Pearson tennis players show their worth in Cradock weekend festival
The Pearson boys’ and girls’ tennis teams produced some notable results when they competed in the Tjaart Vorster Festival in Cradock at the weekend.
With teams each comprising seven players, the Pearson boys started off with a bang by comfortably beating Marlow and Buffelshoek Invitational on the opening day.
They kept their foot on the pedal and dropped only one set on day two as they eased past Stirling 26-1 and Voortrekker 27-0.
This placed them on top of their pool and a spot in the semifinals.
They came up against Paul Roos Gymnasium in the last four and were able to secure a comfortable 19-9 win.
Up against Oakdale in the final, the match was tied after the singles, but unfortunately rain meant the doubles could not be played and Pearson had to settle for second place as the Western Cape side had won more sets overall.
The Pearson girls had a tough first match against Cradock High, who went on to win the tournament, followed by a two-point loss against Voortrekker Bethlehem.
The regrouped on the second day and went undefeated, with wins over Oranje Meisies (21-8) and Sentraal (17-11)
The girls kept up that energy to register two more wins, over Outeniqua (14-1) and Clarendon (13-7), on the final day of the tournament to finish in fifth spot.
Amy Stuart was the only No 1 player who went unbeaten in the festival and she received an award for best girls’ player.
Zack Griesel won the Tjaart Vorster award for the best tennis ambassador and team player at the tournament.
● On the cricket field, Pearson High first team captain Esa Gangat once again showcased his versatility by scoring 107 not out as the Summerstrand school recorded a clean sweep of victories against Westering on Saturday.
Playing a 50-overs match, Gangat won the toss and elected to bat first in windy conditions in Summerstrand.
Despite losing two early wickets, Gangat, together with Divan Els who hit 31 off 40 balls, batted steadily to set up a good platform for the team.
Westering kept chipping away and picked up three more wickets to have the game evenly poised with Pearson on 122/5 after 27 overs.
But Pearson then surged to a strong finish after Gangat was joined by Jordan Collier, propelling them to 267/6 in their 50 overs.
Gangat struck eight fours and two sixes in his 107 not out off 102 balls, while Collier contributed a handy 46 not out off 40 balls, which included six boundaries and a six.
David Kivedo was the pick of the Westering bowlers with 2/46 in his 10 overs.
The seam and spin opening bowling combination of Reegan Meyer (3/24 in six overs) and Cayden Wilson (4/16 in 9 overs) proved to be a winning combination for the home team as Westering were bowled out for 51 in 18.3 overs.
Pearson won the match by an impressive 216 runs.
● Pearson’s water polo teams competed at various tournaments in Johannesburg and Grahamstown over the weekend.
The first boys’ team attended the Rob Charlton tournament at Kingswood College and produced some fine results.
They played with resilience and determination, and after two days of heart-stopping action, they finished with the silver medal after losing 5-2 to Woodridge in the final.