The Boar Sport highlight reel (1/2)

In the first article in a two part series, we asked some of Warwick’s sports clubs about their greatest moments over the course of the last year. Here’s what Tennis, Cheerleading, Lacrosse and Hockey had to celebrate.

Tennis:  Men’s first team winning the Men’s National Trophy at Loughborough University as part of BUCS Wednesday

Warwick Men’s Tennis first team became national champions, downing Sheffield 1s in the final of the Men’s National Trophy. The team, comprising of William Spencer, Egor Brailovskiy, Greg Bacon, Andrew Smith, and Rupert Larkin – who made his sole, yet crucial, appearance in the final – had battled through against four Western Conference teams: Bath 2s, Cardiff Met 1s, before chalking up impressive road wins at Swansea 1s and then at Exeter 2s. After laying waste to the west, Warwick faced a Sheffield 1s side who had eliminated a highly regarded Leeds Beckett 2s side in the semi-finals of the northern half.

Warwick, who boasted fantastic support at Loughborough, split the doubles rubbers with Spencer/Bacon winning 6-0 7-5 at #1. Larkin/Smith were then edged out 6-7 3-6, levelling the tie at 1-apiece heading into the four singles rubbers. Bacon, who has had a hugely impressive freshman season, eased to a 6-1 6-1 victory, closely followed by a 6-3 6-4 Larkin triumph at #2. Smith continued to battle away at #4, taking a 6-4 4-6 5-1 lead as Spencer – whose match was delayed – dropped the first set 1-6. Capt. Smith overcame a late rally from his opponent to close out the match 6-4 4-6 6-4, securing a great triumph for Warwick.

Cheerleading: A sparkling showing at the Nationals

This year has been one of the most successful in Warwick Devils history, with all of our squads showcasing their hard work. The non-competing squad performing at this year’s Basketball varsity game, and also featured on Britain’s Got Talent, whilst the competing squads have had big successes at both the Future Cheer and British Cheer Association University Nationals this year.

Our main highlight is of course the success at the recent BCA competition on Thursday 2-3 April in Telford. The dance squads competed on Thursday and set the bar very high, with Jazz placing 9th, Hip-hop 5th and Pom 1st place, an incredible result which all members and coaches were extremely happy with. The next day it was down to the stunting squads to continue with the success and they did not disappoint, with the Co-ed level 3 squad coming 1st, the All-girl levels 2 and 4 placing, 2nd and 4th and the large stunt level 3 squad coming first! Another fantastic result which all members and coaches were extremely happy with. This marked the end to an incredible year for the Warwick Devils in which all members and coaches worked extremely hard, and got the results they truly deserved.

Lacrosse: Men’s 1st team 2nd place in The National University 8’s Tournament

On the 21-22 February Warwick played host to the National University 8s tournament, with 48 teams from 20 universities travelling to take part in this annual event. The teams were split into three groups with the top two placed teams from each qualifying for the ‘elite’ group the following day. Among Warwick Men’s 1st’s group were Premiership opposition Manchester, midlands league winners Nottingham Trent, Derby and Imperial College London.

The first match pitted Warwick against Trent Seconds and it was clear the home team were unfamiliar with the chaotic pace of 8s, they slumped to 2-0 opening defeat. However, after a tactical de-brief Warwick began to dominate their group, dispatching Derby 7-0 and Imperial 4-1 in the following matches. The last game saw an incredibly close encounter with Northern Premiership side Manchester. A last minute winner secured a 4-3 victory, ensuring the home team qualified for the Elite group.

Among the Elite group were Nottingham Trent 1sts, Bristol, Manchester, York and UCL. Warwick’s tactics, fitness and stick skills proved too much for York and UCL, who lost 2-0 and 3-1 respectively. However narrow losses to Bristol and Nottingham Trent meant that Warwick ended up placing second overall. An exceptional achievement to place above premiership opposition and a true testament to the quality of the Men’s 1st Team this year with notable tournament performances from Thomas White, John Mclaughlin and keeper Deelan Maru.

Hockey: Stellar BUCS performances from all 7 teams

The season started off full of promise for both Hockey clubs this year. The Ladies were looking to immediately bounce back up from their relegation last year, and the Men to build on a strong pre-season squad.  The season finished with three of the seven BUCS hockey teams promoted, and no relegations! The Ladies’ 1st XI dropped only four points as they won Midlands 3B, moving back up to 2B next year. Both the Men’s 1st and 2nd XI’s gained vital promotions. The 1st XI went unbeaten, winning Midlands 2B to move into Midlands 1A next year – the highest Midlands hockey league. Similarly the 2nd team won their division, claiming a satisfactory double over Coventry 1sts in the process – They now move up to replace the UWMHC 1st team in Mids 2B. If things couldn’t have gone much better for Warwick Hockey this year, convincing wins in all 4 varsity matches meant an overall near perfect season for the two clubs.