Winners at Topsham Sports Ground

British Universities and Colleges Conference Cup Finals day hosted by the University of Exeter

The Conference cup saw finals played from tier 2A and below of the BUCS competitions and for many, provides a perfect opportunity to secure vital BUCS points towards the end of the league season.

The weather in Exeter started cold and crisp but soon warmed into a glorious spring day, with the tension also heating up across the sports park. As more and more teams began to arrive competitors were finding all manner of places throughout the facility to warm-up, mentally prepare and engage in intense team meetings.

The action started at 11:00 with Cardiff Met M1’s v Swansea University M1’s battling it out on the Badminton court as well as University of Bath W1’s v University of South Wales, Pontypridd & Cardiff W1’s on the Basketball courts. The action flowed with games throughout the day across the Sports Park, Topsham Sports Ground and Dawlish Warren Golf Club. The final fixture of the day saw rivals University of Gloucestershire take on University of West of England, Bristol (UWE) in a highly competitive volleyball match.

With spectators from each of the institutions flowing in and out, the atmosphere around campus was competitive yet sporting, with many of the home and away fans mixing together to support their sides. Much of the talking was left off the pitch, and with GOLD in sight, tension started to build amongst the competitors. Individuals started to make their mark and quality started to shine through in what can only be described as a showcase of university sporting talent here in the south west.

Unfortunately with every cup there can only be one winner and despite taking home a silver medal I’m sure many of the teams will feel they deserved more.

Results:

Badminton	Cardiff Met M1’s	9	V	8	Swansea University M1’s
Badminton	Bournemouth W1’s	3	V	5	Swansea University W1’s
Basketball	University of Plymouth M1’s	83	V	63	University of Southampton M1’s
Basketball	University of Bath W1’s	31	V	27	University of South Wales, Pontypridd
Football	University of Bath M2’s	0	V	3	Bournemouth University M2’s
Football	Bournemouth University W1’s	1	V	3	University of Gloucester W2’s
Golf	Bournemouth University 4’s	2	V	4	University of Exeter 3’s
Hockey	University of Bath M2’s	4	V	0	Swansea University M1’s
Hockey	University of Bath W2’s	1	V	0	Cardiff University W2’s
Lacrosse	University of Bristol M2’s	6	V	14	Cardiff Met M1’s
Lacrosse	Bournemouth University W1’s	25	V	1	University of Plymouth W1’s
Netball	Bournemouth University 1’s	37	V	34	Cardiff University 2’s
Rugby Union	University of Gloucester M1’s	33	V	34	Hartpury College M3’s
Rugby Union	University of St Mark & St John W1’s	20	V	33	University of Southampton W1’s
Squash	Cardiff University M1’s	2	V	3	University of Plymouth M1’s
Squash	University of Exeter W2’s	1	V	3	Swansea University W1’s
Tennis	Cardiff University M1’s	8	V	4	University of Exeter M3’s
Tennis	Aberystwyth University W1’s	2	V	10	Swansea University W1’s
Volleyball	University of Bristol M1’s	3	V	0	University of St Mark & St John M1’s
Volleyball	University of Gloucester W1’s	0	V	2	University of the West of England, Bristol W1’s

Congratulations to all those that were involved on the day and allowing it to be such a success, University of Exeter AU manager Charlotte Raymont said “It was a great team effort from all those involved, not just in the organising but the delivery on the day as well. Having 15 institutions here on campus provided the perfect opportunity for us to show how proud we are of sport here at Exeter. I would also like to thank all the competitors and supporters for how they conducted themselves on the day as the atmosphere around campus was infectious.”

Date: 19 March 2015