UWIN 2011 - UK Women’s Indoor Nationals
Report by Helen Hobson
The victory at indoor inter-varsities in Cork for Trinity Ladies Ultimate team meant that they qualified as the Irish team to go to Coventry and take on some of the UKs top varsity oppositions. It was a task that was never going to be easy with the team making the trip a very inexperienced one. However, this didn’t put the girls off, seeded 19th of 20 teams there was only really one way to go in the rankings and that is what the girls aimed to do.
Placed in quite a difficult group with some highly regarded sides such as Ro Sham Bo, Nottingham Fling, Surrey Scorpions and Manchester Halcyons meant that improving on the seeding may not be an easy task. The first game was against Fling, a side who lived up to their seeding of 4th by beating the Trinity girls quite convincingly. A performance that left quite a bit to be desired but showed the potential the girls had to cause a bit of an upset in the group.
The next opponents were Surrey Scorpions with the Trinity girls looking for a win to give them the momentum they would need in such a tournament. A tightly fought battle showed that both sides really wanted their first victory of the weekend under their belts. Trinity did come out in top at a score line of 6-4, giving the team the confidence they would need with some very difficult fixtures to come.
Trinity then faced Manchester Halcyon who from looking at their previous matches seemed quite similar in terms of ability to the Trinity girls. This meant victory would be determined by desire for the victory and the ability to hold ones nerve. It was the most tightly contested match Trinity had been involved in so far but their grit and determination saw them assure yet another victory, the score 7-6 in Trinity’s favour.
The last group game was against a highly rated Ro Sham Bo side, eventual winners of the tournament. This match really saw Trinity come into their own playing their best ultimate of the tournament so far, shutting down some impressive Ro Sham Bo plays as well as utilising their long game to great effect. However quality and experience won out in the end with Ro Sham Bo claiming victory. A respectable score line in the end considering the quality of the opposition, 10-5.
This meant that Trinity finished 3rd in their group, and would face Cambridge who finished 2nd in their respective group. It was yet another tight contested encounter with no team wanting to lose with the stakes so high, the winners being placed in the top 8. The game came down to the last point, no one wanted to settle for trying to win the plate, each teams’ objective to have the chance to make the final. The Trinity girls once again came out on top in a tight encounter and would now face Warwick Bears in the quarter finals, a team with high expectations of what they could achieve.
The fixture the following morning showed Trinity women why the Bears had their aims set so high. A quality side who shut down all that Trinity tried and whose quality was just too much for the girls to contend with. The eventual runners up won the tie at a disappointing 11-3. This loss meant that the highest Trinity could now finish was 5th and would once again face Fling to determine their fate.
It was a much better performance by Trinity against this opposition on this occasion showing how much they had improved and gelled as a team over the weekend. Fling who were perhaps expecting an easy victory didn’t get one and were forced to play their best ultimate to secure victory. They did so despite Trinity’s best efforts, winning the tie for the 2nd time, however this time less convincingly.
The last game of the tournament was against Dundee’s Shooting Stars in the play off for 7th position. Another great game saw it once again come down to one point to decide the victors. However on this occasion the result didn’t go in Trinity’s favour. It seemed the lack of height in the Trinity ranks was the only factor that saw Dundee finish ahead in the end.
Finishing in 8th however was an incredible achievement for a team with little experience as a unit who had been seeded 19th coming into the tournament. The girls showed with their performances over the weekend that they are a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
Team-Claire Pugh(c) and (MVP), Caoimhe Quigley (MSP), Cat Daly (A game), Anne Leahy ( A game), Aideen Costello, Gemma Locke, Helen Hobson.
