Sydney University athletes got off to a great start on the first day of competition at the Australian University Games (AUG) on the Gold Coast, with some outstanding results showing plenty of promise for the week ahead.
Sydney University Athletics Club (SUAC) continued their recent domination with the first day of competition at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Brisbane bringing early success.
Strong performances in heats and qualifying rounds with Jin Jung (100m,200m), Ella Nelson (200m), Annie Rubie (400m), Ian Dewhurst (400m), Michelle Jenneke (100m) and Emily Duve (100m/200m) all indicated that SUAC will once again give the crowds something special later in the week.
However the day’s highlight came in the final event of the day when the women’s medley relay team (800m/400m/200m/200m) took home the gold medal. The team of Ella Nelson (200m), Larissa Pasternatsky (200m), Anneliese Rubie (400m) and Jenny Blundell (800m) led from start to finish recording a very slick time of 3.51.20, breaking the former AUG record by more than six seconds and the NSW Open record by almost two seconds in what coach Dean Gleeson described as difficult conditions for fast running.
In the men’s medley relay the SUAC team of Jin Jung (200m), Jack Hiscox (200m), Ian Dewhurst (400m), Josh Ralph (800m) finished 2nd to an impressive Melbourne University team that included world championships semi- finalist Alex Roe. The SUAC men pushed the Melbourne Uni team all the way to the line in one of the best medley relay races in many years at AUG.
In the men’s hammer throw Andrew Giltrap won the silver medal throwing 38.60m, with James Nipperess finishing fourth on debut. Also in the field events Jacqui Fry continued to increase her haul of medals at these championships winning the bronze medal in the shot put. In the men’s 10000m Sam Colless ran a dogged race to finish 7th scoring some very valuable points for SUAC in what looks to be a close men’s overall competition.
On the road, Sydney Uni cyclist Alex Wong got the team off to a strong start winning a gold medal in the men’s road race.
In the team sports many sides had exciting starts in their pool events:
Men’s, women’s and mixed touch all began strongly in their respective draws with the mixed and women’s teams winning two matches each and the men posting one draw and one win.
Close by at Rugby 7’s the women dominated with victories over both James Cook University (JCU) and Southern Cross University. The men got off to a strong start with a 45-7 win against JCU but were defeated by a strong UTS team later in the afternoon.
Women’s team sports continued their success in the football with a 5-1 victory over UNSW and a 2-0 defeat of Monash in a replay of the 2012 Grand Final, whilst at the basketball the girls also won both their games including a 73-56 defeat of the strong RMIT side and women’s badminton was also posted a win.
In other results the men’s football team posted a draw with the University of Wollongong, whilst the men’s badminton and table tennis were victorious in their games aswell.
With swimming and sailing set to start tomorrow, and golf and cricket heating up – the athletes have set the stage for a big week.
For full results from Monday’s action, along with Tuesday’s schedule which includes the start of the swimming and sailing program, please go to http://www.unisport.com.au/Events/Results/Pages/2013AUGResults.aspx
