University of Nottingham (UoN) Sport have clung onto third spot in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) rankings with 3074 points, but Edinburgh have closed the gap to just 29 points between third and fourth position.
Looking up the leaderboard, the Green and Gold are only 106 points away from eclipsing Durham’s total of 3180. Loughborough look to be running away with the lead on 4108 points but nevertheless, UoN Sport’s final position is still all to play for as we approach the BUCS Nationals in Sheffield this weekend (17th-19th February).
#BUCSNationals: 1?? week to go…
6??2??2??0?? confirmed competitors
9?? sports
7?? Sheffield venues
3?? competition days pic.twitter.com/sst2QUnYGW— BUCS (@BUCSsport) February 10, 2017
The second BUCS Wednesday of 2017 saw a 53 per cent win rate for the University of Nottingham as there were dominant performances on a busy day of action.
BUCS | It's a BIG #BUCSWednesday for the #GreenandGold today – let's do this! Fixtures: https://t.co/pKhCgIJ8Vf pic.twitter.com/odNTmD0huR
— UoN Sport (@UoNSport) February 8, 2017
The women’s badminton sides continued their brilliant season with wins across the board, including a 7-1 win over Birmingham for the first team. All our female sides have maintained their positions in first in the BUCS leagues this week.
UoN Badminton club president Ellen Liddle told Impact: “Our second team have been undefeated for two years, our first team are top of the premier division. A high intake of freshers has really aided our progress this year and it has also helped us continue the success of the club as we achieved our record number of BUCS points in the 2015/16 season.”
“That was a pivotal win for the Green and Gold as the fourths extended their lead by three points in Midlands 3A, after being level on points with Trent before the start of play on Wednesday.”
There were two victories, one draw and three defeats for our football sides, which featured a 4-3 triumph over Loughborough for the men’s thirds; meanwhile, in golf the mixed third team won 5-1 at home to Angela Ruskin.
It was a fantastic week for our hockey teams with eight wins, two draws and one defeat. There were defeats over Warwick, Trent and Coventry for our men’s teams, as well as a 3-2 victory against Trent for the men’s fourths.
That was a pivotal win for the Green and Gold as the fourths extended their lead by three points in Midlands 3A, after being level on points with Trent before the start of play on Wednesday.
Yesterday was big.
Not a single loss.
1s, 2s and 4s all top of their leagues.
4s beat Trent 3-2 away, from 2-0 down.
What a day. pic.twitter.com/0fDet6oUuH
— UoN Men's Hockey (@NottsUniHC) February 9, 2017
In lacrosse, there were wins away at East Anglia and Oxford Brookes while it was a 24-18 win for our rugby league seconds away at our noisy neighbours Nottingham Trent. That score puts the rugby league seconds level on 21 points with Oxford Brookes at the top of Midlands 2A.
There were victories versus Loughborough and Warwick for squash, it was also 5/7 wins this week for UoN table tennis. The Nottinghamshire club of the year’s success has continued as the team have eclipsed the 500 points barrier in the BUCS leagues after recent results.
“It’s a precarious yet encouraging position that the University of Nottingham hold in BUCS with Edinburgh breathing down their necks and Durham’s total within touching distance.”
Massive 17-0 win for the men's first against Loughborough, to finish another unbeaten season in the Premier division! @UoNSport #Champions
— UoN Table Tennis (@UoNTT) February 8, 2017
“Well done to all of our teams on another fantastic week of results.”
It was seven wins, two draws and one loss for tennis on February 8th. The victories included 8-4 wins over Lincoln and Trent for our men’s fourths and fifths. There were three wins and three losses for volleyball and it was an undefeated week for water polo with victories over East Anglia and Leicester.
It’s a precarious yet encouraging position that the University of Nottingham hold in BUCS, with Edinburgh breathing down their necks and Durham’s total within touching distance. Well done to all of our teams on another fantastic week of results.
Can UoN retain third or even move up to second in the rankings? We shall find out over the course of the rest of the campaign.
If you want to see the full list of BUCS results for last week and next week’s fixtures then visit the University of Nottingham Sport website.
Joe Tanner
Image courtesy of University of Nottingham Sport
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