The University of Queensland has clinched six medals at Northern Uni Games (NUG) 2016 on the Sunshine Coast, including a gold medal in Beach Volleyball.
Team UQ, consisting of more than 125 student-athletes, participated in eight sports at Northern Uni Games, with half of UQ’s 12 teams finishing on the medal podium.
The UQ 2 Beach Volleyball team, comprising of Zac Laird, Zac Burch, Bara Falcmanoba and Jamie Liu, dominated the Mixed Fours tournament across the four days of competition.
Impressively, the quartet only conceded a single set across their 12 games, winning the gold medal match against Gold Coast’s Bond University 2-0.
UQ 2’s sister Beach Volleyball team, UQ 1, impressed throughout the event but came up short in their bronze medal showdown against the University of New England, losing 2-0.
Two of Team UQ’s three Touch sides earned medals, with UQ Mixed claiming silver after losing to the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) 9-7 in a fast-paced gold medal decider, and UQ Women’s winning bronze following a 5-2 victory over the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC).
Team UQ’s Women’s Hockey outfit showed steady improvement throughout the event, leaving the Sunshine Coast with a silver medal after falling to an unbeaten University of Southern Queensland (USQ) team 3-0 in the gold final.
UQ’s two Ultimate Disc Mixed teams featured in medal finals, with UQ 2 earning a silver medal following a 15-3 defeat at the hands of QUT in their play-off for gold.
UQ’s Men’s Basketball team capped a solid tournament with a bronze medal following a nail-biting 62-60 victory over USQ.
Elsewhere, UQ’s Opens Baseball team suffered a heart-breaking 6-5 loss to Griffith University in their bronze medal clash, with the marathon match eventually decided in the 14th inning.
Hosted by USC, the event was attended by over 2,000 student-athletes across Queensland and Northern New South Wales, with Rockhampton announced as host city for NUG 2017.
Eligible medal-winning Team UQ sides will now compete at Australian University Games in Perth from 25-30 September.
Mixed Fours Beach Volleyball: UQ 2 beat Bond, 2-0 (gold)
Women’s Hockey: USQ beat UQ, 3-0 (silver)
Mixed Touch: QUT beat UQ, 9-7 (silver)
Ultimate Mixed: QUT beat UQ 2, 15-3 (silver)
Women’s Touch: UQ beat USC, 5-2 (bronze)
Men’s Basketball: UQ beat USQ, 62-60 (bronze)
Media: Jamie Mitchell, UQ Sport, JamieM@uqsport.com.au, 0423 785 752.