19 Wins, 4 draws and 10 losses for the Archers BUCS teams this week. Nearing the end of the BUCS season there were several important clashes for teams fighting it out for top spot in their leagues.
Netball 1st team made it 9 wins from 9 in the Southern Prem by beating Brunel 1st team 50-42 to secure the league. 1st team coach Nia Jones reported back that Hannah Foxley was a strong and vocal force at the back and through court, with Harriet Skinner having slick movement and good vision while Phillippa Yarranton was a dynamic playmaker at GA scoring 17/19 attempts. The third, fourth and fifth teams also recorded wins with the third team having a stormer against USW Newport 1st team winning 107-4. Meanwhile the fourth and fifth team travelled to Aberystwyth to claim 6 points from the North Walians winning 34-31 and 36-17 respectively. The 2nd and 6th teams lost this week but both still remain mid table and safe from relegation.
Men’s Lacrosse secured promotion with a 9-1 victory over Exeter 2nd team, unbeaten this season in Western 2A they will now return to Western 1A next season. Women’s Lacrosse was one of several fixtures to be called off this week due to the poor weather conditions elsewhere in the country. Men’s Rugby had 3 games go ahead with the 2nd team winning 36-7 away at Bath, 3rd team drawing 26-26 to Cardiff Medics 2nd team and the 5th team winning 22-0 away to Aberystwyth. Women’s Rugby 1st team suffered their second defeat of the season at home to Exeter 1st team 10-32 whilst the 2nd team scored 67 points past Plymouth 1st team without reply, keeping them hot on the heels of Cardiff Uni 1st team who sit 1 point ahead of them in the Western 1A league table.
No losses for Hockey this week with the Women recording a draw and 2 wins; 1st team drawing with Exeter 2nd team 1-1, our 2nd team winning 4-0 away to Swansea 2nd team and the 3rd team winning 5-0 at home to Gloucestershire 2nd team. Only the Men’s 2nd team in action drawing 1-1 with Exeter 2nd team after a brilliant Ben Scott goal.
Men’s Football 1st team suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Bournemouth 1st team, while the 2nd and 4th teams also lost. However the 3rd team won away to Aberystwyth 2-1 and the 5th team drew 2-2 away to close rivals Cardiff. The women 2nd team had a must win game to ensure they still had a chance to win Western 1A. They went in at half time 1-0 up thanks to a goal from Lowri Savage, however a sloppy first 15 minutes in the second half resulted in the Archers finding themselves 2-1 down. Resilience and experience was needed and came from two Georgia Bridges goals both a result of pin point crosses from Abi Fever, meaning the final result was a 3-2 win. The 1st team having already secured the title last week were at home to Chichester, the only team to have taken points from the side this season. An excellent performance and application of new tactics saw the side win 9-0 and complete a fantastic unbeaten BUCS league campaign for the girls.
Men’s 1st team tennis had a successful week at home beating Bournemouth 2nd team with some big hitting from Mike Castle. Both Women’s teams were on the road and recorded losses to strong Bath and Swansea teams. Badminton took two victories at home, the Women beating UWE 3-2 and the Men 6-2 against Gloucestershire.