Beth Gunter reports on UEL’s success at the British Universities College Sport Final 8s
Three UEL teams travelled the country this weekend for their chance to play in Big BUCS Wednesday. Both volleyball teams went on the road to Bournemouth Final 8s, Men’s Basketball journey took them to Newcastle, and both Men’s and Women’s tennis teams travelled to Loughborough.
After an undefeated season for our UEL Women’s volleyball team they succumbed to their first defeat of the season at the hand of a strong Durham team in their first pool match on Friday night.
The rest of the pool games saw two convincing wins against Newcastle and Oxford. In the semi-final they took on current BUCS Champions Northumbria, but after a hard-fought game they suffered a 3-0 loss to end their season third in the country.
The Men’s volleyball team lost their captain Jermaine Miles but that did not stop them putting up a strong fight in the Final 8s.
Tough Games
In a tough pool they came out on top against Nottingham, but fell short to both UCL and Northumbria. Their 5-6th playoff was against reigning Champions Sheffield Hallam, but they fell just short. Finishing as the sixth best team in country is something the whole club can be proud of.
Men’s Basketball had high hopes this year after a first-round defeat last season but history repeated itself as they lost to a strong Loughborough team 82-69. With Blayne Freckleton plagued with injury, the team’s morale and overall play were hampered, as they went down to a 13-point margin.
Next up they faced Brunel in their 5-6th playoff in which Freckleton did not play, but they managed to scrape a win 72-70 for them to finish one place better than last season.
Women’s Tennis had one representative in Loughborough but her dreams came crashing down as Winde Janssens lost in her first round of a very tough draw. Men’s Singles representative Michael Suleau made it to the Quarter-finals, which capped off an impressive year.
The hopes of a BUCS Medal lay with Men’s Doubles pair Sebastian Kay and Suleau who put up a strong fight against Loughborough, but they lost 10-8 in their final set tie-break after a double fault.
Overall it was a very successful weekend for UEL Sports competing around the country. As the teams and competitors head into the off season the sides will be looking to rebuild and focus all their attention onto bettering their chances for the following campaign.