After a disappointing year in 2016, especially measured against their high standards, the Kovsie netball team decided to change things around big time in the upcoming Varsity Netball series, said captain, Tanya Mostert.
The Kovsies are first up against UP-Tuks on Sunday followed by another home fixture against the University of Johannesburg on Monday. After finishing first in 2013 and 2014 and third in 2015, things didn’t go according to plan last year, finishing fifth and winning just three out of seven matches. They also conceded their most goals to date (62) in the competition, to Tuks, and suffered their heaviest defeat when they were thumped 36-58 by the eventual champs, the NWU-Pukke.
“I believe the girls are very motivated. We are eager to play and as a team we decided we are going to play for one another and make the university proud,” said Mostert. “We used the national championship (earlier this month in Durban) as preparation and I think we are ready.”
All 12 players who represented the Free State are eligible for the Kovsies. The Free State ended third and were also led by Mostert. She is one of the most versatile players around, able to play either goal keeper, goal defence, wing defence or centre.
Last year the Kovsies had to replace Dénielle van der Merwe, Lauren-Lee Christians, Ané Botha, Maryke Coetzee and Karla Mostert from the 2015 side, who weren’t available then due to a variety of reasons.
“Looking back to last year I think it just wasn’t our year, but we are definitely going to make use of our opportunities this time round. Experience does play a very important role. But we made a mind shift and decided to make the step-up and use our experiences gained from previous years.”
According to Mostert (23), who will be playing in her fifth Varsity Netball competition, the series is a highlight on her netball calendar.
“Varsity Sports are providing us such wonderful opportunities and they are putting the players first and doing a lot of effort for us.”
The post Kovsies eager to make university proud appeared first on .