UEL Women’s Badminton team have played their last match of the season and are currently third in the BUCS South Eastern 3B league.
Uncertain Future
With the other teams around UEL in the league still to play some fixtures this could change; however, the team are eager to keep this position which would be the highest they’ve finished since being in the league.
Playing their last game of the season yesterday against SOAS means they finish the season currently in third place with three points from eight games.
Regardless of only winning one game this season, that itself if an achievement for the team which was only fully formed at the start of the season. This is the first time there has been a women’s team as well with all players committed from the start
Fresh Faces
The beginning of the campaign saw the team welcome a handful of new players with only two players still at UEL from last season. Additions included Shu Qi Aw, Pauleen Cay, Chloe Stephenson and Abbey Conroy.
The newly formed team started the season off with a few defeats but kept training hard and putting in the work to try and start improving these results.
As most of the team was new, training was crucial for creating a bond and this was quickly formed.
Positive Results
The start of the new year saw UEL come back fighting and producing better results, winning more points and improving every day.
The end of January saw the team claim their first win of the season, winning 5-3 against Canterbury Christ Church Women’s 1st team which was a great achievement.
Off the back of winning their first game this gave the team the boost they needed and was evident in their next fixture against SOAS Women’s 1st team where they produced a dominant performance at home.
Although this was the case the match ended up as a draw but improvement was clear to see in the performance.
Looking Forward
Reflecting back on the season doubles player Maria Antoniou said: “I think throughout the year we played well and tried our best to get somewhere we deserve”.
Although there were many good points to take at the end of this season the team will be losing their captain Nisha Patel this year as graduation is imminent.
This season has produced a lot of positives for the team to take away and has shown off their potential.
Confidence and encouragement to continue to improve further into next season with a new most the current team staying.