March 17, 2016, by Laura Estrop
Five Golds, six Silvers: big wins at BUCS Big Wednesday
University of Nottingham Sport finished the 2015/6 BUCS season in phenomenal style in Sheffield by winning five of their final day matches at the BUCS Big Wednesday event!
On Wednesday 16 march, five of our Championship and six of our Trophy teams travelled to Sheffield for the 2016 BUCS Big Wednesday event. We were in good standing for the day; we had the highest number of teams taking part from any of the other University. Not only was the day filled with many victories and nail biting matches, we also managed to retain our third place position in the BUCS table! We now sit comfortably in third place with a superb 2974 points, putting us in a good position to close the gap between second place Durham who are currently have 3061 points.
Cup finals took place throughout the day across Sheffield and saw our Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Squash and Men’s Lacrosse competing for the coveted title of Nationals Champions. While our Men’s Fencing, Women’s Squash, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Table Tennis 2nd, Men’s Waterpolo and Rugby league 1 were looking to win in their Trophy finals.
Men’s Fencing Trophy finals
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
Starting bright and early at 10am in the English Institute of Sport was the Men’s Fencing Trophy finals. We started the day in good form; we exceeded expectations in Epee with an impressive score of 40-34, giving us a nice six-point lead. As a result, we went into Foil with high hopes; however, we were sadly beaten by Swansea for a 45-36 score. Our final match of Sabre was an intense watch, our team fort hard extremely hard but missed Gold by just one point! Unlucky finish to what was a phenomenal match.
Final result: 121-122
Women’s Basketball Trophy finals
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
After the Fencing finals, it was a quick drive over to Ponds Forge where the Women’s Basketball Trophy finals were well under way. The girl’s took the lead early on in the game and held onto it throughout the entire match. They played a solid game and gave Hertfordshire a run for their money. Their coach, who had this to say at the end of the match, guided our team throughout the game:
BASKETBALL: Coach: “The girls worked so hard all year, they’re perfect student athletes -achieving their set goals.” pic.twitter.com/VcVYKQZqt6
— BUCS (@BUCSsport) March 16, 2016
Final score: 68-46 to UoN.
Waterpolo Trophy finals
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
Also at Ponds Forge were the Men’s Waterpolo finals against Exeter University. The atmosphere was electric, with many UoN supporters cheering on our team from the stands. The boys started strong and played a great game but Exeter were sadly just that little bit stronger. After being down by 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, a cracking goal during the second by George Sadler and then in the final quarter by the team’s Captain, brought us to a very respectable final score of 3-7.
Women’s and Men’s Squash (Trophy and Championships finals)
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
There was no time to waste, after the Waterpolo it was over to Abbeydale Sports Centre to watch both the Men’s and Women’s Squash finals. First to play were the Women’s 2s and Men’s 1, who both suffered unluckily loses, W2: 1-3 to Birmingham 2 and M1: 2-3 to UWE. Over on the glass court, Hannah Ramadan, our Women’s 1 player won her match 3-love against Birmingham 1st, she played strongly and effortlessly throughout, a well-deserved victory. The Men’s 1 finals quickly followed this match; they played confidently and strongly but were just pipped to Gold by UWE.
Rugby League Trophy finals
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
From Abbeydale, it was over to the Sheffield Hallam Sports Park. Despite the bitterly cold weather, our Rugby League team played a strong match against Bath 1st. We kept the lead throughout the match and won with a comfortable 34-22. The team certainly knew how to celebrate their win!
BUCS: Massive well done @UniofNottsRL for winning the league and Trophy Cup double! Just Play offs and Varsity now! pic.twitter.com/PoXGBjkqVN
— James Bramley (@UoNSU_Sports) March 16, 2016
Women’s and Men’s Table Tennis (Trophy and Championships finals)
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson
The EIS held the second to last match of the day, the Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis Championships and Trophy finals. It was a battle between the Midlands as both the Women’s 1st and Men’s 1st teams were pitted against Nottingham Trent University. First to play were the Women’s 1, who easily swept the board and won Gold. But the battle for the Men’s Championships trophy was still on! It was a very tough battle, with many neck and neck games but in the end we were superior to Trent and won 9-4.
Men’s Lacrosse Championship finals
As the Table Tennis finals were in full swing, the final match of the day, the Men’s Lacrosse Championship finals began at Sheffield Hallam Sports Park. Like all of our teams, they played a tactical and extremely good game, but were unluckily lost to victory by Durham; the team best sums up their match themselves:
Lost to @DurhamMensLax 12-8, in bucsfinal. But played our best all season. Humble in victory, humble in defeat. Great game
— UoNMen’s Lacrosse (@UoNMensLax) March 16, 2016
Well done to all UoN Sport teams who played in the finals!
You can relive the excitement through the BUCS website, who have a live feed of results that charts our teams’ progress to victory, or follow the BUCS Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels for photos, updates and videos from the day. Also follow @UoNSport on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all of our latest news and updates on our BUCS matches.
Image credit: Alex Wilkinson Photography
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