Veterans clinch victory in SA

THE veterans invitational 45+ team has proved that Namibian tennis is alive and well and that even the veteran tennis players can achieve victory and fame in southern Africa.

A team of eight players – Terence O’Flaherty (captain), Evert Strydom, Danie van Vuuren, Jan van Zyl, Beryl Holder, Minda Kuschke, Amanda van Dyk and Rietta Swart – won the B section of the South African Tennis Veterans Interpro team event in Bloemfontein last week. The Namibians managed to beat five South African provincial teams with extremely high scores.First they outclassed the Gauteng Central side with a score of 8 – 2.Then they overwhelmed Mpumalanga with a fantastic score of 9 – 1.Namibia’s victory march to the final was secured after they beat South-Western Districts 7 – 3.This brought the Vets team to the semi-finals against Griqualand, who were demolished with a 7-0 score.The finals against the Border team, whose side included a South African 45+ national player, was played on Friday, August 26.Although this team proved to be tougher competition for the Namibian players, the women’s doubles pair Beryl Holder and Minda Kuschke gave a winning edge with their victory in the doubles.However, this slender lead was levelled when Amanda van Dyk and Rietta Swart lost their doubles match but gained a vital set.Terence O’Flaherty and Evert Strydom with his powerful serve managed to win their match against 45+ Springbok and national player Archie Rudman and Mike Francis.The Namibian victory was sealed when Jan van Zyl and Danie van Vuuren secured another set.The final winning score against Border was 5 – 4.This victory has shown that Namibian tennis is not just strong and improving among the junior ranks but that the veteran players are also on par with international tennis standards.The team managed to achieve a victory that the juniors have to date not been able to do: they were awarded gold medals.With this achievement the team has now moved up to the A level of the Interpro and will be competing against Western Province, Eastern Province, Gauteng North, Gauteng East, Kwazulu-Natal, Boland, Border and Northwestern Province next year.This was the first time that Namibian tennis players have been able to compete in the SAVTA (South African veterans Tennis Association) inter-provincial team event, which consisted of about 350 veteran players from all over South Africa.The event was hosted by FSVTA (the Free State Veterans Tennis Association) in Bloemfontein.The Namibians managed to beat five South African provincial teams with extremely high scores.First they outclassed the Gauteng Central side with a score of 8 – 2.Then they overwhelmed Mpumalanga with a fantastic score of 9 – 1.Namibia’s victory march to the final was secured after they beat South-Western Districts 7 – 3.This brought the Vets team to the semi-finals against Griqualand, who were demolished with a 7-0 score.The finals against the Border team, whose side included a South African 45+ national player, was played on Friday, August 26.Although this team proved to be tougher competition for the Namibian players, the women’s doubles pair Beryl Holder and Minda Kuschke gave a winning edge with their victory in the doubles.However, this slender lead was levelled when Amanda van Dyk and Rietta Swart lost their doubles match but gained a vital set.Terence O’Flaherty and Evert Strydom with his powerful serve managed to win their match against 45+ Springbok and national player Archie Rudman and Mike Francis.The Namibian victory was sealed when Jan van Zyl and Danie van Vuuren secured another set.The final winning score against Border was 5 – 4.This victory has shown that Namibian tennis is not just strong and improving among the junior ranks but that the veteran players are also on par with international tennis standards.The team managed to achieve a victory that the juniors have to date not been able to do: they were awarded gold medals.With this achievement the team has now moved up to the A level of the Interpro and will be competing against Western Province, Eastern Province, Gauteng North, Gauteng East, Kwazulu-Natal, Boland, Border and Northwestern Province next year.This was the first time that Namibian tennis players have been able to compete in the SAVTA (South African veterans Tennis Association) inter-provincial team event, which consisted of about 350 veteran players from all over South Africa.The event was hosted by FSVTA (the Free State Veterans Tennis Association) in Bloemfontein.