With the cream of squash in the country attending the tournament, the underrated Free State women’s and men’s teams punched well above their weight.

The Free State women delivered one massive and special performance to win the B Section of the annual Interprovincial Tournament (IPT), or more commonly known as the Jarvis Kaplan Cup.

The tournament is the biggest event on the squash calendar, and to win silverware at the Jarvis is one amazing feat.

The men’s team, in their turn, can hold their heads up high as well. While they did not win their section, they did manage to finish as the runners-up.

The tournament got underway on Monday and the ladies, comprising Mariska McDonald (captain), Tristen Lourens, Izané Louw, Inge Coetzee, Nateska Kretzmann and Jenny Preece beat Northerns 14-12 in a hard fought tie. The men, comprising Tremayne McDonald, John Kuhn, Garrett Amm, Lawrence Kuhn and Keagan Waugh, got off to a flying start with an 18-7 win over Eastern Province.

On Tuesday the ladies took no prisoners in destroying Easterns with a 20-2 win to further set up what was to be a great week. The men, in their turn, continued their good form with an outstanding 14-9 win over the much more fancied Western Province.

Next up for the women was the SACD B team, and they made light work of their counterparts with a 18-7 win. The men also continued to shine with a 19-5 drubbing of the Midlands B team.

On Thursday the women’s dominance continued with a fantastic 14-10 win over KwaZulu-Natal, but it was disappointing for the men when they fell short with a 17-9 defeat at the hands of SACD.

On Friday the women just had to beat Western Province to claim the title and they did so in fine fashion with an outstanding 15-6 win over the side from the Mother City. The men put the previous day’s defeat behind them with a 14-6 win over Central Gauteng, and this was to see them ending as the runners-up to SACD.

When a person considers that the Free State have limited numbers in fielding squads, for the team to perform as well as they did was truly a super effort by all the players and everyone else involved behind the scenes. One can only hope that their performances will inspire future generations of squash players in the province.

Monday results: Women - Free State 14 Northerns 12: J Preece lost to H Coetzee 9-11 5-11 11- 8 11-7 7-11, I Louw lost to 11-8 12-10 10-12 6-11 9-11, I Coetzee bt A Farrell 11-6 11-1 11-6, M McDonald bt J Dawson 11-8 16-14 12-10, N Kretzmann lost to J McDonald 8-11 11-6 11-5 8-11 11-13. Men - Free State A 18 Eastern Province B 7: L Kuhn bt J Le Roux 11-6 12-10 7-11 11-7, J Kuhn bt B Basset 11-9 11-7 9-11 11-3, T McDonald bt D Dodd 8-11 11-7 13-11 7-11 11-4, G Amm lost to G Mytchell 11-4 9-11 7-11 7-11, K Waugh bt G Forbes 11-1 11-3 11-7.

Tuesday results: Women - Free State A 20 Easterns A 2: J Preece bt J Savage 11-7 11-8 11-7, I Louw bt C Prinsloo 11-4 7-11 1-2 11-3, I Coetzee bt M Westmorland 11-7 1—4 11-4, M McDonald bt P Lerm 11-8 6-11 11-9 13-11, T Louwrens b I Coetser 11-8 11-8 11-4. Men - Free State 15 Western Province 9: L Kuhn bt M Lombard 11-9 11-8 14-12, J Kuhn bt J Malloch 11-7 9-11 11-4 11-5 , T McDonald lost to J Duminy 11-6 8-11 5-11 8-11, G Amm lost to G Yates 4-11 6-11 8-11, K Waugh bt D Nortier 5-11 11-7 11-5 7-11 11-8.

Wednesday results: Woman - Free State 18 SACD 7: J Preece bt L Vlok 9-11 11-7 11-3 6-11 11-7, I Louw lost to C Fourie 10-12 11-7 5-11 10-12, I Coetzee bt S Potgieter 6-11 9-11 11-9 11-5 11-2, M McDonald bt C Loggenberg 11-6 11-9 11-6, T Lourens bt C Geard 13-11 11-8 13-11. Men - Free State A 19 Midlands B 5: L Kuhn bt M Gouweloos 11-9 11-5 11-6, J Kuhn bt A McGuigan 5-11 11-6 11-6 11-4, T McDonald bt D Pieters 11-5 11-8 6-11 11-8, James Gouweloos bt G Amm 9-11 11-8 4-11 11-6 11-9, K Waugh bt J Cooper 11-5 11-8 11-2.

Thursday results: Women - Free State A 14 KwaZulu-Natal A 10: J Preece lost to S Herbert 3-11 8-11 2-11, I Louw bt M Gouweloos 11-6 8-11 11-9 10-12 11-5, I Coetzee bt A Chemaly 11-7 11-7 6-11 11-5, M McDonald bt K Rowe 11-9 12-10 11-6, T Lourens lost to A Ngubane 4-11 9-11 10-12. Men - Easterns A 17 Free State B 9: B Muhwati bt C Deutschmann 11-6 11-5 9-11 11-9, D Mthobeni lost to K Kitching 13-15 5-11 6-11 10-12, D Savage lost to J Pan 11-6 9-11 9-11 11-4 7-11, A Makhubo bt R Knoetze 8-11 11-4 11-6 11-9, R Coetser bt J van Rooyen 11-13 11-4 11-6 11-9.

Friday results: Women - Free State A 15 Western Province B 6: J Preece bt R Bain 11-8 11-9 11-4, I Louw lost to K Mayhew 7-11 8-11 8-11, I Coetzee bt S Bender 11-8 11-7 11-0, M McDonald bt B Besener 11-9 11-7 12-10, N Kretzman lost to S Harvey 8-11 11-8 6-11 1-11. Men - Free State A 14 Central Gauteng 6: L Kuhn bt W Sithole 11-8 11-0 11-3, J Kuhn bt T Dial 11-6 11-6 12-10, T McDonald bt S Erasmus 11-8 11-4 11-8, G Kent bt G Amm 11-6 12-10 12-10, S Schouten bt K Waugh 13-11 11-5 11-6.

Final logs: Women's Final Log - Free State, Western Province, SACD, 4 KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Province, Northerns, Central Gauteng, Easterns. Men's Final Log - SACD 87, Free State, Western Province, Central Gauteng, Midlands, Eastern Province.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport