge Hendrik Musi, Judge President of the High Court of the Free State, and Prof. Henning.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Enver Surty, has praised the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) for producing lawyers, academics, judges, etc. of great note.

Mr Surty was guest speaker this week on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein at the launch of the faculty’s celebration of a century of excellence in legal education, training and research at the UFS. The theme of the celebration is “Iurisprudentia 100”.

“The faculty has throughout its existence demonstrated its capability and capacity to produce scholars, legal practitioners, academics, judges, politicians etc, of great note. The university can take pride in the fact that, as an institution, you have done so well,” said Mr Surty.

Mr Surty said that our judiciary must be adequately qualified and it must be representative of our nation. “We must therefore have more aspiring judges in our midst and we must have a more representative judiciary – in race and gender. This is where an institution like the UFS can play an important role,” said Mr Surty.

Mr Surty also commented on the university’s engagement with its communities.
“The UFS has begun to recognise the importance of community engagement. Unless community engagement is part of your curricular activity we would not be able to produce the judges of the caliber we need who are better able to understand the social and economic context of our society,” he said.

According to Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS, the faculty has a distinguished history of excellence in theoretical and practical legal education and training, which can be traced as far back as the establishment of the Grey University College in 1904.

Over the years, student numbers grew considerably and today the faculty has over 2 700 graduate and postgraduate students.

“The faculty prides itself on the fact that some of its students and lecturers went on to hold some of the highest offices in the country. Under its alumni are state presidents, ministers of state, administrators, judges of appeal, judges, rectors, professors and lecturers at the UFS as well as at other universities, advocates, attorneys and legal advisors – in private practice as well as in government,” said Prof. Henning.

The faculty’s “Iurisprudentia 100” celebrations will take place throughout the year with activities such as breakfasts for the various alumni groups of the faculty and a series of inaugural lectures. Cum Laude awards will also be
handed to Judge Lex Mpati, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, and Judge Louis Harms, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Appeal. The celebrations will be concluded in November with a prestige dinner.

Celebration programme:

26 February 2009: Visit by Prof. Fernand de Varennes (of the Murdoch Law School, Perth, Australia),
13 March 2009: Breakfast for all candidate attorneys
18 March 2009: Breakfast for judges and Cum Laude awards
15 May 2009: Breakfast for labour law certificate alumni
11 September 2009: Breakfast for diploma alumni (CFP)
16 October 2009: Breakfast for attorneys and advocates
9-12 November 2009: Inaugural and public lectures
13 November 2009: Centenary dinner

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
18 February 2009

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