The winner of the last Performance of the Week for the 2014/2015 season is the women’s water polo 1′s!
In a week which saw two BUCS Trophy and two BUCS Championship winners, a side finish 2nd out of 91 teams in the country, and a side pull off ‘The Great Escape’ to survive on the final day, it was always going to be difficult to select just one winner.
The women’s water polo 1′s were chosen for their 9-3 win over Edinburgh which secured them the BUCS Championship for the second year running. This was part of the group stage format of the BUCS Championship finals and Hallam went into the Edinburgh game as strong underdogs, with Edinburgh fancied to take the BUCS Championship crown.
Last year saw Hallam win all three games in the Final group stage but this year, it was clear that things were not going to be as straight forward. Hallam’s opening game ended in a 7-11 defeat to Newcastle University. A 7-4 win over Bristol in the next game kept Hallam in with a chance and meant that it would all go down to the final game.
Hallam finished second in the Premier North division, losing twice to Edinburgh who up to that point, were unbeaten all season. On top of this, Hallam had to not only win, but win by 6 clear points if they wanted to retain their title.
Thankfully, that’s just what they did, winning 9-3 to take home the BUCS Championship in the most dramatic circumstances!
Well done to the team!
The table shows how close it was.
As previously discussed, it was a great week for Team Sheffield Hallam!
The women’s football 1′s defeated Oxford University 3-1 to win the BUCS Trophy and complete the league and cup double. Click here to read a full report of the game.
Elsewhere, the men’s water polo 1′s also completed the league and cup double, after winning the BUCS Trophy. They won the Trophy on Tuesday thanks to a walk over, due to University of East London failing to attend the fixture. Though the Trophy was well deserved after a great season.
Like the women’s water polo 1′s, the men’s volleyball 1′s retained their BUCS Championship title. They defeated Bournemouth 3-1 in a close fought game to cap off a great season for men’s volleyball, after the 2′s won the league and Northern Conference Cup.
Wednesday saw the women’s hockey 2′s pull off ‘The Great Escape’ as they survived to fight another day in the Northern 3B division. A week earlier, they had found themselves bottom of the league but a 3-1 win over York St John gave them every chance of staying up. However, to do so they would have to beat league-winners Leeds Beckett. Thankfully, they edged out Leeds in a 2-1 win which kept them up, propelling them to an eventual 3rd in the league whilst York St John were dropped into the relegation zone.
The final stand-out result of the week came at the weekend, courtesy of the men’s indoor cricket 1′s. They were at Headingley on Sunday for the BUCS National finals looking to add to what’s already been a great season. They stormed to the Northern A title, winning all seven games. They then kept up this form in the semi-finals, battering Aberdeen and Loughborough before a win over Northumbria sent them to Finals day. Sunday morning saw Hallam defeat last year’s winners, Exeter and therefore progress to the overall final against Coventry. Unfortunately, the lads were just beaten in the final but to finish 2nd out of the whole country is a terrific achievement. The team have improved greatly this year and will be looking to take this form into Varsity, but also the Outdoor season.
Well done to all the teams involved!!
