St Anne’s cruises to Brian Baker title
Farrann Elliot and Inez Letschert scored hat-tricks to help St Anne’s sprint to a 7-4 win over Hudson Park High in the final of the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament at Kingswood College on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m just so impressed and so proud of the girls for such a good performance in the final,” Cameron Wiid, the St Anne’s coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“It’s a great feeling when you put in the hard work, the team’s committed, they see the vision, and it all obviously works out at tournament time. To come home with the gold is such a great feeling.”
Maggy Matthews joined Elliot and Letschert on the score sheet, while Kara Batting fired in a hat-trick for Hudson Park, and Kayden Glasgow scored, too.
Batting finished the tournament as the joint-highest goal scorer with 22 goals, alongside Reddam Bedfordview‘s Caitlin Scrimgeour.
With a team that finished as the runner-up in last year’s St Stithians Stayers Tournament, Wiid arrived at the annual showpiece with a strong side that carried huge expectations.
“Going into this year, there was always the expectation of us recreating some of that success and being in those positions to win trophies again,” he explained. “So, obviously, that expectation comes with a bit of pressure, but for this group especially, I think it’s something that they feed off, which has been a theme throughout the entire weekend.”
The pressure might have been on, but St Anne’s played with freedom. They showcased admirable cohesion in the title game and could have won by a wider margin had it not been for Caylin McKenzie‘s heroics in goal. The Hudson Park goalkeeper was the busier of the two netminders in the contest and pulled off several saves to keep the scoreline at 0-0 after the first chukka.
However, the St Anne’s players doggedly stuck to their game plan, and their pressure finally yielded dividends just over three minutes before the halftime break. Hudson Park, though, struck back just over a minute later. That brought a quick response out of St Anne’s, who netted again to snatch back the lead.
“I think our biggest asset is how good a team we are. There are not many weaknesses. I look at my starting seven and the girls who come off the bench, and there are just assets everywhere – good goalkeepers, good centre forwards, good perimeter shooters. We’ve got depth, fitness, and they’re all good athletes of different ages, which is promising for the future at least,” Wiid reflected.
Those qualities were on show in the second half when the ladies from KwaZulu-Natal extended their advantage to 3-1 in the first minute of the third chukka. With a two-goal cushion established, Hudson Park was unable to close the gap.
The intensity rose in the final quarter as the East London school tried to mount a comeback. Five more goals were scored, but that favoured St Anne’s by a 3-2 margin, and they won 7-4.
“We’ll go back home, get a bit of rest, start training again, and then there’s more tournaments to come. It’s super exciting, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this group.
“It’s looking good for 2026,” coach Cameron Wiid proudly enthused.
RESULTS
19/20 – Rhenish 14 (Charlotte Joubert 6, Genevieve Ward 2, Bailey Black 2, Hannah Arangies, Emily van Selm, Erynn Gouws, Alison Cruikshank). Alexander Road 2 (Bailey Howard 2).
17/18 – Collegiate (3) 3 (Alexis Fourie, Charlotte van Bochove, Brigid Guest). Woodridge (2) 3 (Madison Badenhorst, Hannah de Necker, Ava Pledger).
15/16 – Stirling 8 (Nicola Schwartz 3, Kirsty Ikin 2, Abigail Tesmer 2, Giselle Hurly). St Dominic’s 4 (Emma Davies 2, Emma Harmzen, Chiara Kriel).
13/14 – St Mary’s Waverley 6 (Jenna Blaauw 2, Kathryn Thorburn 2, Georgia van der Walt 2). Pearson 5 (Olivia Attwell 3, Danica Smith 2).
11/12 – DSG Makhanda 6 (Lila de Romijn 2, Cate Harrison, Carys Johnstone, Michaela Blaine, Alexandra Miller). Kingswood 3 (Nina de Jongh 2, Lucy Nagel).
9/10 – Reddam House Bedfordview 7 (Caitlin Scrimgeour 4, Annabelle Morton, Gemma Caminsky, Kelsey Meth). Glenwood House 4 (Mia Gibson 2, Mela Loubser, Tatum Dace).
7/8 – Clarendon 10 (Quinn Carr 4, Jodi Carr 3, Jenna Botha 2, Holley Jacoby). Durban Girls’ College 6 (Anri Human 2, Lara Nel 2, Peta Mazery, Lascala Pengelly).
5/6 – St Stithians 9 (Anna Springer 3, Hannah van Heerden, Riley Burger, Cadha Mosehla, June Stander, Taylor Dukes, Leila Springer). Roedean 7 (Ané du Plessis 2, Gabriella Morrell 2, Esmé du Plessis, Sophie Willcox, Nadia Dohmen).
Bronze medal playoff
Reddam House Constantia 6 (Tayla Bosman 2, Summer-Lee Wain, Lauren Helm, Abigail Weatherall, Holly Strydom). Herschel 5 (Jemma Pearse 2, Emma Stevens, Holly Deneys, Jessica Bosch).
Final
St Anne’s Diocesan College 7 (Farrann Elliot 3, Inez Letschert 3, Maggy Matthews). Hudson Park High 4 (Kara Batting 3, Kayden Glasgow).
