Sydney Uni has concluded the 2016 Eastern University Games (EUGs) with some stellar results.
Coming away with three golds and four silver medals, the Sydney Uni team put on a valiant effort throughout the week and solidified their reputation as one of the strongest sporting universities in the country.
Sydney Uni headed into the final day of competition with seven teams competing for gold medals.
The first gold was fought for by the Ultimate Frisbee team. Having breezed through the rounds and semi-finals with convincing wins, Sydney Uni knew the match up, with rivals UNSW, would be a competitive one. After getting a few early points on the board, Sydney Uni had the lead early but they were unable to shake the UNSW team who trailed just behind. However, Sydney Uni came out strong in the second half and finished the game off with a 15-8 win. After many Eastern Uni Games taking home the silver, the Ultimate Frisbee team was thrilled to break the curse, adding gold to their continually growing collection.
Next up, the women’s basketball team took the court against Charles Stuart University (CSU). Having knocked off favorites Western Sydney University, they knew that CSU would be a challenge. Sydney Uni came out strong in the first half, but CSU were right there with them, often going point for point at each end of the court. A physical play by Alysha Skerritt saw her diagnosed with a concussion and have to sit out the rest of the game, a huge blow for the USYD team. However, the immense support by both the men’s basketball and futsal teams, along with some clutch plays by Annobel Starr and a stand out game by Kate Hewett and Pip Buchmann saw USYD finish first across the line. Continuing in their gold tradition at Eastern Uni Games, the girls added the fourth gold in a row to their collection.
Men’s Volleyball completed the golden trio with a convincing 3-0 against UNSW. The men’s volleyball team completed the week with a dominate display of skill, dropping just one set the entire tournament. Picked as favourites from day one, the team did not disappoint, consistently dismantling teams during their victories. Women’s volleyball also competed in the gold medal match against Macquarie Uni. Having gone down narrowly to Macquarie in the rounds, the Sydney Uni team knew it would be a difficult game. The girls pushed Macquarie to their limits, taking the game to the full five sets. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t get the final points to go their way and came away with the silver, an impressive performance by the team.
Both women’s and mixed netball stunned the competition by powering through the quarter and semi-finals and bursting into gold medal matches. Both teams fought with much heart and pushed UTS to their limits but were unable to hang on and came away with two silvers. This performance was incredibly impressive due to the huge improvements that our netball teams have made over the last few university games appearances.
Finally, the women’s futsal team took on UTS in what was set to be a competitive gold medal match. Having met in the final for the last few years, Sydney Uni was determined to come away with gold. Starting off slow, the girls let in a couple of early goals and were down at the half. 3-0 down with only a handful minutes to play, many would have written off the USYD girls. However, with a quick 2 goals, they were right back in it. Unfortunately, the girls couldn’t get the final goal to equal the score and when the final buzzer sounded they walked away with a proud silver.
However, it wasn’t just the performances on the court that made the Sydney Uni team the true winners they are, it was their attitudes off the courts and fields. The Sydney Uni teams showed high levels of sportsmanship throughout the week and a real team mentality developed among the 170 strong student squad.
The team will now look to regain the Overall Champion University trophy at the Australian University Games in Perth, 25th September to 1st October.
