Collegiate produced a storybook ending to their hockey season with a 2-1 win over Makhanda rivals DSG in the final of the recent Fairtree Super 12 girls’ tournament in Bloemfontein.
The top 12 teams from around South Africa contested the tournament, with Collegiate ranked fourth going into the event.
They found themselves in a tough pool with two highly regarded teams from KwaZulu-Natal in Our Lady of Fatima and St Mary’s Kloof.
Collegiate did well to end top of their pool and found themselves in a quarterfinal match-up against the top-ranked Oranje Meisies side, who finished second in their pool.
Only a week prior, the two teams had gone head to head in their annual derby, where Collegiate had upset the home team.
This quarterfinal encounter was no different and produced some electric hockey from the start.
Locked in a draw at full time, the teams proceeded to the eight-second shootouts to determine the winners.
Collegiate goalkeeper Salome Oosthuizen produced some remarkable saves to keep her team in it, while captain Kerrin Gillies scored twice, as well as putting two penalty strokes past the Oranje keeper to take her team to the semifinal.
Collegiate’s opponents in the semifinals were 2025 champions Paarl Gymnasium, who followed a similar route into the semifinals, beating Rhenish Girls in a shootout.
The tussle between the two teams seemed set to also end in a shootout when Collegiate were awarded a penalty corner with only seconds left. A calmly executed strike from the top of the circle saw Collegiate through to their first final in their history of participating in the tournament.
In the other half of the draw, another Eastern Cape team, DSG, were making similar waves.
Player of the tournament, and joint top goal-scorer Lucy Holderness helped her team get past Menlo Park in their semifinal to make the final an all-Eastern Cape affair.
The stage was set for an epic final and DSG drew first blood with a goal from a penalty corner.
But only two minutes later, Collegiate equalised through a penalty corner converted by Jana Prinsloo.
With the momentum now favouring the girls from Gqeberha, Gillies slotted a second penalty corner to give Collegiate the lead.
Coach Michael Abrahams’s team kept the girls from Makhanda at bay and when the final whistle blew, it was Collegiate who lifted the trophy.
Abrahams, who has coached Collegiate for the past three seasons, was delighted at the result.
“It has been an incredible journey with this team, with plenty of learning along the way,” he said.
“The girls have given their all this season and at this tournament, and I am massively proud of them.”
He highlighted their discipline in executing the game plan and their gritty determination as the key ingredients for the final outcome.
Collegiate head of hockey Melissa Gillies was full of praise for Abrahams and the team.
“There is so much hard work behind the scenes, and this result would not be possible without the incredible team of coaches we have in our hockey programme,” she said.
“Coach Cody Posthumus works wonders with our up-and-coming under 16 players, while our biokineticist, Jaque Gerber, has made sure our girls have remained in top condition through the season.
“The year 2026 will surely be one to remember. We lifted a bronze medal at the All Girls tournament, a silver medal at the Girls’ Challenge, and now the big one, a gold medal at Top 12.”
Gillies has been head of hockey at Collegiate since 2024, before which she was the Namibian national women’s coach.
“I am very happy to be back in my home town and am loving the challenge of managing the hockey programme at Collegiate,” she said.
“The Fairtree Top 12 gold is an incredible achievement, but we know we have lots of hard work ahead still.”
This year has been a golden year for Collegiate hockey, with seven SA players being selected from their ranks.
Sophia Jansen and Gabriella de Doncker were selected for the SA 16A team and Emihle Mazomba made the SA U17A team.
At U18 level, Eden Oliver and Ayanda Klaas made the SA B team, while Gillies and Salome Oosthuizen represented the SA A team at the recent U21 interprovincial in Gqeberha, where the team secured a bronze medal.