The University of Nottingham (UoN) sit third in the British and Universities Sport (BUCS) league over the winter break with a total score of 2611.5, less than 100 points behind Durham in second place.
Loughborough and Durham, last season’s top two, currently occupy the top two positions, despite a lightning-quick start to the BUCS season which saw Nottingham top the BUCS rankings during the very early stages. The gap between Nottingham and Durham sits at just 91 points, however, and the Green and Gold will be looking to occupy that second sport come the end of the BUCS season.
Impact Sport took a look at some of the highest flyers amongst the UoN teams in the first terms of BUCS fixtures.
Badminton show their class in the early stages
The UoN Badminton teams have been particularly impressive in the first months of the BUCS calendar, with the Women’s 1st team sitting atop of their Premier North league with 8 wins from 9. The Men’s 1st team sit 2nd in their Premier North league, with 6 wins in 8 and only behind Loughborough’s perfect start.
“Topping their own individual sporting BUCS table are the UoN Table Tennis teams with a whopping 334 points.”
The Men’s 2nd and 3rd teams also sit top of their Midlands 2A and Midlands 2B leagues with perfect records, while the Women’s 2nd and 3rd teams sitting 2nd and 4th in Midlands 1A respectively.
The combined efforts of all of UoN’s badminton teams have given them the highest number of BUCS points in the sport of any University, showing the strength in depth across all of the teams.
Nothing changes for the Table Tennis table-toppers
Topping their own individual sporting BUCS table are the UoN Table Tennis teams with a whopping 334 points; their closest challenges, Nottingham Trent, sit on just 145 points. The Women’s 1st team have 8 wins from 8 in their Midlands 1A league, while the Men’s 1st team sit with 5 wins from 5, to top their own table.
The Men’s second team also sit unbeaten at the top of the Midlands 1A league, with the 3rd team also in 4th in Midlands 1A. The Women’s 2nd team sit 4th in the Midlands 1A league topped by the 1st team, while the Women’s 3rd team are unbeaten in their Midlands 2B league.
UoNAF show their class with emphatic Trent win
The University of Nottingham American Football Team (UoNAF) sit at the top of their Midlands 1A league with four wins from four, including an impressive 33-0 win over Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Such a strong performance is a good sign ahead of the Varsity 2018 Series fixture, in which UoN will be looking to make it two wins in the last three years.
Mixed bag for basketball and cricket
The UoN Men’s Basketball team also top their Midlands 1A group, ahead of Nottingham Trent University’s 1st team. Their only defeat of the campaign so far, however, came at the hands of NTU, in a pulsating 80-78 defeat. The Women’s 1st team, however, appear in real danger of being relegated from the Premier North league, with no wins for their 8 fixtures.
“UoN will begin the second term looking to consolidate third position.”
The Women’s Indoor Cricket team sit third in their Midlands, behind only the Loughborough 1st and 2nd teams. The men’s team sit 6th in their Midlands B league, however, with Nottingham Trent top of the league.
Encouraging signs for both futsal and football
The UoN football teams are both doing well in their Midlands 1A leagues, with the Women’s team top of the league with 6 wins from 7, while the Men’s team sit third, only three points off top. In terms of Futsal, the Women’s 1st team sit in third, level with 2nd place and set for a strong season in their Premier North league. The men’s team, additionally, are in 2nd place in the Midlands 1A league, sitting six points behind Bedfordshire 1sts with two games in hand.
Promotion-chasing Rugby Union teams set for big second term
The UoN Rugby Union 1st teams are both in good positions in their respective leagues. The Women’s team top their league Midlands 1A league, with six wins for seven, and in a great position to achieve promotion to the Premier North league. The Men’s 1st team sit in 4th, just two points off third place with a game in hand.
UoN will begin the second term looking to consolidate the third position they held for so long last season before it was snatched away late on by Edinburgh. With Big BUCS Wednesday hosted by the University of Nottingham on Wednesday 21st March this year, the University of Nottingham look in a prime position to challenge at the higher end of the BUCS table once again.
Connor Higgs
Image courtesy of Impact Images
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