March 12, 2015, by Lee Chrimes

BUCS round-up 11 March 2015

Yesterday saw action in the semi-finals of the Championship and Trophy Cups for the University, with a range of outstanding results and an overall return of 22 wins at 52%.

It was a day to remember for Table Tennis in the Championship Cup as the Men’s and Women’s 1^st teams progressed to the final. The Men went away to Premier South champions Imperial College London, whom they defeated 11-6 to set up a Big BUCS Wednesday derby clash with Trent 1^st at Loughborough. Trent pipped our 1^st team to the Premier North title on goal difference and with both sides having shared the spoils against each other in the domestic season, the final is sure to be a gripping encounter. It is exactly the same scenario for the Women’s 1^st team, who travelled to Glasgow for a 4-1 victory over the University of Strathclyde 1^st. Again, they face table toppers Trent in the final and will be eager to avenge the 0-5 defeat in last year’s final.

The Men’s Hockey 1^st XI became yet another one of the University’s sides whose cup runs have taken them all the way to final. They came from behind to beat Durham 2-1 during a superb display in the 16.30 kick off at Beeston Hockey Club and will now face Loughborough in the Championship Cup final in two weeks’ time.

In the same competition, the Lacrosse Men’s 1^st team cruised to a 21-6 victory over Premier South champions Oxford 1^st away from home. Durham, who just edged the University to the Premier North title, will be the 1^st team’s opponents in the final.

Keeping with the cup, the Women’s Fencing 1^st team beat Stirling 1^st 117-112 in the Trophy to go through to the final on the 25^th March. The national competition takes in Tier 1 teams, mainly 1^st and 2^nd teams that sit below the Premier divisions in the BUCS structure, so a victory in the final will be a huge achievement for the girls, and mean a double winning season.

At Highfields, the Men’s Rugby Union 3^rd XV battered sorry Anglia Ruskin 1^st in a 39-0 bonus point win to secure promotion and the Midlands 2B title. After an inconsistent start to the season, the team have not looked back since January and surged to top spot with a run of fine form. The Women’s 1^st XV played out a cagey affair with Leicester 1^st, running out eventual winners 5-0, and the Women’s 2^nd XV edged Harper Adams 1^st XV 20-19 over at Sutton Bonington to stave off any qualms about relegation. Down at the Riverside Sports Complex, the Men’s 4^th XV ended the regular season in style too, thrashing Warwick 3^rd team 36-0.

Highfields certainly was a fortress this Wednesday and the location for the hotly anticipated final day derby for the Men’s Football 4^th XI, who knew victory over Trent would mean promotion from Midlands 4B. As the final whistle blew with the score at 2-0, it meant the football club have had two teams promoted this season and ended week seventeen with a clean sweep. That was thanks to the 2^nd XI’s 4-1 win over Wolverhampton 1^st and the 3^rd XI’s 3-1 defeat of Worcester.

Like the football club, the Men’s Hockey 5^th XI also secured promotion from Midlands 4B with another 2-0 victory over Trent 4^th in the evening game at University Park and the Squash Women’s 3^rd team can be added to the list of teams boasting league honours following a 3-1 victory over Northampton 1^st to win Midlands 2A.

At the Jubilee Sports Centre, the Men’s Volleyball 1^st team not only made it six league wins on the bounce following a 3-0 victory over Coventry 1^st, but also booked their place in the Premier North play-offs, where they will face Glasgow and Manchester, in doing so.

Into the evening, the Men’s Basketball 2^nd travelled away for their relegation decider with Leicester. The team made no mistake in ensuring they will be playing in Midlands 3A next season with an excellent 86-48 victory. Elsewhere, having already won the league and secured a place in next week’s Conference Cup final, the Women’s 1^st team finished off their league campaign with an astounding 117-13 win over second placed Lincoln 1^st – their goal difference for the season a mere 763.

With five teams progressing to cup finals in two weeks’ time, it was a hugely successful Wednesday for UoN Sport. The Green and Gold remain third in the overall BUCS standing thanks to a total of 2668 points.

Position and points accurate at time of press

BUCS weekly report by Sebastian Chmielinski

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