PAARL. – Paarl Girls’ High’s netball captain, Annabel Vollgraaff, will have to produce an extraordinary performance to lead her side to victory in the annual Interschools clash against Paarl Gimnasium.
The match is also part of the Suzuki Netball Power Series and starts Friday at 15:30. Catch all the action on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com) or DStv Channel 216.
Vollgraaff’s performance will be instrumental for the home side if they want to cause an upset. She is the only player from her school to make the Top 35 u18 players named at the annual Telkom Netball Challenge earlier this year.
She will be up against probably the best defensive unit in schools’ netball this year. Gim’s goalkeeper, Eloné Dippenaar, and goal defence, Nicola van Heerden, were both also included in the Top 35 players.
Add Sophia Liebenberg (wing defence) to this defensive trio, and you will understand why Gim was crowned South African champions last week in Boksburg.
The Gimmies’ captain and goal shooter, Anja Smit, also made the list of Top 35 netball players in the country. No less than seven players of Gim – Anja Smit, Van Heerden, Anja Arangies, Daniëlle de Jonge, Kyla Smit, Mari Snyman and Miné Smit- were part of last year’s squad that came out on top by 24-18 in the annual interschools.
Paarl Gimnasium was crowned champions of the DStv Schools Challenge last week in Boksburg after defeating Helpmekaar Kollege 22-16. They also defeated the same Helpies earlier in the season, 12-11, in the final of the Absa Wildeklawer tournament in Kimberley.
Gim and Girls’ High did manage to avoid each other during the national finals of the DStv Schools Challenge. They did, however, meet during the Western Cape Championship of this competition, where Gimmies won by 18-16 in a tightly contested encounter.
Both sides are coached by former Protea-players in Lefébre Rademan (Paarl Girls’ High) and Juline van der Merwe (Paarl Gimnasium).
Before last year’s victory, Gim’s last success in the interschools was back in 2019 when they came out on top by 32-22.
This year’s encounter promises to be yet another nail-biting encounter from start to finish.
The teams:
Paarl Girls’ High: Annabel Vollgraaff (captain), Danelle Bekker, Deruschka Grobbelaar, Genna van der Merwe, Janél Steenkamp, Karin Fabricius, Larissa Scholtz, Marné Smit, Talia Wessels, Tyler Hunt.
Paarl Gimnasium: Anja Smit (captain), Nicola van Heerden, Miné Smit, Anja Arangies, Mari Snyman, Eloné Dippenaar, Daniëlle de Jonge, Kyla Smit, Sophia Liebenberg, Mieke van Rooyen.
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