Kian Gadsby
After months of hard work, dedicated training and grinding out results, a titanic two-week stretch will determine the outcome of the University of Nottingham’s Netball 1’s season.
Following a brilliant BUCS league and cup campaign, they have been rewarded with a trip to take on titans Hertfordshire University in the National Championship semi-final on Wednesday 11th March. Win that and a fortnight later they will make a second successive BUCS Big Wednesday, but this time rather than playing for the Trophy they would collide with either Bath or local rivals Loughborough in the final for their first ever national crown.
Sandwiched between the semi and a prospective final is another showpiece, this time a Varsity clash against fierce rivals Trent. This is a game that the Green and Gold have not enjoyed success in over recent years, but after last year’s victory UoN have the opportunity to confirm that the balance of Netball power has shifted across the city in their favour.
Three wins, and this team will become one of the greatest success stories of UoN Sport.
Following relegation in 2024, head coach Paige Reed sat down with her team and concocted a plan to restore them to the top flight and then lead them to glory. They flew back up to the top flight at the first attempt, and have then lodged themselves firmly into the contention to be the best team in the country.
The semi-final will be by far the toughest leap that the team has had to make. Hertfordshire are an elite side, with the 2022 National Champions enjoying a perfect campaign after 10 wins from 10 games won them the Premier South title. They then walloped Leeds 63-32 in the quarter-final to set up this match, and they will be confident of repeating the trick on a home ground where they have only lost once in the last three years.
Varsity a week later may be a hurdle that they have already conquered after victory in last year’s showpiece, but the team will be under pressure to retain their crown and give UoN a 2-0 lead in the series. Last year’s victory snapped a streak of seven straight wins for Trent, but after beating them in both league meetings this season, the Green and Gold have the opportunity to show that the balance of Netball power has firmly shifted across the city.
Getting the results needed from these games will be a tough task, but it is not mission impossible. This Nottingham side has experience of getting results when it matters most.
Last season they won every match on their way to a Premier North 2 and National Trophy double, before they followed that up by coming second upon their return to the Premier North 1. The current campaign has also been a particularly memorable one for stellar results. with standouts including handing Loughborough a first league defeat since 2021 and their 39-26 defeat of Exeter to advance to the final four.
These scores are not flukes either, as they have a squad brimming with elite talent that is more than capable of grinding out victories at the highest level. Their leadership pairing of Tabby Tooms and Regan Peters have been called up to Nottingham Forest Netball’s Next Gen team in recent weeks, while forward Lily Smith was part of the first team squad that recently defeated Birmingham Panthers.
It is almost impossible to breach the upper echelons of Netball. Traditional juggernauts like Bath, Exeter, Hertfordshire, Birmingham, Leeds and Loughborough dominate competition, with these six sides the only teams to have made the final four since action resumed after the COVID pandemic. Nottingham even making it this far is a major achievement.
But now they are there, they want more. They want to win Varsity, and they want to get their hands on that National Championships trophy.
Only months ago, the prospect seemed laughable. Yet here they are. Three games left, three wins, and they will have completed a momentous transformation to the top of the university game.
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of Morgan Harlow for BUCS Sport via Flickr. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @UoNNetballclub via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @UoNNetballclub via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
