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Varsity Sport Season Review 2014/15

Highlights and reflections from another successful year of student sport at ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ.

The 2014/15 British University and Colleges Sport (¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS) season has been the most successful in ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ’s history. The university achieved its highest ever points total and is currently ranked 28th in the UK.

The broad Varsity programme at ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ incorporates 26 sports all of which competed within ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS competitions this year with upwards of 650 student athletes taking part. 

There have been a number of outstanding performances across the programme, both within individual sports and team sports. 

Saskia Sills, a first year Geography student won the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS Windsurfing Championship and Martina Mercinelli, who is in her first year of BSc (Hons) Archaeological, Anthropological and Forensic Sciences, won gold at the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS 51-54kg Boxing Championships. 

Within team sports, the men's volleyball 1st team went undefeated within the Southern Premier League, won the Volleyball ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ Student ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ and came 2nd in the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS Championship. 

The women's volleyball 1st team achieved a third place finish in the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵCS Championships. The men's football 1st team also had a fantastic season and reached the final of the national trophy, narrowly losing out to a strong Leeds Beckett team. 

Additionally, ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ achieved great success within the South West region with six teams making it to the finals of the Conference ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ in Exeter, with men's football 2nd, women's lacrosse 1st and netball 1st all securing their respective titles. 

Looking ahead to next year, four of the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ teams will be playing in higher divisions having achieved promotion this season. Those teams are women's lacrosse, women's football, men's futsal and men's tennis 1st. 

All these achievements are the result of a very high level of commitment from the students, coaches and support staff throughout the season.

Reflecting on a successful season Varsity Manager, Michael Barry, said: "I am extremely proud of all of our athletes, coaches and support staff who contribute to the Varsity programme. Breaking into the top 30 institutions within the UK is a fantastic achievement and really highlights the high level of sporting talent and success that we have at ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵ".