February 19, 2022, by brzmjb1
BUCS Nationals 2022 – Super Saturday Round-up
It was a stormy Friday night in Sheffield as the City bore the brunt of Storm Eugine, yet as students and staff emerged from the athlete hotel for ‘Super Saturday’ there was calm and optimism in the air (rather than wheelie bins and trampolines!).
Super Saturday, as it has become affectionately known, is characterised by the sheer number of finals and opportunities to progress in the competition – and yet again it did not disappoint!
Saturday also saw the return of the Badminton competition, where Nottingham have enjoyed so much success over recent years.
Swimming
Amy Davies swam in the Women’s 200m Freestyle and managed to finish 4th in her heat and 11th overall with a time of 1:33:15, successfully qualifying for the final this afternoon! James Chennells also performed well in the Men’s 200m Freestyle heats to place 16th overall. Constantinos Hadjiconstansis placed 6th in his heat and 31st overall with a time of 2:03:49.
The Women’s 50m Backstroke heats was exciting to watch! Madeleine Soper swam a 31.22 seconds which put her 6th in heat and 17th overall, with Francesca Whiting (32.15s) placing 8th in her heat and 24th overall. As for the 50m Breaststroke heats, for the Men it was Oswald Hood who managed an impressive 16th overall with a time of 30.10 seconds. Omar Hijazi dominated his heat to place first, but his time of 31.93 left him 39th overall. In the Women’s heats, Ellie Ward (34.33s) and Jess Morgan (35.25s) both placed within the top 20 at 13th and 19th overall respectively.
The Men’s 100m Butterfly was just as tense with both Elliot Day (58.04s) and Aron Preece (59.05s) competing in the same heat. In the end Elliot managed 7th in heat, followed by Aron in 8th. Elliot finished just outside of the top 20 overall in 22nd, with Aron in 28th.
In one of the most hotly contested disciplines, the Men’s 800m freestyle, Joe Palmer (9:06.96) put in a great swim to cinch 15th overall and progress into the next round of heats.
Session three got underway at 2pm with thirteen athletes representing the #GreenandGold. Madeleine Soper competed in the Women’s 200m Backstroke heats, placing 4th in her heat and 8th overall with a time of 2:25.08, which was enough to earn her a spot in the final! In the Men’s 200m Backstroke, Cyril Schleiper placed 6th in his heat with a time of 2:13.02, putting him 16th overall.
James Chennells win his Men’s 50m Freestyle heat in 24.38 seconds!
Amy Davies not only qualified for finals in the 200m Freestyle, but also the 50m Freestyle. She dominated to win her heat and place 5th overall with a time of 26.58s, earning her a spot in the final!
Ellie Ward (2:40.85) added herself to the list of finalists with an impressive swim in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke heats awarding her 4th place in her heat and 10th overall.
In the Women’s 400m Medley relay heats, Nottingham managed 5th in heat with a time of 4:30.51, earning them 9th overall and a place in the final! The Men’s 400m Medley relay team also swam excellently with a time of 4:00.92 to place 6th in their heat and 12th overall, also making the final.
Finally, in the Men’s 50m Freestyle heats, James Chennells took the pool by storm to win his heat with a time of 24.38 seconds. However, in an extremely competitive division, he placed 23rd overall. Ryan Webb also had an excellent swim in his heat to place second (25.37s), yet only placed 48th overall.
Heading into session four, the university had three individuals and two teams representing the #GreenandGold across the finals of six disciplines! In her first final of the evening, the Women’s 200m Freestyle, Amy Davies made up time on her qualifying swim and finished 10th. Next up was Madeleine Soper in the Women’s 200m Backstroke final who also improved on her qualifying time by one second, finishing 7th.
Amy Davies then took to the water again in the Women’s 50m Freestyle final and gave it her all, placing fourth with a time of 26.45 seconds, and after an excellent performance in her heat, Ellie Ward swam in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke final to finish 10th with a time of 2:39.36.
The final races of the evening were the 400m Freestyle relays, which both the Men’s and Women’s teams were finalists in after qualification yesterday. The Women’s team was up first and they all put in a great performance to finish 8th with a time of 3:58.65. Finally, the Men’s Freestyle relay team took to the water in the final race of the day, giving it there all, finishing 10th with a time of 3:37.43.
Reflecting on the day so far, team captain Oswald Hood said that “I think that this is the most finals we’ve had on a Saturday and we’re looking to build on that going into tomorrow. We have a lot of people in their first BUCS Nationals competition so there were some nerves at such a big competition, but it hasn’t affected us and we’ve used it to our advantage!“
Fencing
After some promising performances for the #GreenandGold on an ultimately frustrating opening day in the BUCS Nationals Fencing competition, the University of Nottingham had a bigger opportunity for glory in today’s second day of competition. With multiple entrants in both the Men’s Sabre (six) and Women’s Foil (five), including reigning BUCS Nationals Sabre champion Stefano Lucchetti, there was an optimistic outlook ahead of the day’s action at Pond’s Forge.
Women’s Foil
Despite coach Amy Parsons stating that the university’s Women’s Foil entrants had some tricky poule round fixtures, the results didn’t seem to show that too much as the #GreenandGold saw six of our seven entrants make it through to the knockout rounds. Fencers Tyanne Fong, Serena Patel, Lauren Elliott, Eleanor Knox and Heloise Hardy all progressed through the poule, with Fong, Patel, Knox and Hardy all winning four or more of their matches. Anissa Lintang Ramadhani unfortunately fell at this stage. These early performances led to some confidence amongst the women as they headed into the knockout rounds, with Patel saying she was “feeling confident ahead of direct eliminations,” whilst Tyanne Fong added “I started off pretty well, so I’m looking forward to a good elimination set-up. It’s my first BUCS Nationals so it’s been great to compete with my teammates.“
Moving into the knockout rounds, the #GreenandGold’s performances in the early stages meant that many had earned bye’s into the round of 32. Rachael Lever admitted that she had an “unlucky poule draw” and ultimately went out at the round of 64 stage alongside teammate Lauren Elliott. However, Lever was not too downhearted stating “my actual event is tomorrow, so it was a warm-up event today for me. I’m hoping for a medal in Epee on Sunday.“
Tyanne Fong, Serena Patel, Eleanor Knox and Heloise Hardy all continued to fence in good form and moved through to the Round of 32. After a strong early competition showing, this would end up being the end of the road for Hardy in the event, but her three teammates continued on to the last 16. Unfortunately for Knox, she would come up against the number 1 seed and eventual winner Jekaterina Solodkiha from Coventry, but her teammates remarked that she had fenced really well throughout the day. Tyanne Fong would also ultimately exit at this stage, but Serena Patel beat Anglia Ruskin’s Hannah Smyth 15-9 in the last 16 to reach the quarter finals. However, the luck of draw did not favour the #GreenandGold as Solodkiha stood in her way and ultimately proved too much for a spirited Patel, who lost their match 15-5. Reflecting on her journey at the event, Serena told us “I ended up facing a really good fencer, and I’m happy with my performance in the tournament overall as I went further than I expected too!“
Results
Serena Patel – Quarter Final
Tyanne Fong – Round of 16
Eleanor Knox – Round of 16
Heloise Hardy – Round of 32
Rachel Leaver – Round of 64
Lauren Elliott – Round of 64
Anissa Lintang Ramadhani – Out in the Poule Stage
Men’s Sabre
The Men’s Sabre event was headlined by the reigning and defending champion from the University of Nottingham, Stefano Lucchetti. Before the event, Lucchetti told us “honestly, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while! Aiming for the top spot again today as I’m defending my title!” Much like their Women’s Foil counterparts, the #GreenandGold men all put on a strong showing in the poules with all five (Lucchetti, Phineas Ramsey, Antonio Decavo Garcia, Marcus Richards and Evangelos Kalomiris) making their way successfully into the knockout rounds. As you would expect from the defending champion, Lucchetti’s round was the most impressive as he went untouched throughout, winning every single point available – a feat he remarked was the “first time I’ve gone without dropping a point in my whole career, but I’m just sticking to the same gameplan that’s been working and focussing on each point.” Lucchetti’s performance earned him a bye to the round of 64 as the number 1 seed, alongside teammates Phineas Ramsey, Antonio Docavo Garcia and Evangelos Kalomiris. After losing four of his poule matches, Marcus Richards, who was competing for the second day in a row, played in the round of 128 but comfortably joined his teammates with a 15-9 win.
Stefano Lucchetti fenced his way through the field to BUCS Bronze.
Awaiting Richards in the round of 64 was a tough opponent in Barnaby Halliwell of Durham University, who would go on to knock out the #GreenandGold’s first eliminated fencer in Richards with a 15-5 win. However Richards told us before the event that his “aim was to get past the poule, as he only really fences Sabre a little and have some fun after yesterday!” Also leaving the competition in the round of 64 was Phineas Ramsay who would lose 15-6 to another Durham fencer in Darcy Holdsworth.
To this point much like Stefano, Antonio Docavo Garcia had won every match he’d played in the competition but in the last match of the round of 32, Antonio tasted defeat. In front of a growing crowd and spurred on by his teammates, Antonio put up a spirited display against Anuj Mather from Newcastle as Mather took the upper hand before the first break 8-5, but the Nottingham man put on a great fightback to only be 12-13 down. However, he would ultimately lost the last two points to go down 15-12.
Kalomiris took on Apostolos Panagiotopoulos from Imperial in Round of 32 and won 15-6 to moves into the last 16, saying he was now “warming up and moving into the max level” as well as acknowledging that he could soon face teammate Lucchetti, who had also cruised through to the last 16, by saying “meeting each other at later stages is good, at least it’s not the early stages of the competition!”
However, the draw was not kind to Nottingham’s Kalomiris who was drawn against former World Junior Champion, Durham’s Lorenzo Roma. On this occasion it was Roma who came out on top 15-7 to leave Lucchetti as the University of Nottingham’s lone representative, and also provide an ominous display ahead of a likely match against Stefano. After defeat, Kalomiris noted that “I enjoyed the match a lot, it’s sad to lose but I’m happy with the performance. I always see things that I can improve for the upcoming cup matches.”
Entering the last 16, reigning champion Stefano Lucchetti had been relatively untested but to start the round’s match found himself in unusual territory going 3-0 down, before finding his feet in the contest to level at 3-3. Having found his rhythm, Stefano lead at the first break 8-5 and went on to win 15-9 setting up a quarter final against Durham’s Barnaby Halliwell. The pace was frenetic as the two matched each other point for point to be level at five after ten points played, however Lucchetti used all of his experience to close out the match 15-10 and place himself in the semi’s as well as guaranteeing a bronze medal for the University of Nottingham! Whilst he was here for another gold, securing the medal delighted the growing Nottingham contingent in the crowd.
In the semi final, it would be Kalomiris‘ conqueror, the University of Durham’s Roma who lay in wait. The two both knew that this was their opportunity to face Oxford’s Hristo Efimov in the final, and for Stefano to also retain his BUCS Nationals crown. In front of a growing crowd, Stefano claimed a quick first point of the match. However, Roma was unfazed and took the next five points and an early lead. Stefano, changed Sabre’s at 7-1 down, but unfortunately still lost the last point before the break, giving the Durham man an 8-1 advantage. With a lot of work to do, Stefano came out firing after the interval to make it 8-2, but the momentum was soon lost again with the score moving to 10-2. However, there was no giving in shown by the University of Nottingham man who won the next three points, pulling himself back into the match at 10-5. The next few points were closely contested, but it was Roma who moved within touching distance of the final at 14-6. Lucchetti continued to push, but ultimately had to settle for a Bronze at this year’s Nationals after a 15-8 win for Roma, who would go on to win the tournament.
Speaking to us after the tournament, Stefano remarked that “overall it’s been a long but good day. I’m happy to have again made it into the medals as that was my goal. I would’ve liked to defend the title with the gold medal, but I’m always proud to represent the #GreenandGold. Roma is a very good fencer, and at the end of the day I lacked a little bit of gas in the tank with a small injury I have. Looking forward though, I’m looking forward to moving onto the university’s upcoming BUCS matches on the #RoadToNottingham.”
Congratulations to Stefano on a brilliant tournament and a deserved bronze medal.
Results
Stefano Lucchetti – Bronze Medal
Evangelos Kalomiris – Last 16
Antonio Docavo Garcia – Round of 32
Phineas Ramsay – Round of 64
Marcus Richards – Round of 64
Stefano Luchetti and Evangelos Kalomoiris plotting their route to the final stages of the Men’s Sabre
Athletics
The athletics took a slight pause to make room for the Annual mascot race which sees each University mascot compete in a fun-filled 200m race. All for a good cause, mascots that race enter through making a donation to the Danny Porter Foundation, a charity that raises fund to help in the fight against cancer. Despite some questionable antics and racing it was the University of Birmingham that came on top with ‘Rory the Lion’ being crowned as King of the costumes.
Whilst a hard act to follow, James Walker was up next for some more serious action in the 3000m at EIS with the Nottingham student recording a time of 9:05.47.
It was also a busy day at EIS for Track Captain Sam Baker-Jones and Carmen Williams who both jumped in the Long Jump qualifiers and ran in the 4x 200m heats.
Oluwajoba Ashiru and Jamie Croucher represented the University of Nottingham in the High Jump competition. Ashiru, a first-year student who was attending his first Championships for UoN cleared a height of 1.93 to book his slot in Sundays’ Final. Speaking to UoN Sport afterwards he said: “This was a great experience for me, I really enjoyed it. It was great to perform in front of a crowd, I was really relaxed and I’m looking forward to tomorrows final.”
Oluwajoba Ashiru competing in the High Jump at EIS
The final event on the track at EIS was the Men’s and Women’s 4x200m. The Men’s team were represented by Kwesi Biney, Joel Akande, James Walker and Aaron Traves, who managed to qualify for the finals on Sunday with a time of 1:38.30.
Team Captain, Joel Akande, speaking to UoN Sport after the race said: “It was a really good race! I’m super proud of the team, each and every one of them put in a 100%. The whole experience of competing at BUCS.
After the Men’s race, the #GreenandGold also took to the Women’s 4x200m race with a team comprised of Molly Finch, Ashleigh Bailey, Eve Crossley and Abigail Hitchby. The team put in a valiant effort and ran an amazing 1:49.42. However, this was not quick enough to qualify.
Teammates Molly and Ashleigh caught up with UoN Sport after their race.
Molly said: “Considering one of us had an injury, it was good to get out there for the first one of the season!”
Ashleigh also commented: “I think it was so nice to compete as a team who all did really well in the race. It was nice for the club to come together in this atmosphere against other universities. BUCS has been great so far; it was a lovely way to end the second day”
Badminton
Badminton Coach Martyn Lewis said before the event began that the team “are definitely ready to play, they have had really good preparation back in Nottingham, lots of match play, and plenty of speedwork. They are all ready to play here in Sheffield. Let’s see if they can show off the hard work they have put into training onto the court!”
Out of our Badminton players, only defending 2020 BUCS champion, Johnnie Torjussen was safely through to Sunday’s semi-final in the Men’s singles, with Sijie Wei getting knocked out in the quarterfinals in a match that ended a nail-biting 22-20 (his opponent will play Johnnie in the next round), and Min Htet Kaung getting knocked out in round 2. Despite only 1 University of Nottingham athlete progressing to Sunday’s fixtures, Martyn Lewis told us that “the three students put everything into their performances and should be proud of what they have achieved.”
Johnnie Torjussen made light work of his way to the semi-finals.
Women’s Doubles
As the men’s singles was wrapping up for the day, the Women’s Doubles competition started off with a bang! The #GreenandGold came out of the blocks flying with Victoria Liang and Aimee Whiteman winning both sets 21-11. This was followed by the amazing work of Natasha Lado and Rachael Woods, who wrapped up their sets quickly winning 21-10 and 21-9. Building off the energy of the previous two teams, it was nothing but wins for Sian Kelly and Kirby Ngan who won their sets comfortably with 21-10 and 21-11.
Women’s Doubles will progress to the second round of the competition which kicks off tomorrow morning!
Women’s Singles
Even after dominating in the Women’s Doubles, the hard work was not over for the #GreenandGold. Following the dominant performance of the Doubles pairings, the UoN students came out firing. Aimee Whiteman, building on the brilliant performance she put on in the doubles, won her first round comfortably 21-5 and 21-10, followed by 21-12 and 21-9 wins in the second round. Kirby Ngan was also able to emulate the fantastic work she put in the previous competition and, too, won her first and second rounds comfortably picking up 21-12, 21-9 and 21-5 (both sets), respectively. Despite the comfortable wins for both Aimee and Kirby, Rachel Woods lost out on the second round, losing her sets 21-12 and 21-11. It should be noted that making the last 16 is no mean feat, and that Rachel should be proud of everything she has achieved at BUCS Nationals so far.
Both Kirby and Aimee have progressed onto the quarterfinals, with the results still pending.
Men’s Doubles
At the time of publishing, today’s Men’s Doubles results are still pending. The University of Nottingham have the following teams competing: Samuel Smith / Johnnie Torjussen, David Hong / Perry Ng and Harry Goode / Nathan Rossiter.
Mixed Doubles
At the time of publishing, today’s Mixed Doubles results are still pending. The University of Nottingham have the following teams competing: Samuel Smith / Sian Kelly, Harry Goode / Victoria Liang and Nathan Rossiter / Emily Jade Robinson.
Climbing
At the time of publishing, today’s climbing results are still pending.
Tomorrow, we move into the final day of the Championships with action across 4 sports and everything still to play/compete for. We hope to see the #GreenandGold build on their current medal tally of 1 gold and 1 bronze at this years BUCS Nationals 2022.
In the meantime, make sure you head over to our social channels to congratulate out students on their success.
You can follow the University of Nottingham’s progress in the BUCS Nationals on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds. There will also be regular updates on our BUCS Nationals website and social media channels.
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