With an impressive 15 overall national championship pennants, The University of Sydney (USYD) has retained the title of the AUS Overall Champion University for 2015.
Following on from Sydney Uni’s recent wins in 2014 and 2011, the 2015 contingent secured first place finishes in the following disciplines: Women’s Squash; Men’s Cricket; Women’s Touch; Men’s Golf; Women’s Baketball; Women’s Soccer; Men’s Soccer; Women’s Hockey; Women’s Softball; Men’s Ultimate Frisbee; Women’s Table Tennis; Men’s Athletics; Women’s Athletics; Women’s Kendo and Women’s Cycling.
The AUS Overall Champion University is tallied by counting the number of divisions and pennants won at the Australian University Games and other national championships including Snow Sports, Orienteering, Distance Running and Triathlon.
Sydney Uni beat out Griffith University (7 pennants), Monash University (5 pennants), UTS (5 pennants), U.W.A. (4 pennants) RMIT (3 pennants) and Melbourne University (2 pennants).
Teams were determined to grab every last point on Day 5 of competitiion in the lead up to the overall tally:
Touch
The women’s team had a fairytale finish to their competition. They met Griffith in the gold medal game. The USYD ladies managed to pull away early on and never looked back. They won the Gold (5-3) and finished the week undefeated. Sydney Uni had 4 people selected into the Green and Gold teams from touch; Partick Coelho, Gabi Chiu, Teigan Miller and William Thorpe. Sydney Uni touch men’s team finished the week finishing 6th overall after suffering a tight (5-9) loss to Monash. The mixed team finished 8th after beating ACPE (10-4) on the final day. Congratulations to all three touch teams in what was a great week of footy and sportsmanship.
Ultimate
It was close encounter in the women’s gold medal match, with the ladies taking home silver after being pipped at the post by Melbourne University in a stunning (12-10) defeat. The men however, outclassed their UNSW opponents, taking gold in spectacular fashion (15-9). The teams had four members selected for the Green and Gold Team; Rob Andrews, Alex Ladomatos, Phil White and Kimberley Spragg.
Badminton
After a week of intense competition the women’s team won bronze, defeating UNSW (197-143); while the men’s finished 5th, defeating Griffith (243-211). With stellar performances all week, congratulations to Brendan Tieu and Sirina Fan who made the Green and Gold Team.
Softball
The women entered the gold medal match, having been undefeated all week, and that winning streak continued as they came away victorious against Macquarie University (6-4) and 3 players making the Green and Gold Team; congratulations to Emma Cleary, Nicola Maitland and Lauren Tapp.
Cycling
Overall, a fantastic effort from our cyclists placing 2nd behind Griffith University. Our women steamed ahead with thrilling performances all week, taking 1st place in the individual time trial, as well as the criterium to finish in 1st at the end of the week. Our men finished 6th after a convincing Paris Time Trial performance.
Volleyball
The boys took on Griffith Uni for the Bronze on Day 5. After having two very tightly contested 5 set games the previous day, the boys were extremely tired going into their final game for the week. They managed to rally and come away with a (3-0) win, taking home the bronze for this year. Here’s hoping they can come back firing in 2016. Green and Gold was awarded to Liam Elkington and Dustin Lam.
With Sharmaine a little bit more comfortable in her new role as setter, and Rowda on the bench as coach, it seemed like the women’s team were in a good position to take out the final. Number 7, Georgie Rowe from Uni SA started strongly, swinging line and cross for winners. However USYD matched with strong swings from Kristina Knezovic and Alexa Armstrong, going point for point in the first set. A few unforced errors down (22-23) gave Uni SA the first set (22-25). The next 2 sets were dominated by Uni SA, going down (25-18), (25-9) as we had no answers to the strong cross court hits from Georgie Rowe. All in all a great fight from USYD having lost their setter and needing to adjust. Had their setter have been there, they’d likely have come home with the gold and a few more green and golds. Green and Gold was awarded to Sharmaine Fernando.
AFL
In the final match of the tournament, AFL played off for 7th place against Deakin University. It’s always difficult to play against Victorian sides, however, the team put on the best defense of the week to stymie the defense. Unfortunately, the offense wasn’t as successful and the side went down (2-7), in what commentators are calling, “the next evolution of the game.” Green and Gold was awarded to Riordan Lee.
Baseball
The baseball boys were out for redemption on Day 5 as they faced off against Griffith University, a team that pumped them earlier in the week. Despite this, the boys scored three early runs to take the lead which started from a Max Klein lead off triple. The starting pitcher, Alex Mills, was firing as well but unfortunately a few innings into the game they were unable to back him up in the field, with each infielder giving up an error and allowing seven runs to Griffith in the one inning. A change in pitching to Alex Cobb prevented any more runs being scored. The boys were unable to pick themselves back up until Alex Cobb wielded the axe and crushed a huge solo home run. Still the cynics had accepted their fate and were unable to rally. End score was a disappointing (9-4), with that one poor inning in the field that will probably haunt us till we die. Green and Gold was awarded to Alex Cobb.
Netball
The netball girls played a friendly on their final day of competition. Despite the result not counting, the girls still played at their best and ended up 17th in the competition in what was an extremely competitive and difficult tournament. The girls are to be commended for their efforts throughout this tough week.
Table Tennis
Kane Townsend ended a brilliant week winning gold in men’s singles. Angela Feng managed to snag a bronze in women’s singles (unlucky draw as she definitely would have beaten silver). Kane Townsend and Gavin took home the silver in Men’s doubles with the women just as successful having Angela Feng and Jingyu Zhang also taking silver. The team was extremely pleased with the days’ results. Green and gold was awarded to Kane Townsend, Angela Keng and Jingyu Zhang.
Basketball
The Basketball men had a disappointing finish to their AUG campaign finishing 6th after losing to the University of Wollongong in the 5th/6th playoff. The score was close with USYD going down (41-48).
The women experienced a dream competition, winning their Gold medal match in style against the University of Melbourne (63-35). The game started off slowly but once the USYD girls got their first few shots in, there was no looking back. Eleni Valos was particularly strong in the Grand final with a great shooting accuracy. Eleni and Kate Cranney were rewarded with Green and Gold selection after a great week, while Robert Dewer was selected into the men’s Green and Gold team after dominating the men’s competition.
Waterpolo
The Men and women’s water polo teams bounced back nicely from the disappointing semi final losses on Day 4. The women met a tough UTS team in the bronze medal play off. In the low scoring affair, the women ended up going down (4-7) to settle for 4th position. Ashley Colaco and Elise Gaskell were both awarded for great tournaments by being selected into the Green and Gold team.
The men also managed to hit back after their tough semi final loss by beating Melboune (10-6) to claim the bronze medal. Mike Rosenthal, Andrew Cameron and Lewis Taie were selected into the Green and Gold Team.
T20 Cricket
After a very impressive week winning all games somewhat easily, Men’s cricket came up against old foe, UNSW. Ben Trevor-Jones began by winning the toss and electing to bat. Immediately the team were in some trouble after quality bowling and some dubious shot selection limping to 5/42 off ten overs. Enter unheralded Hayden Kerr. Brimming with energy, Hayden mixed power with finesse getting the boys up to a respectable 117 after 20 overs. With the strength of Sydney Uni bowling attack, if they managed to post anywhere close to a run a ball it would be tough to chase down.
Enter Joe Kershaw, third ball straight through the gate, UNSW were 1/0. Again on Joe’s second over grabbed the edge as UNSW are reduced to 2/5 off 3. Hayden Kerr backed up his effort with the bat, bowling the 11th and 13th overs for just 6 runs to put UNSW well behind the eight ball.
Joe Kershaw and Dugald Holloway bowled the final four overs with UNSW needing 26 off them. Both bowled with express pace and accuracy to make it nearly impossible for the UNSW batsman. A dot ball of the penultimate ensured they needed an impossible 11 off the final ball and a massive cheer when up from the Sydney Uni supporters. Despite the last ball being hit for 6, celebrations erupted around the ground. Winning by 5 runs and securing a spot in the World Uni Games in Sri Lanka, 2016. The amazing feeling and singing of the team song after the victory is something that will stay with the team for a long time.
Football
The men took home the gold after defeating arch rivals Melbourne Uni (1-0) in a closely fought encounter. After being relegated in 2013, winning Division 2 in 2014 and being promoted in 2014, it has been a phenomenal performance by the Men’s team. They also did not concede a single goal throughout the entire week. The women had another sensational week at AUG’s winning their 5th straight gold medal. Dominating all teams throughout the group stage, quarters and Semis, the girls only conceded one goal all week. Coming up against La Trobe Uni in the final, the girls were tested in a closely fought encounter beating them by a single goal (1-0). A special mention must go to Director of Football John Curran who managed to run between fields to coach both teams at the same time.
Hockey
The women’s hockey team had another successful AUG’s, taking home the gold. After winning the Sydney hockey league the women were heavy favourites. They did not disappoint, beating QUT in the final (2-1) in a close fought contest. Their defensive was the highlight of the games never conceding more than one goal in all of their matches. It was a tough week for the Men’s hockey team, unfortunately not getting a win. With the team consisting of four guys who have never picked up a stick before, this is not a surprise; however the team gained valuable experience, and look forward to competing in Perth next year
Golf
The men finished off the final round with a combined total of 298. They closed the games with a comprehensive 16 shot victory over runner up RMIT, with their Ex –PGA tour player who took out the individual title. Final rounds of 1 over 73 for Ben Murray and Kristian Hooker, a 2 over from Hunter Hordern, and a 78 from Tim Phelan rounded out the best four scores for the final round. Special mention goes to Ben Murray who missed out on overall 3rd spot in the individual and a green and gold on a count back. The girls had a runner up finish to UQA, with Rebecca Matthews finishing 5th and Rebecca Matthews coming in 10th. The girls improved significantly from their first day scores climbing up the leader board after each round, a commendable fight back.
Handball
The team played off for the bronze medal match against ACPE, with a strong performance they unfortunately went down (23-15).
Tennis
It proved a tough final day for the Men after a close encounter to eventual winners Monash. The guys came up against the favoured UTS in the bronze medal match, with UTS proving to strong winning (3-0). The women were unlucky to come up against the dominate gold medal winners RMIT in the semis. They took on Newcastle (3-2) to claim the bronze.
Fencing
Day 1 of Men’s Foil saw Alex Mei take silver after a very hard bout against Lucas Webber from Victoria. Sholto Douglas placed 7th, also losing out to Lucas Webber. For the women, Katherine Kwa took Gold (15-13) and Margarita Sokolovskaja just behind in Silver. Day 2 saw the men’s foil team of Alex Mei, Sholto Douglas, Patrick Daley and Kimbrian Canavan take gold. Margarita Sokolovskaja came in 4th, losing out to the gold medalist Amy Reynolds (15-10),
Katherine Kwa came in 5th and Nazurah Nasir 16th in the womens. Patrick Daley take 15th and Alex Mei 18th in the men’s sabre. To wrap up the competition, the Women’s Foil team defeated ANU (45-30) in the semi-final and defeated Melbourne Uni in the final (45-38). The boys weren’t so lucky, losing in their first round of the men’s sabre teams.
Rowing
The three day event started off well on Wednesday 29 September, with most of the men’s crews achieving the one qualifying spot to the A-finals in the heats. All other crews achieved 2nd or 3rd places in their heats, which meant we were looking good to qualifying for the A-finals via the repechages the next day. On Thursday all the remaining crews in the repechages did exactly that in a convincing way, getting all Sydney Uni crews ready for the A-finals on Friday.
This year the Uni champs had some of the country’s best rowers participating, especially on the women’s side. Plenty of strong competition therefore for our developing Sydney Uni rowers, nevertheless taking podium places in 11 out of 14 events, of which gold in three events (Mix 4+, Mix 8+ and Mens 8+). Highlights were a bronze in the mens double for David Bartholot and Alexander Purnell, with David having rowing only since March this year. Furthermore, a convincing win in the Men’s eight, with a crew consisting mostly of development squad rowers. Also the women had some excellent performances in the coxed four (Silver) and the women’s eight (Bronze), showing our women’s program is on the move up.
The fight for the overall championship point scores was a tight one this year. The top three places were contested between Sydney Uni, Melbourne Uni and the University of Adelaide. While UA dropped off the race for gold earlier on the Friday, it wasn’t until the very last final of the day that the overall championship was decided. Sydney Uni had laid a solid foundation winning the mixed eight and mixed four on Thursday, and did their required job winning the Men’s eight, but lost a few too many points to second and third places in some of the other events. Even though Sydney Uni won the overall Men’s points score, and got a solid second place in the Women’s overall score, in the end Melbourne Uni got away with the overall championship by only twelve points (USYD 434 vs MU 446), thanks to their very strong women’s team winning four golds.
Rugby Sevens
The Rugby 7’s men started the day off in fairytale fashion with a determined semi final win over rivals UTS. Their win (24-10) set up the grand final against hosts Griffith University. The grand final was a fantastic game, with both teams going as hard as they could which made for an extremely exciting encounter for the spectators. Unfortunately the boys lost in the dying minutes and had to settle for silver. The men had a fantastic tournament, with three players in Matthew Narracott, Dylan Oldfield and Dylan Viera all being selected in the Green and Gold team.
Squash
Our men’s squash team finished the tournament placing 7th. The women had a dream finish to their day. They started the day out with a semi final win against Melbourne (28-0). This set the women up for the gold medal encounter against Monash. This was back and forth and no one knew who would win right up until the last player finished their game. Our women finished victorious (16-12). Laura McCredie and Anna Kimberley were awarded Green and Gold after a fantastic week. Congratulations to the women’s team.
Futsal
The futsal teams had a great week with the men finishing 4th and the women finishing 3rd. Both teams were in Division 2 and are hoping that their performance will secure them a spot in next year’s Division 1 competition.
To consolidate the win, Sydney Uni had an overall number of 64 athletes chosen for the green and gold team, recognising their outstanding contribution throughout the games:
AFL (men’s) | Lee Riordan
Athletics | Nicholas Van Gelda
Badminton (men’s) | Brendan Tieu
Badminton (women’s) | Sirina Fan
Baseball | Alex Cobb
Basketball (men’s) | Robert Dewer
Basketball (women’s) | Eleni Valos
Basketball (women’s) | Kate Cranney
Fencing | Katherine Kwa
Football (men’s) | Simon Leech
Football (men’s) |David Maiolo
Football (men’s) |Christopher Vlismas
Football (women’s) |Georgia Keen
Football (women’s) |Elizabeth Grey
Football (women’s) |Clare Woods
Football (women’s) |Dominique Carrothers
Football (women’s) |Natalie Ambrose
Football (women’s) |Jennifer Bennett
Football (women’s) |Peta Zoe Banbas
Football (women’s) |Anya Cherry
Football (women’s) |Grace Henry
Football (women’s) |Evelyn Chronis
Football (women’s) |Ariane Demetriou
Football (women’s) |Liana Danaskas
Handball | Renata Pizzi Veloso
Hockey (men’s) | Cameron Rowland
Hockey (women’s) | Nina Khoury
Hockey (women’s) | Maddy Rosser
Hockey (women’s) | Alex Morrison
Rugby Union 7’s | Matthew Narracott
Rugby Union 7’s |Dylan Oldfield
Rugby Union 7’s |Dylan Vieira
Softball | Nicola Maitland
Softball | Emma Cleary
Softball | Lauren Tapp
Squash (men’s) | Robert Palmer
Squash (women’s) | Laura McCredie
Squash (women’s) | Anna Kimberley
Sailing | Scott Sydney
Table Tennis (men’s) | Kane Townsend
Table Tennis (women’s) | Angela Feng
Table Tennis (women’s) | Jingyu Zhang
Touch (men’s) | Patrick Coelho
Touch (women’s) | Gabi Chui
Touch (women’s) | Teigan Miller
Touch (mixed) | William Thorpe
T20 Cricket | Jack Holloway
T20 Cricket |Ben Trever-Jones
T20 Cricket |Joseph Kershaw
T20 Cricket |Dugald Holloway
T20 Cricket |Brodie Frost
T20 Cricket |Jim Ryan
Ultimate (men’s) | Rob Andrews
Ultimate (men’s) |Alex Ladomatos
Ultimate (men’s) |Phil White
Ultimate (women’s) | Kimberley Spragg
Volleyball (women’s) | Sharmaine Fernando
Volleyball (men’s) | Dustin Lam
Volleyball (men’s) | Liam Elkington
Water Polo (men’s) | Andrew Cameron
Water Polo (men’s) | Mike Rosenthal
Water Polo (men’s) | Lewis Taie
Water Polo (women’s) | Ashley Colaco
Water Polo (women’s) | Elise Gaskell
This title win is a testament to the strength and dedication of the athletes and support staff of Sydney University Sport and Fitness (SUSF).
Congratulations and GO USYD! #usydgameface
