Things are all positive in the University of Nottingham (UoN) Handball Club camp, as they prepare for their Varsity fixtures. First team captain Ben Howard reflected on a fantastic weekend of handball at the University Championships, by telling Impact that:
“The club’s 25th anniversary was marked by awesome performances throughout. The highlight of the weekend would have to be the women’s second team winning against Birmingham’s second team, but every match of the tournament was brilliant to watch.”
He also went on to praise and highlight the continued commitment of both the players and their coach.
Varsity is set to be an interesting affair for the handball teams, as it is Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) first official season in the sport, which leaves much to be contested. Our only real indicator of Trent’s performance level was the very recent University Championships.
During this weekend UoN fared relatively well, with all of our teams making the quarterfinals, while the men’s firsts made the semi-finals and the men’s seconds finished second in their campaign.
“The newcomers are by no means underdogs.”
Trent’s men failed to reach the quarterfinals in their tournament, but the women’s team managed to get all the way to the final, where they eventually lost on penalties. Both Trent teams showed great quality in their play and all matches finished with a very creditable margin; the newcomers are by no means underdogs.
Coach Guillaume Prince-Charle also stressed the team’s excitement to be involved in Varsity:
“I would say that it is very important to have handball in Varsity. The games will be hard and even, as shown by the similar standings at the University Championships; I have full confidence in my athletes to give their best, and hopefully that combined with great fan support will see us bring home the points”
I predict that our men’s team will have the upper hand against Trent, and should therefore present a comfortable win to their fans. The women’s game is going to be considerably closer in my opinion. Trent’s women’s team have been playing very well and are growing in confidence as they find their selves in the Handball scene, and they’ll be looking to show their hand away from home.
The games will take place at the David Ross Sports Village (DRSV), and promise to be an exciting clash between all the teams, who aim to show their university as the best in Nottingham.
Be sure to support the green and gold!
Rhys Thomas
Images courtesy of University of Nottingham Handball and twitter.com
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