St Stithians, DGC, and Rhenish unbeaten on day one of National Aquatics Festival
St Stithians Girls’ College, Rhenish Girls’ High School, and Durban Girls’ College (DGC) breezed through the first day of the National Aquatics Festival unbeaten.
The 2025 edition of the showpiece is being hosted by Clarendon High School for Girls, in East London, and runs from Friday, 31 January, to Saturday, 1 February.
The hosts, Clarendon, got the event underway with a game against Our Lady of Fatima Dominican Convent School on Friday afternoon and did not disappoint their supporters as they romped to a 16-1 thrashing of their KwaZulu-Natal opposition.
After the big win, though, the Hannah Muller-coached side couldn’t maintain their momentum and lost their second match, against another team from Durban.
They went up against the defending champion, DGC, and pushed the KZN side to the limit. Eventually, though, DGC had the final say and triumphed 10-9 in a thrilling contest. That victory over Clarendon was the first of two wins DGC recorded on day one. They also swept aside their KZN neighbours, St Mary’s DSG Kloof, whom they defeated 13-3, to set their title defence on the front foot.
Rhenish did not enjoy a sterling Brian Baker Tournament earlier in the month. The Stellenbosch school finished outside the top five in Makhanda, but the competition appeared to have served them well on Friday. They made a strong strong start, registering convincing wins over St Mary’s Kloof and Our Lady of Fatima, by 10-2 and 14-0, respectively.
St Stithians lost the last time they met St Mary’s Waverley at the National Aquatics Festival. In Durban, in 2024, St Mary’s broke Saints‘ hearts by beating them 7-6 in the semi-finals. St Mary’s Waverley eventually finished second, while St Stithians had to settle for fourth position. On Friday, Saints handily dealt with their highveld neighbours, charging to a 9-2 victory.
They had earlier opened their account with a 5-2 win over Collegiate, of Gqeberha. The Johannesburg outfit then recorded their third win in as many matches by thumping the Clarendon 2nd side 14-1 in the last match of the day.
The action resumes on Saturday morning with two matches, one pitting Our Lady Fatima against DGC, and the other featuring Clarendon 2nds and St Mary’s Waverley. Both games start at 07:00
Results
Our Lady Fatima 1-16 Clarendon
St Stithians 5-2 Collegiate
Maris Stella 3-13 St Mary’s Waverley
Rhenish 10-2 St Mary’s DSG Kloof
Clarendon 2nd 10-2 Collegiate
Clarendon 1sts 9-10 DGC
St Stithians 9-2 St Marys Waverley
Rhenish 14-0 Our Lady of Fatima
DGC 13-3 St Mary’s DSG Kloof
St Stithians 14-1 Clarendon 2nd
Fixtures
Harrison Aquatic Centre
07:00 – Our Lady Fatima vs Durban Girls’ College; 07:40 – Clarendon vs St Mary’s DSG (Kloof); 08:20 – Rhenish vs Durban Girls’ College; 09:00 – St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) vs Our Lady of Fatima; 09:40 – Quarterfinal 1; 10:20 – Quarterfinal 2; 11:00 – 5th Pool A vs 5th Pool B.
Selbourne College
07:00 – Clarendon 2nds vs St Mary’s Waverley; 07:40 – St Stithians vs Maris Stella; 08:20 Collegiate vs St Mary’s Waverley; 09:00 – Clarendon 2nds vs Maris Stella; 11:00 – 4th Pool A vs 4th Pool B; 11:40 – Loser QF 1 vs Loser QF 2.
Play-offs
Harrison Aquatic Centre:
11:40 – Semifinal (1st Pool A vs Winner QF 1); 12:20 – Semifinal 2 (1st Pool B vs Winner QF 2); 13:00 – 3rd/4th Play-off; 13:40 – Final.
