10 Universities. 32 sports. One winner
After finishing second at the first iteration of UniSport Australia’s Div 1 Nationals, the University of Sydney are looking to Go One Better in 2019, with this year’s event running from 29th September to 3rd October on the Gold Coast.
Represented by one the largest groups in the competition, Sydney Uni is sending 428 athletes and over 15 staff members, totalling 39 teams (male, female and mixed).
The group will be led by Clare Woods (Football) and Paul Counsell (Hockey).
In last year’s event, Sydney University came home with eight pennants, six silver and eight bronze medals, plus a number of individual gold, silver and bronze medals in sports such as swimming, fencing, table tennis, cycling and Taekwondo.
At the event, a number of students participated in the Div 1 Challenge presented by UniSport on the newly-launched UniMoves app, where students recorded their total number of ‘moves’ and competed against one another for a range of prizes, including a $400 Garmin watch.
Before the official competition week kicked off, Sydney University was named women’s champions, men’s champions and overall competition champions in Kendo for the second year in a row after they won five of the six categories. The two pennants put Sydney Uni in first position heading into a hectic week of events.
After Monday’s fixtures came to a close, a total of 13 Sydney Uni teams finished undefeated, including AFL, badminton men’s and women’s, baseball, women’s basketball, netball, men’s table tennis, mixed squash, mixed ultimate frisbee, women’s water polo, women’s football and women’s hockey.
Progressing out of the pool stages is still a real possibility for a number of other team’s who walked away with a win including men’s soccer, women’s and men’s beach volleyball and water polo men’s.
Most impressively, AFL were able to close out a pair of hard-fought, two-point wins in hot conditions, while netball have established themselves as a dominant force after beating reigning champions Griffith University.
Standout Scores
Women’s Soccer won 9-0 over ANU, Women’s Netball won 44-38 over Griffith University, Men’s Water Polo won 28-2 over Deakin University, Women’s Basketball won 50-26 over RMIT
With finals around the corner, there may not have been a more important day than day two.
Women’s soccer have a ninth straight title in sight after putting on 25 goals and conceding none in their first three games. Women’s hockey also remain unbeaten with a 9-1 triumph over Melbourne, extending their record to 4-0.
If you thought women’s soccer was dominant, get on board the mixed squash team who are tearing through the opposition, boasting a 133 point difference.
Women’s netball have continued their red-hot form, winning two more pool games to remain undefeated, while ultimate frisbee have now won six straight games as they set their sights on another title.
Baseball have put up a strong title defence, winning two and drawing one of their pool games.
Other teams with strong chances of winning the pennant include badminton men’s and women’s, women’s basketball, water polo men’s and women’s, women’s volleyball, men’s tennis, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, sailing and rowing.
Standout Scores
Women’s Football won 7-0 over Griffith University, Women’s Netball won 76-19 over Western Sydney, Men’s Football won 2-0 over Macquarie.
It was do-or-die in day three with the pool stages coming to close and Sydney Uni performed incredibly well to set themselves up for a dramatic final day.
The beach volleyball men’s team have reached the gold medal match, women’s football are looking to secure a ninth straight title in the final, women’s hockey are in the semi-final along with netball, women’s badminton, ultimate frisbee, men’s water polo, baseball and squash.
The mixed handball team have found some late form, winning their past two games to offset a shaky start.
Unfortunately women’s basketball were kicked out in the quarter-finals despite a strong showing in the pool stage, while UTS got the better of the women’s water polo team.
With a handful of teams in contention, Sydney Uni go into day four as one of the favourites for the title with some stiff competition from rivals UTS and UQ.
Standout Scores
Baseball won 15-0 over La Trobe University, Mixed Handball won 25-6 over ACPE, Women’s Hockey won 9-1 over AU, Ultimate Frisbee won 14-8 over Deakin, Men’s Water Polo won 9-8 over University of Queensland
In a tremendous effort, The University of Sydney ended their 2019 Div 1 Nationals campaign on top of the table after claiming a whopping seven pennants across the event.
Entering the week on four pennants – made up by athletics men and women’s, League of Legends and cross-country skiing – Sydney Uni added another seven to the collection through women’s hockey, ultimate frisbee, women’s football, men’s beach volleyball, women’s rowing and kendo men’s and women’s.
Special mentions must also go out to our silver medallists in women’s netball, men’s water polo and women’s badminton who all fought with resilience throughout the week.
Men’s baseball claimed Sydney Uni’s only bronze medal, bowing out in a surprising semi-final loss to University of Newcastle.
Overall, Sydney Uni claimed seven gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal.
Most importantly, they have their noses in front with three pennants across two events up for grabs in marathon and T20 cricket which will take place in the coming months.
Standout Scores
Women’s Football won 2-0 over UTS, Ultimate Frisbee won 15-5 over Deakin, Women’s Hockey won 1-0 over QUT, Men’s Beach Volleyball won 2-1 over UOW
Click here to see a full report of the week’s events.