UQ tops pennant tally at UniSport Nationals Div 1

The University of Queensland has won 10 champion pennants at UniSport Nationals Div 1 (28 September – 3 October) on the Gold Coast.

More than 400 UQ student-athletes competed at the event, with Team UQ Australia’s top-ranked university in Beach Volleyball (Women’s Pairs), Cycling (Men’s), Golf (Men’s), Handball (Mixed), Hockey (Men’s), Judo (Men’s & Women’s), Sailing (Open), Squash (Mixed), and Touch Football (Mixed).

The result betters UQ’s nine pennants at last year’s Nationals Div 1 event.

The Universities of Sydney and Melbourne each won seven pennants, with Monash University claiming five.

UQ’s Mixed Touch Football team scored its fourth-consecutive UniSport gold medal after beating University of Newcastle 8-6.

UQ Sportsman of the Year Justin Cridland (Sports Achievement Scholarship recipient) said the team’s winning streak dated back to 2016 Australian Uni Games.

“To win one national title is a difficult task, but to claim four-in-a-row is a tremendous achievement and one we’re extremely proud of,” Cridland said.

“UQ has an incredibly deep roster of top-class Touch players, and we’re determined to build on our winning streak for many years to come.”

UQ claimed a third-straight Men’s Hockey title after defeating The University of Melbourne 6-1 in the gold medal match.

The team has now won a medal at every UniSport-sanctioned event since 2013.

Hayden Dorge (UQ Sports Achievement Scholarship) said the side was delighted to go through the tournament undefeated.

“We scored a 7-0 win over University of New South Wales in the pool stages and that was a major confidence-booster for our team,” Dorge said.

“To beat Melbourne by such a margin in the final was extremely satisfying and is reward for the months of preparation we’ve put in prior to Nationals.”

UQ’s Judo team won pennants in both Men’s (2018 champions) and Women’s divisions, while the University claimed back-to-back pennants in Women’s Beach Volleyball, Mixed Handball and Mixed Squash.

Team UQ secured its first-ever Men’s Golf pennant with a dominant 21-shot victory over Queensland University of Technology in the Team Strokeplay event.

UQ’s Men’s Cycling squad won six medals – including two gold to Carter Bettles (Road Race & Criterium) – to be crowned overall champions.

UQ took victory in 30 races in the Sailing competition, claiming gold after beating University of Technology Sydney 3-1.

UQ was second overall in six divisions, including UQ’s Men’s and Women’s Rowing.

The University’s Open Baseball team won a silver better to equal its best result at a UniSport competition.

The University of Sydney (11 pennants) leads UQ (10) on the overall leaderboard ahead of the final Nationals Marathon (13 October) and T20 Cricket (25-28 November) events for 2019.

Next year’s UniSport Nationals Div 1 and Div 2 events will be held in Perth (26 September – 2 October).

2019 UniSport Nationals Div 1 – UQ Results

Champion Pennants (10):

Beach Volleyball – Women’s Pairs
Cycling – Men’s
Golf – Men’s
Handball – Mixed
Hockey – Men’s
Judo – Men’s
Judo – Women’s
Sailing – Open
Squash – Mixed
Touch Football – Mixed

Second Placings (6):

Baseball – Open
Cheer & Dance – Mixed Cheer
Fencing – Women’s
Rowing – Men’s
Rowing – Women’s
Volleyball – Men’s

Third Placings (6):

Badminton – Men’s
Basketball – Women’s
Beach Volleyball – Men’s Pairs
Fencing – Men’s
Lawn Bowls – Mixed
Table Tennis – Men’s

Other Results:

Badminton – Women’s (4^th)
Basketball – Men’s (10^th)
Beach Volleyball – Mixed Fours (4^th)
Cheer & Dance – Mixed Dance (8^th)
Cycling – Women’s (5^th)
Futsal – Men’s (9^th)
Kendo – Women’s (5^th)
Rugby 7s – Men’s (4^th)
Tennis – Men’s (8^th)
Tennis – Women’s (7^th)
Touch Football – Men’s (8^th)
Touch Football – Women’s (5^th)
Ultimate – Mixed (6^th)
Volleyball – Women’s (10^th)
Water Polo – Men’s (5^th)

Media: Jamie Mitchell, UQ Sport, JamieM@uqsport.com.au, 0423 785 752.