Mareli Joubert and Gina Switala were accompanied by seasoned traveler Jacques Van Tonder and Jaco Prinsloo. For Mareli and Gina the trip to Germany was just reward for all the hard work they have put into their golf. Both are Senior Gauteng North provincial players, with Mareli the current South African Student Women’s Champion.

Mareli, at the age of 22 and studying her BA in Sport Science, specializing in Golf, was selected as captain for the trip to Ingolstadt, Germany in June.

Manager and coach Stefan Matthysen was impressed with their debut international performance. “In difficult weather conditions – it was raining and windy – the team finished 9^th.

The tournament (Student Match Play), held over 2 days, was a 18 hole strokeplay competition. Making up the rest of the team were Jacques Van Tonder and Jaco Prinsloo. The top 3 scores added together made up the total upon which the placing of the Universities would be decided. Universities from England, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and of course the host nation Germany were amongst the 29 Universities lining up. A golf tournament in Europe would of course not be complete without the attendance of St. Andrews University from the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews, Scotland.

It was in fact Birmingham University that felt “the wrath” of a bitterly disappointed Tuks team after not making the semifinals on day one and came back to beat Birmingham for the 8^th position overall on day 2. The performance on day 2 led the St. Andrews University to send a letter to Tuks lauding their incredible fighting spirit and professionalism, saying they were an example to the rest of the Universities.