Alumni scholars take on Europe

Tom Carson (Managment and Marketing, 2012), Oliver Deasy (MA International Management, 2012) and Nick Page (MA International Management, 2009),  are enjoying a successful campaign on the European stage. The three players form part of the Reading Hockey Club squad that defeated St Germain this Saturday. Following a close match, the side came back from behind to win 2:1 with Tom scoring the winning goal 90 seconds from the finish.

The European Hockey League (EHL) was introduced in 2007 by the European Hockey Federation to replace the European Hockey Cup. The EHL brings together the largest hockey sides in Europe to play each other on an international stage with 24 teams competing in the group stages before a final 16 knockout competition.

Former university 1^st team captain Olly commented “It’s been an amazing opportunity to play against some of the best teams in Europe. The players’ level of quality and control in the league is fantastic. Hockey is a big sport in Europe and the atmosphere at the matches is unbelievable.  It’s great to have the Exeter boys back together; the University gave us so many opportunities to progress in hockey and provided a huge amount of support to help us balance our degree and sporting aspirations. I’m really looking forward to the last sixteen; we have a strong squad so hopefully will be able to put in a good performance.”

Olly, Tom and Nick will all be looking to be selected for the next stage of the competition to be held 29 March – 1 April 2013.

Hockey is one of the University of Exeter’s ten focus sports, and has achieved great success in recent years. The men’s side won the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) title in 2010 and 2012 and competed in the England Hockey League premier division last season.

Tom, Olly and Nick were all part of the acclaimed Sports Scholarship Scheme which offers talented young athlete’s specialist training and support to help them reach their full potential.

Assistant Director of Sport Nick Beasant (Performance & Competitions) commented “This is a fantastic achievement for all three of these talented alumni. Hockey an integral part of Sport at the University and we strive to provide the best training opportunities for our players. The Sports Scholarship scheme is designed help athletes move onto the international stage and it’s great to see them enjoying so much success.”

The University of Exeter has enjoyed a strong start to the hockey season this year with the men’s first team currently leading the BUCS Premier South league, having recorded recent wins over Oxford (5-2) and Oxford Brookes 7-1.