The penultimate day of competition saw Sydney Uni capture 3 gold pennants with more in sight.
Outstanding individual and team efforts secured USYD victory in both the overall men’s and women’s Athletics point scores. Highlights of the final day of competition included: Anneliese Rubie (800m gold); 4 x 400m men’s and women’s relays (gold); Christina Grun (javelin gold); Katrina Blackett (javelin silver) and Jennifer Blundell (5000m gold).
Men’s Table Tennis had an impressive day on the court in their bronze medal playoff. Kane Townsend led the charge with his skills and expertise. The boys managed to snag the bronze medal in epic fashion (10-1). The women had an equally impressive day taking on Monash for gold. It was a very quick affair in the end, with our girls dominating to take home the gold (6-1). Huge results for our table tennis teams, congratulations!
A challenging day for Men’s rugby sevens, with three pool games and a potential quarter final awaiting the Students. Their first opponent was host university, Bond, who started very strongly. The opponent scored two quick tries and dominated possession before Matt Narracott pounced on a loose ball to race away and change the momentum. Narracott created the opportunity to score again before the Students pulled away in a tough contest to win 31-17. Matt Narracott was awarded Man of the Match.
The rugby students anticipated a challenging battle against Griffith Uni and a very tough game validated this prediction. Line breaks were difficult to come by and the heat was catching up with everyone. The game see-sawed until an impressive effort from Nick Champion de Crespigny swung the result in USYD’s favour. They defeated Griffith (24-14) and Dougal McLaughlin received Man of the Match. Following a win in their final game against UWA (38-7), the Students met Western Sydney in their quarter final match and won (43-5). USYD play UTS in their semi-final.
The Women’s soccer team rolled into the quarter finals conceding only one goal. Up against Monash Uni, the girls put on another dominant performance winning (7-0). Setting up a semi final against arch rivals Melbourne Uni, again the girls proved why they are such a powerhouse coming out and kicking 6 goals to Melbourne’s zero. All eyes will be on the gold medal match against La Trobe Uni. The men had a tough opponent in UNSW, with a closely fought contest. Both teams reached full time without scoring a goal. Extra time provided chances for both teams to hit the score board, yet neither could convert which lead to a penalty shoot-out with the USYD men coming out on top (5-3) and leading to a semi-final berth against Monash. The boys then came out after lunch and played their best game of AUG’s thus far, beating Monash (2-0), going into the gold medal match without conceding a goal.
Both men’s and women’s hockey took on Melbourne Uni. The men have improved with each performance, but none the less have not managed a win losing out to Melbourne Uni (4-1). The women however, overcame Melbourne (3-1) to set up a quarter final against fellow Victorian based university, Monash. In a close and at times rugged game USYD scored a first half goal which proved to be the difference between the teams. The women will play QUT in the gold medal match.
USYD Handball came up against ACPE in their last pool game going down (12–10). Despite the loss this set up a semi final against neighbours UTS. In a high scoring game UTS earned a place in the Gold medal match, beating USYD (31-23). USYD play ACPE again in a play-off for bronze.
USYD sailing started the day placed equal 4th with MON and CU. After only a loss to UTS, the team made it to top 4. They played off UQ (only defeated by UWA) and versed them in a knockout semi-final.
On the futsal front, our women’s team unfortunately lost a close battle in their semi-final against Monash (1-2). They will play-off for bronze against ACPE. The men’s team won their quarter final against GU (4-2), but lost their semi-final to RMIT (4-1). They will compete for bronze against Melbourne Uni on Day 5.
Men’s golf enters the final day with a 4 shot lead over RMIT. Led by their Ex-PGA tour star, the men had rounds of 73 (Kristian Hooker) 77 (Tim Felan and Ben Murray) and 83 (Lachlan Mactier). Tomorrow will come down to the wire in the race for the pennant.
After a close loss to UNSW (6-5) in the Men’s tennis semi, USYD played Monash for the Bronze medal match, disposing of them (10-1). The women came up against a tough opponent in RMIT in the Semi-final stage. Without much luck, the women went down (5-0) setting up a bronze medal match with Newcastle.
In their only match of the day, the Aussie Rules boys secured a win over arch rival UNSW. It was another great team effort with Riordan Lee and James Lewington leading from the front. Sights are now set upon Deakin University for the final day of games.
Baseball boys started Day 4 against UTS needing to pile on a lot of runs without incurring much of a loss in order to get into the semis. After their starting pitcher injured himself in the first inning, Yuki Matsuyama came in to bring the game into the fourth inning which allowed them to win the game by the margin needed. In the semis against QUT, the boys were able to get an early lead and force a QUT pitching change in the first inning. This really demoralised QUT and gave USYD momentum. Alex Cobb capitalised on this and pitched an absolute gem. This performance, together with the whole team’s tidy defence, held their lead for the rest of the game. The boys are now playing for gold!
Outstanding achievements for the USYD Kendo team this year, winning a total of 2 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 7 bronze medals.
Biggest stars were Man Yan (Minty) Ma and Mingrui (Mory) Zhao, who came first in Women’s Kyu and Women’s Dan Kendo competitions respectively. Next, the Open Division team came second (Man Yan (Minty) Ma, Ernani Contursi, Mingrui (Mory) Zhao, Katrina Amos, Vincent Firman). Lastly, the Kyu Division team came third (Yihan (Anna) Lu, Elizabeth Tran, Michael Lotsaris, Alexander Greenhalgh, Noelia Isla, Chen Gong, Kai Kikuchi). This last achievement represented a huge accomplishment for USYD Kyu team as it was their first ever competition (for all competitors in the kyu team).
Mens and womens waterpolo are playing for bronze. Waterpolo men’s Division 1 beat Newcastle (8-6), but lost in their second, (10-7). A similar pattern followed for the USYD women, as they overcame Monash (9-1) in their first but lost out to Newcastle (14-3).
What a day for our netballers. After a very tough week, the girls had something to celebrate with two huge wins. They managed to dig deep, put the trials and tribulations of the week behind them and do themselves proud winning (99-14) against Notre dame and (49-38) Macquarie. Special mention to team manager, Nadia Moore, for her never say die attitude and for rallying her team to produce such a strong finish to the week.
Men’s Volleyball came off a massive comeback win over QUT, with a solid team effort. All of the seniors dominated in periods of the match, eventually winning (3-2) after some two and a half hours and being down (2-0). The semi was also another 5 set affair with the boys being ahead (2-0) and eventually going down (3-2). The team left it all on the court and eventually the fatigue and heat took its toll, with the team going down. Notable mentions to Liam Elkington and Dustin Lam who powered through cramps, Pinyan Gao ripping jump serves and organising the offence as a fresher, and to Zac Pluim for his great hitting through the middle.
Our Badminton teams have been competing in a very tight competition with many close matches across the board. Our men’s team went down (3-2) to UNSW on Day 4 and will result in the boys playing off for 5/6 on Day 5. The girls had the same result (3-2) against Macquarie Uni and will play off for 3/4 position.
The Nerang Criterium Circuit welcomed Sydney cyclists on Day 4. A tough 1.5km circuit of pinch steep hills and fast downhills created havoc within the races. The boys were first to start which covered 60mins of racing plus 3 laps. Jason Hotten was the best of the USYD men in the field, with only half of starters finishing due to the intensity of racing. The girls fared better but their efforts to attack their main opponents and put them under pressure went unheralded, with Emily Kempson (3rd) and Ella Bloor (5th). The Cycling competition for AUG15 is now over with results to be announced at tonight’s closing ceremony.
A much easier day for our softballers, with one match against Bond University. It was a walk in the park for the girls defeating Bond (18-2). The girls now head into semi finals and hopefully a grand final.
The swimmers finished the third with a host of Silver medals. Jesse King (Men’s 50m Breaststroke) and Carlee Milliken (Women’s 50m Breaststroke) got the team started with their silver haul. Megan Connor was touched out in the Women’s 100m Freestyle, while Keelan Bridge completed a great tactical race in the Men’s 200m Backstroke to finish with silvers. Keelan also finished 4th in the Men’s 200m Butterfly. USYD didn’t place in the overall pennant tally but we must be proud of the achievements of the 5 swimmers.
Ultimate Frisbee teams go into finals day full of confidence after an epic Day 4 of competition. The boys defeated ECU (15-1) and then dominated the normally strong Monash (15-4) to remain undefeated in the competition so far. The girls had a tougher day defeating Monash (12-9) and then came from 4 points behind to snatch victory from UQ. Day 5 will see both teams compete in semi finals with grand finals scheduled for the afternoon.
The women’s basketball team came out very strong and after defeating Macquarie in the semi final (79-19), the girls now progress to the gold medal match against Melbourne. Basketball men won convincingly against Victoria Uni, with USYD’s shooting and ball movement too much for an overmatched team. Showing our commendable depth, everyone team member scored, with Jack Larkins playing well off the bench. The team replay Wollongong tomorrow for 5th place.
Sydney Uni cricket side has forced their way into a grand final match against arch-rivals UNSW following a solid victory over Monash University in their semi-final. Sydney Uni again batted first, and for a second day in a row were in early trouble with two wickets falling quickly. The innings was steadied by skipper Ben Trevor-Jones who scored another classy half century (58 from 50 balls), and fellow SUCC 1st Grade all-rounder, Dugald Holloway (43 from 39 balls). This partnership took the Students to 2-60 from 10 overs and a good platform to push forward. Joe Kershaw continued his consistent contributions with another 22 from 20 balls, and helped push the score to 153 runs from the 20 overs.
Day 5 is set to be a big one with 14 teams in grand finals.
GO USYD! #usydgameface