University of Chichester teams nab Christmas No1 spot

A number of University of Chichester teams will be heading into the Christmas break top of their leagues.
Netball action at the University of Chichester / Picture by John GeesonNetball action at the University of Chichester / Picture by John Geeson
Netball action at the University of Chichester / Picture by John Geeson

The women’s futsal team, mixed golf side, men’s football sixth team, the netball thirds and fifths, men’s rugby ones, women’s badminton team, men’s tennis line-up and women’s volleyball team are all in top spot for the mid-season break.

Chi’s women’s tennis team won 8-4 against Hertfordshire at home.

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Team member Rebecca Farrow said: “The season’s been going well so far. I’m happy with how the team’s doing. It’s all positive in the racquets club this year. We’ve got a strong team.”

Things were all square with Herts after the singles. Farrow picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win and Ellen Unitt beat her opponent 1&2.

Maddie Payne and Leonie Stiefermann dropped tight matches 6-7, 3-6 and 2-6, 6-1, 9-11 respectively.

Chichester won both doubles, Farrow and Stiefermann coming through in straight sets and Payne and Holly Ryan taking a third set tie-breaker to seal an 8-4 victory.

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The men’s tennis team won 10-2 against Surrey. 
Elsewhere in racquets, Chi’s men’s badminton firsts beat Kingston 8-0 to maintain the pressure on league leaders Imperial.

The second team beat University College London (RUMS) 7-1 and the women won 5-3 at London South Bank to overhaul New Bucks at the top of Southern 3A.

The unbelievable 18-month undefeated run of the men’s table tennis team continues after an 11-6 triumph at Brunel.

The Chi women’s volleyballers were involved in a battle with New Bucks. At two sets all and with the momentum shifting this way and that, the game went into a first-to-15 fifth set. At 4-4 Chichester edged ahead and kept in front to pick a win that sends them to the top of the league.

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Afterwards a delighted coach Rhys Ryan-Heaney said: “It was a fantastic game. You don’t often get games that go to five sets. At times we were losing by six or seven points but we kept showing our resilience, kept getting back into it.”

The men’s volleyball twos beat Canterbury Christ Church 3-0 and are just off the top spot in the league on goal difference. The ones lost 3-0 at Brunel.

Chi’s women’s hockey ones crushed a Kingston first team 12-1. The men’s ones were also up against Kingston. Gibbons’s side won 3-2.

Before the game captain Charlie Gibbons said: “We’re going well. We’ve got to the quarter-finals in the cup and we’re in a good position for Christmas.”

The men’s twos lost 6-0 against Imperial College London.

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In football, Chi’s men’s sixes kept their unbeaten run going with a 3-1 win against King’s College London.

A nice finish from skipper Jason Riley put his side ahead on 17 minutes. Josh Currie fired just over before Jonny Linard went close on the half-hour.

The visitors equalised late on in the half, stabbing the ball in from close range after a cut-back. Riley made it 2-1 from the spot, crashing his penalty kick in off the post.

The home side increased their lead in the 52nd minute when Kieran Dowell seemingly got the last touch on a Ciar Cox corner.

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Elsewhere in football there were losses for men’s ones, twos, fours and fives while the thirds drew 2-2 with Essex ones. A four-game unbeaten run came to an end for the women’s second team, who lost heavily to Surrey firsts, but the women’s ones picked up a win in Wales for the second week in a row beating Cardiff Met 2-1 to keep the pressure up on Prem South leaders Hertfordshire. 
In netball, there were wins for the Chi ones and fives, who remain unbeaten in the league. The threes dropped their first points of the season drawing 37-37 with Reading twos in a clash between first and second but are still top in South Eastern 4A.