In a showdown that mirrored last year’s blowout performance from Uni of Nottingham, Trent Army couldn’t quite establish a foothold in what was an uphill battle from the very start.
With the recent news of UoN Men’s football team forfeiting their fixture this year, Trent had established a 1-0 lead in the series, but this lead was short lived.
The first Super Wednesday of the series began at 12pm yesterday, with women’s handball taking the helm. The day began with an optimistic mood despite the home-ground advantage to UoN.
UoN managed a solid strafing run on Trent from the very beginning, with the score standing at 6-1 after 34 minutes of play.
Then, in a mounting offensive, Trent graced the court with a salvo of shots, bringing the score back to just two goals as the score settled at 6-4.
Unfortunately, the counter-offensive was short-lived and UoN won the women’s handball match with a final score of 9-6. The first win of the day.
Tension on a knife-edge:
At this time, fencing was underway – the tension on a knife-edge as Trent’s score was almost parallel to that of UoN as they were winning by just two points.
The fencing skirmish continued as the men’s handball match began.
Trent looked shaky as they came into the end of the first half of the handball match with a 10 goal deficit, the score 20-10 to UoN.
Whilst Trent suffered a widening goal deficit, the women’s volleyball game came to a close at 3-0 to UoN in what was an unfortunate whitewash. The optimism slowly dwindling.
As the men’s handball came to a close at 33-17 to the green and gold, the overall Super Wednesday standings stood at 4-0 to UoN.
The final result in fencing was no different despite a resilient effort from Trent, the final score yet another stab as it settled at 135-106.
The executing blow was finally dealt in karate, despite the score being drawn at 100-100, as UoN was given the point as they won six gold medals in comparison to Trent’s four.
Similar in that to women’s volleyball, UoN men’s team also managed a sweeping 3-0 win over the boys in pink.
Ever-deepening deficit:
The day continued to get worse for Trent as the canoe polo and badminton teams suffered further losses, 8-4 and 8-1 respectively. The series score stood at 10-0 to the green and gold as the sun began to sink into the darkness of the evening, along with the hopes of winning for NTU.
NTU table tennis remained optimistic.
“On paper they’re a lot better, they’re the paper champs, but we have the heart and we’re ready to perform”
An optimistic Hugo Tupper before table tennis
Speaking before the match-up, Trent’s Hugo Tupper said: “On paper they’re a lot better, they’re the paper champs, but we have the heart and we’re ready to perform.
“They have the strength, with the scholarship athletes, but Trent are known for coming back twice as strong!”
Unfortunately it was not to be despite Trent’s efforts and heart, the final score 7-2.
To finish the day, the first ever women’s water polo event commenced. Despite a solid effort from NTU, their hopes of winning were send into the depths by a strong UoN team. The final score 25-2.
A win in swimming was lost under the waves, despite a much better performance than last year and the lack of a home pool, Trent finally succomed to UoN with a score of 128-92.
The day came to an end with a final series score of 12-0 despite Trent’s positive energy and passion.
Trent Army and Uni of Nottingham are now neck-and-neck and from previous years’ experience, Trent are looking to regain their lead in the big ice-breaker event this Friday: Ice Hockey!
By Joe Locker