Double gold for Exeter hockey

Exeter entered 64 teams and many individuals into British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competition across a variety of sports this year to compete against other Higher Education institutions from all over Great Britain. The hockey finals took place on Thursday 11th March at the Abbeydale Sports Club in Sheffield where Exeter reigned triumphant in both Men’s finals. Exeter’s second team demolished Birmingham 4-0 to claim the trophy for the third year running and Exeter’s first team saw off their counterparts from Loughborough in a thrilling game that ended 3-2 to Exeter.
 
The Men’s Hockey first team competes regularly against some of the very best players in the world in the National Premier Division, the highest level of hockey in England. 
 
First team captain Ollie Deasy, a second year Exercise and Sports Sciences student and Sports Scholar, was delighted with his team’s victory in this years BUCS competition.  He said, “It’s amazing to have finally won the BUCS Championship. Credit must go to Loughborough who ran us close in the final and played a great game. In previous seasons Exeter has come so close and we always felt like we should have achieved more than we did. The challenge now is to retain our title next season”.
 
First year Management and Marketing student Tom Carson, a fellow Sports Scholar and first team player, scored twice in the final and was awarded the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Man of the Match Award. An elated Tom commented after the game, “I’m so pleased to have won a BUCS Gold in my first year at Exeter. Since coming here the support I have received through my sports scholarship has been fantastic in helping me to stay focussed and to continually improve while keeping up with my academic commitments. Winning the BUCS Championship is the icing on the cake in a really enjoyable first season for me.”
 
Chris McInroy, the University’s Director of Hockey was understandably delighted at Exeter securing a rare double gold. He said, “This is the result of many years of hard work and is truly deserved. Many people have played a part in this success and it is testament to their passion for sport at Exeter that it has been achieved. Both Men’s and Women’s hockey at Exeter has developed phenomenally in recent years to the point where we can now describe the University of Exeter as one of the country’s leading hockey institutions.”