The University of Nottingham (UoN) and Notitngham Trent University (NTU) went head-to-head for the second time on Super Wednesday, in a captivating Varsity Karate match.
In the first ever official Varsity game for UoN Karate, NTU won the match solely on the sheer magnitude of their team, but UoN clearly gave an electric performance.
The day started with an exhibition kata by the NTU Karate Club, with the first event being the Novice Mixed kata, where UoN’s Lorna Hack finished 1st.
In the Women’s Senior kata, UoN’s Ysabelle Bruce gave a breathtaking performance, eventually going on to be the highest scorer of the round. Despite being outnumbered 4:1 on performers, UoN easily managed to gain 1st position.
Up next was the Men’s Senior kata, with UoN’s Matt Brooks, Christian Ollert and Ian Richards performing. Ollert performed exceptionally, getting a perfect score of 9s from all 4 judges, the highest of all of the kata performances of the day and giving UoN their third top spot of the event.
Ben Pepper gave an exhilarating performance to give UoN their first Kumite win
After the kata performances, the sparring began with the kumite matches. First up was the Women’s Novice category, with Gemma Gill representing UoN. It was a long-awaited BUCS grudge match, which unfortunately, NTU won.
Next up was the Men’s Novice kumite, in which Ben Pepper gave an exhilarating performance to give UoN their first kumite win.
Following this was the Women’s Senior kumite, with Hana Veler and Ysabelle Bruce competing for UoN. Veler lost the match early, while Bruce, competing against a BUCS Gold medalist, gave a great performance despite just missing out as well.
The last category was the Men’s Senior kumite, UoN’s most populated category. In the fray were Dan Nicholls, Jack Goody, Elliot Duxbury, Christian Mendez, Ian Richards and Freddie Allen.
Despite coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the final event,UoN lost the game to NTU, with a final score of 31:26 to NTU, to give Trent their first point of the May Super Wednesday and level the scores at 1-1.
Team Roster
Novice Mixed kata
Ben Pepper
Lorna Hack
Women’s Senior kata
Ysabelle Bruce
Men’s Senior Kata
Matt Brooks
Christian Ollert
Ian Richards
Women’s Novice kumite
Gemma Gill
Men’s Novice kumite
Ben Pepper
Women’s Senior kumite
Hana Veler
Ysabelle Bruce
Men’s Senior kumite
Dan Nicholls
Jack Goody
Elliot Duxbury
Christian Mendez
Ian Richards
Freddie Allen
Words by Sanchari Banerjee
Images: IMPACT Images Team
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