December 11, 2014, by Lee Chrimes

BUCS Christmas review 2014: how have our clubs fared so far this season?

The BUCS season has hit the halfway mark and moves into 2015 with a number of our clubs in contention for league and cup honours. So, as we enter the Spring phase, here’s a run down of our clubs’ performances so far.

Badminton

Season so far: Badminton have enjoyed a positive start to the 2014/15 season and many teams are in with a shot of glory come the New Year. The Men’s 2^nd team and Women’s 1^st teams are both three points off the top – the men’s game in hand could prove handy in the title race.
Biggest result: The Women’s 1^st team upset the form book by rallying hard to beat Loughborough 1^st 5-3 in week five. Top of the table Loughborough had been undefeated until that point, having beaten second placed rivals Birmingham 8-0.
Key fixture: 11^th March: Oxford Brookes 1^st vs Men’s 2^nd – a final day clash which could determine the title.

Basketball

Season so far: The men have had a tough Autumn with only the 1^st team in a position of real safety. However, the women’s 1^st team have won five from five and are flying in Midlands 2A with a goal difference of 350.
Biggest result: After a run of four straight defeats the Men’s 2^nd team hammered Leicester 89-53 at Jubilee Sports Centre.
Key fixture: 25^th February: Aston University 1^st vs Women’s 1^st – this could well be the Wednesday in which the team secure promotion.

Fencing

Season so far: A lack of fixtures has stunted any progress for the club thus far, with a number of double headers in place for the Women’s 1^st and 2^nd team next term. That said, the Men’s 1^st team have handled themselves well, with three wins from five.
Biggest result: The Men’s 1^st team demonstrated their quality with a 119-96 victory over Warwick to make it two from two at the start of the season.
Key fixture: 7^th February: Potentially a double header for the Women’s Fencing 1^st team; coincidentally against Oxford and Cambridge who also have two wins and sit at the top.

Football

Season so far: The football club have started the season in grand style, particularly the Ladies’ 1^st and 2^nd XI who sit top. Likewise, the men’s 2^nd XI are miles ahead of the pack and seven points clear, whilst the 4^th team are not letting Trent sit comfortably in Midlands 4B with only one loss in five. All in all, there is scope for four titles and three promotions.
Biggest result: The men’s 1^st XI produced a top drawer display to defeat a strong Durham side 3-2 away from home with nine men.
Key fixture: 11 March: Men’s 4^th XI vs Trent 4^th XI – if the team can continue their good form in 2015 this could be a truly epic season finale. There would be no better way to win the title than by doing it against Trent, and deprive them of the feat in the process.

Futsal

Season so far: Futsal have made a strong statement in the Sunday BUCS fixtures. The Men’s 1^st team are only three off the top and the 2^nd team have gone from strength to strength and dominated their league. In similar fashion, the Women’s 1^st team have only conceded two goals in their five games and are just a win away from the title.
Biggest result: The Men’s 1^st team ensured Warwick’s journey home would seem twice as long by hammering them 21-2 back in November.
Key fixture: 7^th February: Coventry University 1^st vs Men’s 2^nd – Coventry are the only team that can challenge for the league. It’s up to our boys to put this one to bed.

Golf

Season so far: Golf have found themselves in the bunker this term with a difficult return against strong opposition.
Biggest result: The 2^nd team ended the term in style by recording their first win, and the club’s, by beating Derby 1^st 5-1 at Beeston Fields Golf Club.
Key fixture: 25^th February: De Montfort 1^st vs Mixed 3^rd – after a 3-3 draw in the home fixture let’s hope for a change of fortunes in the return leg with the chance to finish the season with a win.

Hockey

Season so far: As the University’s most represented club, Hockey have done a sterling job of competing to a high level in their BUCS fixtures so far. The Men’s 2^nd XI are top by three points with a game in hand and the 5^th team are also top, this time on goal difference. The Women’s 6^th XI have been a breath of fresh air by leading in Midlands 4A.
Biggest result: It was a day of big results as the Women’s 1^st XI beat Loughborough 3-1 for the first time in many years and the Men’s 1^st XI followed suit by coming from 2-0 down to beat the Students 3-2. Both are closely followed by the Men’s campaign against homophobia.
Key fixtures: 11^th March: Loughborough 4^th vs Men’s 2^nd and Men’s 5^th vs Trent 4^th – both games will no doubt be crucial if either of our sides need to clinch the league on the final day.

Lacrosse

Season so far: Lacrosse have put in some fantastic displays this term. Although the Men’s 1^st look set to narrowly miss out on glory to an unbeatable Durham side, the 2^nd team have convincingly won all four games and the Women’s 3^rd team share the unbeaten record having already won Midlands 2B for the second year running.
Biggest result: The Men’s 1^st team put in a display straight out of the top drawer to overwhelm Loughborough 1^st 17-1.
Key fixture: 28^th January: University of Birmingham 2^nd vs Men’s 2^nd – the boys could become the second Lacrosse team to win honours with a league game still to be played.

Netball

Season so far: It’s been a mixed bag in the Autumn term; most teams are in mid-table security but cannot push on. The 1^st team have won three of their first four before two away wins halted their good run. The 4^th team sit second in the table and will no doubt look to take it to the death with Northampton and better their second placed finish from last year.
Biggest result: The 3^rd team beat, then unbeaten, Leicester 43-34 to record their first win of the season and move a step closer to safety.
Key fixture: 4^th February: University of Worcester 1^st vs UoN 1^st – a win would confirm the girls’ safety and remove the possibility of any late season drama.

Rugby League

Season so far: The 1^st team’s defeat in their first game against Coventry could prove crucial come the end of the season but with four wins since then, there is only a three point gap and plenty of promise after Christmas. The 2^nd team have shown huge signs of improvement by winning consecutive games in the cup and league and will look to push on in 2015.
Biggest result: It’s a weigh up between the 1^st team’s defeat of Loughborough 2^nd 26-20 or the 2^nd team’s 34-12 first league win over arch rivals Trent.
Key fixture: 4^th February: Men’s 1^st team vs University of Birmingham 1^st – having lost to them earlier in the season, and having the same playing record, this is a crucial game for two teams chasing the leaders.

Rugby Union

Season so far: The 1^st XV are battling for survival despite a number of close encounters so far and the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th teams sit fairly comfortably in mid table; the latter two sides are both enjoying fruitful runs in the conference cup as well. At second half of the season surge could see the Women’s 1^st XV push Cambridge all the way at the top, whereas the 2^nd XV have five games to ensure they escape relegation.
Biggest result: The 1^st XV ended their three year Loughborough hoodoo with a heroic performance, coming away from fortress Highfields with a 17-10 victory.
Key fixture: 11^th February: University of Leeds 1^st XV vs Men’s 1^st XV – a win in the crunch match would all but secure Premier North safety for the green and gold. However, there is potential for the 3^rd XV and 4^th XV to meet each other in the final of the Conference Cup.

Squash

Season so far: A string of impressive performances saw the Men’s and Women’s 1^st teams qualify for the BUCS Upper league, however the step up has been a tough ask so far. The Men’s 2^nd team can push for the title and the Women’s 3^rd and 4^th teams head into 2015 top of the league.
Biggest result: The Women’s 1^st team thrashed all their opponents on their way to qualifying for the upper league and only lost one game, winning 5-0, 4-1 and 5-0.
Key fixture: 11^th March: Women’s 3^rd vs University of Northampton 1^st – Northampton currently sit two points behind the girls in third, so this could prove to be a title decider on the final week.

Table Tennis

Season so far: Table Tennis have had a solid first half of the season. The Men’s 1^st team lye three points behind Trent and will push them all the way in the Premier North. The Women’s progress has been difficult to gauge with a limited number of games, however the 1^st team have won two from two and the 3^rd team remain unbeaten.
Biggest result: The intra-University clash between the Men’s 2^nd and 3^rd teams went the distance in a thrilling encounter at the Sports Centre. The 3^rd team were pipped to the post 9-8.
Key fixture: 4^th February: Men’s 1^st team vs Nottingham Trent 1^st – head down to University Park to witness this hotly anticipated title decider.

Tennis

Season so far: Mid-table has been the theme of the club’s autumn semester, but the Men’s 1^st team have set themselves up well for a play-off place by finishing 2014 in second.
Biggest result: The Women’s 1^st team crucially beat Durham 8-4 to record their first win and create some breathing space from the bottom of the table.
Key fixture: 4^th March: University of Warwick Men’s 1^st vs  Men’s 1^st – only three points separate the sides at the Christmas break and both will be fighting for that play-off spot.

Volleyball

Season so far: The Men’s 1^st team have dug, set and spiked their way to five wins from six and are only second on goal difference. The women’s 2^nd team are still within touching distance of Warwick in Midlands 2A, whereas the rest of the club head into the New Year just above the bottom of the table.
Biggest result: Now table topping East Anglia proved no match for the Women’s 1^st team who ran our 3-2 winners on the opening Wednesday of the season.
Key fixture: 4^th March: Men’s 1^st vs Loughborough University Men’s 1^st – fixtures against Loughborough never fail to disappoint and Notts will no doubt be spurred on to reverse the 3-1 defeat earlier in the year.

Water Polo

Season so far: Autumn has been extremely successful for both Water Polo teams. The Men are second behind Birmingham and the Women are still unbeaten with three solid victories.
Biggest result: The Women are the only side to have beaten Warwick thus far, winning a tense away fixture 7-8.
Key fixture: 7^th February – A triple header on ‘Super Saturday’ for the Women could prove to be a winner takes all contest.

Keep posted for more sport updates in the New Year.

BUCS report by Sebastian Chmielinski

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