UJ clinches Varsity Hockey title

The University of Pretoria might have taken the wind out of the seven other universities’ sails during the athletics leg of the Varsity Sports programme but most certainly not in hockey.

This after the men from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) secured the Varsity Hockey title after beating the men from Stellenbosch – Maties – in a dramatic penalty shootout in the final last Monday.

And what a final it was. After a flying start by Maties, which saw the Stellenbosch side take a 2-0 lead, UJ bounced back in front of a cheering local crowd to equalise the score on 2-2 in the third and final quarter of the evening.

With the score deadlocked at 2-2 by the end of the final quarter, it came down to a heart-pounding penalty shootout. First to score was UJ’s Clint Panther and when the effort by Maties’ Mark Fourie’s went wide, UJ was up 1-0 with Taylor Dart’s goal sealing the win for UJ.

Gerald Mphopho was the FNB Man of the Match, Clint Panther was the Samsung Super Striker whilst Jason Briggs was named the Mugg and Bean Star Saver.

Marketing and Sponsorship Executive for Varsity Sports, Trent Key again highlighted the value of the Varsity Sports programme.

“Varsity Sports, as a high-performance competition platform for budding university athletes to compete on, sees many promising young sportsmen and women successfully competing at these events and, in the process, gaining the recognition they aspire to,” Key says.

Now in its second year, the Varsity Sports programme brings much of the excitement often seen at a United States (US) college sporting event, such as glamorous cheerleaders, pyrotechnics, thumping music, screaming fans and a generally well-choreographed show. The six sporting code events that are part of the programme are athletics, hockey, football, netball, rugby sevens or beach volleyball.

“It’s all about ‘sportainment’, combining sport with a massive entertainment factor to attract not only athletes, but friends, family, alumni and communities at large to the all-day, fun-filled event,” Key comments.

Aired live on SuperSport Channel 210, the Varsity Sports concept is designed to capture the essence and excitement of university sport, where the best can test themselves against their peers.

Be sure not to miss Varsity football, which commences on Monday 21 July 2014.