IMPACT Sport spoke to Mary McCarthy, President of Women’s Hockey, on their Varsity preparations.
How has the season gone so far?
MM: “It has been difficult. Our first team is in the Premier North so we have played against Edinburgh which is the Scottish National Team. We also played against Birmingham who have 14 England players in their first team and their second team also has great players.
“We won our first ever away point at Durham which was the first time for our coach to win a point away at Durham. It’s been difficult but rewarding.”
Have you got any more matches this season?
MM: “There are no more matches this season. In the cup, we won in the first round against Bristol and then we played against Birmingham and were less successful.”
Have there been any new players for this year that have really impressed you? Will we see them at Varsity?
MM: “We have 11 freshers in our First team. It’s been a very fresh batch but Izzy, our captain, has been absolutely fantastic with them. She’s been an angel and got to know them all really well.
“The atmosphere is incredible – getting everyone all together in one place”
“It’s always going to be difficult if you’ve not played with the same group of girls but we won’t be changing our team next year so I’m confident that next year we’ll go miles. We’re building for the future.”
How is the preparation for Varsity going?
MM: “We’re just going to continue what we’re doing. I’ve got no doubt the girls will absolutely destroy them!”
How is your recent record against Trent? Do you think you can improve/continue the record?
MM: “Well the fourth team has played against Trent’s second team and we won four-nil. Our recent record is pretty good – we’ve won six years successively. There’s no pressure, we’re just confident.”
What is your favourite thing about Varsity?
MM: “For hockey, we have 6 teams and Trent has 4. The atmosphere is incredible – getting everyone all together in one place.
“And we all go to Ocean on the Friday which is the biggest, best event of the year for some of us. It’s huge for the freshers – they don’t know what to expect but we’ve built it up for them.”
Are you going to any other events?
MM: “I haven’t got any tickets yet but I’m hoping to get some. Optimistically Ice-Hockey but everyone says that. To be honest, I don’t even know what a degree is anymore!”
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham 1st | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 25 |
| 2 | Edinburgh 1st | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 25 |
| 3 | Loughborough 1st | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 16 |
| 4 | Durham 1st | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 14 |
| 5 | Nottingham 1st | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -20 | 5 |
| 6 | Leeds 1st | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -42 | 1 |
Words by Tamsin Parnell
Interview by Connor Higgs
Image: Impact Image Team
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