Herschel Girls School delivered a statement performance when they defeated the defending champion, Durban Girls’ College (DCG), 14-2 in the final of the Mackenzie Cup in Cape Town on Sunday.
The girls from Claremont were in superb form and rushed into an 8-0 lead at the break before adding six goals to their tally in the second half.
After finishing third last year, Herschel won the prestigious water polo tournament for only the second time in their history.
“The tournament, as a whole, was very well done. It was nicely organised and very well officiated. That was very cool,” Herschel’s head coach Alex Hawkins told SuperSport Schools News.
“For us, as a team, we had our ups and downs in the beginning, where some of our matrics were still writing exams and couldn’t make some of the games. I also couldn’t make a game in the pool stages because I was working.”
Those ups and downs led to two defeats in the group stage of the competition: a 6-9 loss to Clarendon and a 9-10 defeat on penalties to DGC after a pulsating 10-10 draw.
After finishing third in Pool B, Herschel faced Rustenburg Girls’ High in the playoffs and powered to a one-sided 19-0 win.
Herschel then switched their attention to the last eight and a showdown with the hosts, Reddam House Constantia. In an intense battle between the Cape Town duo, Herschel prevailed 11-6 to book a semifinal slot against Pearson High.
In a tight contest against the Gqeberha side, Herschel recorded a 5-4 victory to progress to the title game. DGC, meanwhile, outplayed Glenwood House 8-2 in the other semifinal.
“In the final, we put it all together, and we were quite dominant,” Hawkins said.
“Yes, throughout we were very up and down, but I think that’s to be expected in the first tournament back of the new season.
“Overall, I’m very happy with how the girls bounced back.”
Herschel’s next assignment will be a tour to KwaZulu-Natal for the annual St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament in two weeks.
Looking ahead to that challenge, Hawkins said there are areas of Herschel’s game that he would like to improve upon, while also giving their senior players a perfect send-off.
“St Anne’s will be our matrics’ last tournament, and we’ve got eight senior players in the team. So, after that tournament, the team is going to change a lot, but that’s cool,” he said. “It’s how we’ve done it every year.
“In terms of our game, we want to be lively on defence and have good defence, which works for our attack. We want to focus more on our game plan and not worry so much about other teams.
“It’s more important to focus on executing what our game plan is.”
During the Mackenzie Cup, Herschel’s captain Charlotte Wiltshire and vice-captain Jemma Pearse were two of the standout players.
They will be vital in the Cape Town school’s pursuit of a second piece of silverware at St Anne’s.
Results
Quarterfinals
Durban Girls’ College 8-3 Collegiate
Herschel 11-6 Reddam House
Pearson 6-5 Clarendon
Glenwood House 13-12 St Cyprian’s School
Semifinals
Durban Girls’ College 8-2 Glenwood House
Herschel 5-4 Pearson High
Final
Herschel 14-2 DGC
Playoff Results
3rd/4th: Pearson 9-8 Glenwood House
5th/6th: Reddam House 9-7 St Cyprian’s
7th/8th: Clarendon 8-5 Collegiate
9th/10th: Rhenish 8-6 Springfield Convent School
11th/12th: Reddam House Invitational 9-1 Rustenburg Girls’ High
13th/14th: Wynberg Girls’ High 10-2 Fish Hoek
15th/16th: Westerford 9-7 Somerset College
Final standings
Herschel Girls School
Durban Girls’ College
Pearson High
Glenwood House
Reddam House Constantia
St Cyprian’s School
Clarendon High School for Girls
Collegiate Girls’ High School
Rhenish Girls’ High
Springfield Convent School
Reddam House Invitational
Rustenburg Girls’ High
Wynberg Girls’ High
Fish Hoek
Westerford
Somerset College
