South Africa finish ninth to stay in BJK cup group II

The young South African team managed to retain their place in Europe/Africa Group II after putting up a fight against more experienced opponents at the six-day Billie Jean King Cup tournament in Larnaca, Cyprus which ended at the weekend.

The national women's squad finished third in their first-round group. Though they picked up a convincing 3-0 win against Kosovo they fell to Norway and were edged out by North Macedonia.

In the playoffs, they went on to secure ninth place after they were handed a narrow 2-1 defeat against Israel and a 2-0 loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The young South African team - Jahnie van Zyl (16), Donna le Roux (17), Abigayel Vosloo (17), Kaitlyn Ramduth (18) and Marilouise van Zyl (18) - not only gained valuable experience but did well to keep the nation's place in Group II.

"It was a great learning experience for our girls, and they got an opportunity to represent their country in the BJK Cup," said SA team captain Roxanne Clarke.

"We had a goal when we started the event and we achieved that goal, so overall I'm very happy with our performance and our effort. We are happy to stay in the group and we look forward to being ready for next year."

Georgia and Norway secured the top two spots in the 11-team tournament, gaining promotion to Group I next season, while Estonia and Kosovo took the bottom two places and were relegated to Group III.