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12 September 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Sports
Netball
Jana Scholtz, goal defender and playing in her first year as a regular starter, has been a solid performer for the Kovsie netball team in Varsity Netball.
The building blocks are starting to form a solid basis from where Kovsies can launch an attack to defend the Varsity Netball title they won in 2018. This is according to Karin Venter, one of the team’s assistant coaches.

After losing their first encounter to Tuks, they registered wins over the University of Johannesburg, Tshwane University of Technology, and the North-West University. The match against the Maties in Bloemfontein on 23 September 2019 – the last in the group stage, should determine which of the two teams will book a home semi-final along with Tuks.

“Yes, that is the crucial one,” said Venter, the team’s defensive coach. Her counterpart at the Maties is Adéle Niemand, with whom Venter combined as defenders at Kovsies for several matches in the mid-2000s. Apart from the Maties, the women of the University of the Free State still have to face the Madibaz and the University of the Western Cape (both in Pretoria on 15 and 16 September 2019).

“The combinations are starting to form a unit and our confidence is on the increase. Now we are looking for consistency in our performances.”

According to Venter, they were hit hard by goalkeeper Ané Retief’s injury, which kept her out of the first two matches. This meant that they had to start against Tuks with a first-year student, Chanel Vrey.

“It was tough, but I’m impressed with the way in which she, Ancia Pienaar, and Jana Scholtz – who are all youngsters – stepped up.”

Venter is responsible for the analyses and recons to assist players.

“The programme we are using provides us with all the required footage. You can make notes on it and send these clips to players, which means you don’t have to sit next to a player to explain something. We also provide them with notes and sketches of opponents’ playing patterns, which they must work through as part of their preparation.”

News Archive

UFS attracts excellent and diverse students
2015-08-20


Matshediso Mokoena and Thato Monkoe.
Photo: Thabo Kessah

When Thato Monkoe and Matshediso Mokoena sat for their final matric examinations in 2014, all they had on their minds was not just passing, but passing well. Little did they know at that time that passing well would place so much responsibility on their shoulders.

 

Both Thato and Matshediso come from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds. They are first-year students at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State, and are the first in their respective families to study at a university.

 

Thato describes his situation as “sad and good at the same time”.

 

“It is good, because I am the first one at home to have completed my matric and to have gone on to study at a tertiary institution. At the same time, it is sad as I feel sorry for my siblings who, for various reasons, did not have similar opportunities when they opted out of school”, said Thato, a BEd student.

 

”Now my sister and brother, as well as the entire family, perceive me as the one with brains, and this makes me uncomfortable. However, I am up for the challenge to be the first one to graduate with a degree in my family”.

 

Matshediso Mokoena, a BSc student, who obtained distinctions in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Life Sciences last year, concurs with Thato.

 

”As much as my family is supportive, there is always pressure as they expect the best from me,” she said.

 

“The pressure does not only come from my family. My entire community looks up to me, and they can’t stop talking about my achievements”, Matshediso revealed.

 

Both Thato and Matshediso are, however, happy that the dark cloud of doubt about academic achievement in their families has finally disappeared.

 

“At least someone in my family is hard at work carving her future, and willing to set a good example. That person is me”, said Matshediso, who aspires to be a medical doctor, and has a younger sister in Grade 8.

 

Thato and Matshediso are just two of hundreds of students making good use of the University of the Free State’s commitment to attract excellent and diverse students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as reflected in the Strategic Plan 2015-2020.


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