The University of Johannesburg (UJ) squash team finished in third place in section A and B at the 2022 University Sports South Africa (USSA) Squash Championships that took place at Rhodes University in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. The tournament, which took place from 4 to 8 July 2022, was divided into A, B and C sections.
The A section is for the top 16 ranking teams while the B section is for teams ranked from 17 to 32. The C section is for the rest of the lower ranking players.
In the men’s A section singles, UJ’s Gerard Mitchel, Jonty Matthys and David Sibanda finished third, fourth and seventh positions, respectively. Calvin Spencer finished in 16th position. Cameron O’Grady finished in sixth position and Emmanuel Mabadzhe finished in eight place in the men’s B section singles.
Sisters, Teagan Roux and Tyla-Mae both participated in the women’s A section singles , finishing in second and thirteenth positions, respectively. Jordyn Campbell finishing in ninth position.
“Participating in the USSA tournament meant so much to me. I know that UJ had been at the top of the squash scene for a while and it was such an honour to represent UJ in this big event. My sister, Teagan, is also the ladies captain and is number 1 at UJ. So, participating in the USSA tournament for the first time and having Teagan lead me through it was so special and definitely will be one of my favourite memories,” says Tyla-Mae.
The first-year student-athlete (Senior Phase Teaching: History and Psychology) believes her performance in the USSA tournament was incredible. She is currently working on aspects such as the quality of her shots, speed and fitness with hopes that she will do better in the next USSA instalment.
Amber Jacoby finished in third position in the Women’s B section singles. The first-year Bachelor of Radiation Therapy student feels that she could have performed better, but fatigue and a foot injury prevented her from performing to her best ability during the competition.
Omphethile Mojapelo finished in third position in the women’s C section singles.
