Considering the award-winning year Karla Pretorius is having, it should not be a surprise that the Proteas star has also built herself a huge fanbase among Varsity Netball players.
Not only is Karla Pretorius officially the world’s best netballer after being named Player of the Tournament at the Netball World Cup earlier in the year, but she also also made a clean sweep of the awards her Australian team, Sunshine Coast Lightning, over the weekend.
In a survey in which the players participating in this year’s Varsity Netball tournament had to indicate who their favourite South African player is, Pretorius received by far the most votes (44 out of 119).
Her votes came from all eight teams. Ten Madibaz indicated she’s their favourite, seven votes came from UJ, six each from Kovsies (her alma mater) and Maties, five from Tuks, four from TUT and three each from UWC and NWU.
Pretorius Remains the Only Player to Be Crowned Varsity Netball Player of the Tournament Twice
Pretorius, a Varsity Netball alumna (she represented and later captained Kovsies in the tournament between 2013 and 2015), is the only player to be crowned Varsity Netball Player of the Tournament twice (in 2014 and 2015). The imperious 29-year-old defender is also the vice-captain of the Proteas.
Last year her named appeared 28 times, followed by Bongiwe Msomi and Erin Burger (both with 19). Msomi, the Proteas captain, again earned the second amount of votes (26). She is currently the head coach of UJ.
Lenize Potgieter, who played for UJ (2013) and Tuks (2014 and 2015) in the competition, is eight current players’ favourite South African netballer.
Izette Griesel, Zanele Vimbela, Phumza Maweni, Shadine van der Merwe, Romé Dreyer, Ine-Marí Venter, Erin Burger, Maryka Holthausen and Renske Stoltz who were all in action for the Proteas this year, all received at least one vote.
The current Varsity Netball player who has impressed the most players is the Kovsies’ Khanyisa Chawane. Six players (including two Kovsies teammates) indicated her as their favourite. The only other player participating this year to receive a vote is Lefébre Rademan, captain of the defending champions.
Photo 1 Caption: The outstanding Karla Pretorius has had an incredible 2019 season and will be hoping to continue with her dominance until the end of the year. Photo: Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images
With editing by gsport
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