It was a weekend to savour for two Makhanda powerhouses as St Andrew's College and DSG Makhanda claimed top honours at the Woodridge Stayers Water Polo Tournament in Thornhill on the weekend.
St Andrew's defeated Selborne College 6-5 in the boys' final, while DSG thumped their Makhanda rivals, Kingswood College, 5-0 in the girls' final.
St Andrew's was dominant from the get-go in Pool B, comfortably winning their three matches, beating Glenwood House 11-2, East London's Merrifield College 12-2, and Bridgehouse 27-0.
In the quarterfinals, they came up against Gqeberha's Pearson High School and made light work of them, scoring 13 times while conceding once, before edging out Gqeberha's Grey High School 7-5 in the semifinals.
On the final day, they came up against the defending champions, Selborne College. There was little to separate the sides, but St Andrew's eventually edged out their East London opposition by a single goal.
"We are very excited to come away with the win," St Andrew's head coach, Grant McKenzie, told SuperSport Schools Plus after the tournament.
"Our preparation was not what we wanted it to be with the holidays in between. I was very happy with the team's overall performance and it was a good way to start our new season. We do, however, have lots of work to still put in.
"This was the start of a new season, with a new team, so positive starts are always important. The bar has been set for the rest of the season, and we are going to have to put in extra effort to stay competitive across the country," he added.
FACING TOP TEAMS
The next big challenge for McKenzie and his troops will be against top teams from throughout South Africa in Johannesburg.
"The team has had a very inclusive approach for all the new boys that have joined us," he said. "We have the St Stithians Stayers Tournament coming up, which is also a tough tournament. We have two weeks to prepare and we're looking forward to the challenge."
The girls' final was contested between traditional rivals, with DSG Makhanda facing Kingswood College for the title.
DSG posted an emphatic victory, scoring five times without conceding to close off the tournament on a high. They also recorded wins over Merrifield College, Somerset College, Glenwood House, and Pearson High.
In the semifinals, they faced a tough challenge from Clarendon School for Girls. They had gone down to Clarendon in a pool stage clash but with a place in the title decider on the line they ran out 6-3 winners.
Winning the title also secured DSG a slice of history as they became the first winners of the girls' title, which was introduced this year with 12 teams competing for it.
Reacting to the win, head coach Julia Gaybba said: "The DSG water polo girls have worked hard to get to this point and we have started the season off well with a bronze medal at the MacKenzie Cup and now with gold at the Woodridge Stayers."
"I feel that the girls are improving with each game we play, but there are always things we can work on."
"Hopefully, everything will come together at the St Stithians Tournament," she added.