Varsity 2010: netball round up

The University of York Netball Club (UYNC) and the College Netball Barbarians team swept York St John aside on Sunday to claim a spectacular 4-0 Varsity victory. Despite St John’s looking better on paper, York University teams amassed an overall combined total of 153 goals, while York St John netted a mere 67, the difference reflecting the large gap in standards.

Amongst the successes of the day were that of the first team, who beat a St John’s side that plays in a BUCS league above them, and the College Barbarians’ win, a side formed especially for the occasion. As UYNC Captain Sarah Fisher commented, “We made the York St John girls look simply average on court and proved that there really is only one netball club in York.”

College Barbarians 53 - 6 York St John’s 4ths

The day kicked off with UYNC 3rds taking on their counterparts from across the city, while the College Barbarians made their squad debut against York St John’s 4ths. The Barbarians made immediate impact, scoring several goals in quick succession, while the St John’s team looked simply out of place on a netball court, even unaware of several rules of the game. The demolition of St John’s was relentless and by half time the Barbarians had already mounted a 27 goal lead. As Grace Marsdon, who was coordinating the Barbarians, said “The standards were so different it was almost laughable”. That York University have formed a team in a matter of weeks that can come out and obliterate a York St John squad, who play in BUCS every week, begs the question as to why York St John were so keen to push UYNC to provide a 4th team. The Barbarians continued to dominate the second half, allowing St John’s to net only 2 goals, and the match finished with the largest margin of the day, the score totalling 53-6. The stage had been set for a thrilling day’s netball.

We made the York St John girls look simply average
1sts Captain Fisher

UYNC 3rds 53 - 10 York St John 3rds

The annihilation was mirrored on the adjacent court, as UYNC’s third team captain Amelia Prestage led her squad to a resounding 53-10 victory, their second flattening of St John’s of the term. UYNC came out confident that they could repeat the previous victory, as they had put in hours of training: dedicating time to both fitness and the constant improvement of their skills, both of which really helped them believe they would be victorious again. All they had to do was keep focused and play their own game!

The team started the first quarter strongly, with accurate centre passes and an excellent ‘drive and dodge’ technique from Wing Attack, Shadyn Nikzad. Prestage, playing as Centre, gave accurate feeds into the circle, which Livi Coward then shot with apparent ease. Both shooters should be congratulated for their consistent accuracy whilst shooting and always going for the rebound. At the end of the first quarter, UYNC 3rds were leading 18-3.

Both UYNC and St John changed their teams around for the second quarter. St John began to mark more tightly, particularly in the home attacking circle. However, UYNC managed to handle the pressure well, dodging quickly and avoiding overheads into the circle. At half time, UYNC led 27-2.

The third quarter demonstrated the immense level of fitness UYNC’s 3rd team have. St John’s began to tire but the home team were determined to keep the speed of the game up. Caro Aldridge (Goal Defence) communicated well with both Goal Keepers (Tess Webb and Ellie May) throughout the match, grabbing the rebounds and working excellently together to form a formidable defence.

UYNC went into the final quarter with a magnificent lead of 41-10. The crowd cheered both teams back on to court. UYNC’s 3rd team continued to display their excellent skills, passing fluidly down the court and showing complete domination over their rivals. UYNC came away with a convincing win of 53-10 and Livi Coward was deservedly awarded Player of the Match, having shot consistently throughout the whole game.

UYNC 2nds vs York St John 2nds

After wins from both the UYNC 3rds and the Barbarian team, the pressure was on for UYNC 2nds to follow suit. They came out strong with tight marking from both Josephine Brayshaw (GK) and Cleopatra Jones (GD) in St John’s attacking circle. Both teams were really exerting the pressure! Lorna Davies-Colley moved well as Wing Attack, claiming all the centre passes with her quick, sharp movements. At the end of the first quarter St John’s scored their first, and only, goal of the quarter. Taking UYNC by surprise they made an interception and passed the ball straight down the court and into the net, despite an excellent lean from Brayshaw. At the end of the first quarter York led with the convincing score of 9-1.

The second quarter showed some very impressive shooting from UYNC’s captain and GS Sophia Sahin, who was served well by her attack as UYNC’s Ellie McAlpine (C) worked well with the attacking line-up by passing the ball around the circle, waiting for the moment for the perfect feed. However, St John’s team had by no means given up, shooting well at the beginning of this quarter. Despite the resistance from the opposition, UYNC fought and gained most of the loose balls. UYNC displayed great team work with players such as Laura Longworth (WD) always on the line ready to support her attacking players. By half time, the home team were leading 21-8.

The third quarter showed St John desperately trying to fight back. In this quarter, they managed to find themselves seven goals, primarily due to their rather feisty and aggressive GA. Nevertheless, UYNC’s defence handled this well with Brayshaw being compared by the crowd on the sideline “to the trunk of a tree... strong, stable and keeping the team together.” As the whistle went for the end of the quarter, UYNC led 27 – 15 with one quarter to go.

The final quarter was UYNC’s most impressive so far with them scoring an inspiring 15 goals (one a minute!!). They continued to dominate, playing with confidence and flare until the final whistle. After the match Captain Sahin stated that she was “thrilled with how the team performed, once again a lot of hard work has paid off” and added that UYNC are thoroughly looking forward to Roses. She awarded Jo Brayshaw Player of the Match for her consistent play throughout the game, displaying an excellent lean and quickly claiming all the rebounds.

UYNC 1sts vs York St John 1sts

On the back of three successive wins, the time was nigh for one of the most hotly anticipated matches of the day: the clash of the first teams. All eyes were on court as the spectators speculated whether UYNC could make it 4 wins out of 4. St John’s were first out of the blocks and racked up a 3-0 lead before UYNC captain Sarah Fisher, sunk a penalty to put them on the score board. Once off the mark, UYNC started to apply pressure. Wing Defence, Sarah Smith, and Goal Defence, Grace Marsdon, broke 3 consecutive centre passes and forced the ball out of court on numerous occasions, as St John’s attack tried to crack their solid defensive barrier. Spectator Tess Olsen noted how “UYNC responded strongly to St John’s powerful start and then managed to find their rhythm”. Settling the game to their own pace was vital, as it enabled them to start to dictate the play and by the end of the quarter the scores had drawn level; the first period ending 9 goals a piece.

At the start of the second quarter UYNC took the lead for the first time as Goal Shooter, Kay Masterton, took advantage of York St John’s persistent rule infringing and netted another penalty. At the other end of the pitch, UYNC Goal Keeper, Jenni Williams was hot on her toes, effectively working round her opponent to tap off any feeds into the circle and diverting any rebounds away from the St John’s players and back into UYNC’s hands. The midcourt attacking partnership of Becki O’Dwyer and Cesca Dessain provided the shooters with many an opportunity to score, which they capitalised on, giving UYNC a healthy 5 goal half time lead.

UYNC’s winning run continued throughout the rest of the match with the third quarter seeing the longest goal run of the game, as Fisher and Masterton added a straight run of 6 points to the board. Goals were scored from all areas of the circle, much to the appreciation of the large sideline crowd, demonstrating that York shooters were not cracking under the pressure. On the defensive, O’Dwyer, Smith and Marsdon were coordinated and intimidating as they created a fluid zone to daunt the St John’s attack and cause many unforced errors.

Final quarter changes brought Claire Dinan on for Masterton and Liz Cowell stepped into Dessain’s shoes as Wing Attack. However, minutes into the final quarter Marsdon, who has been battling with an ankle injury, brought herself off, causing a chain reaction of position changes. UYNC were not fazed by these amendments and showed their adaptability as their winning ways continued up to the final whistle. Reflecting on what can probably be described as their greatest performance of the year so far, Fisher showed her delight with the results, and declared “we deserved nothing less than the 4 wins that we got.” She awarded Sarah Smith Player of the Match, a well earned title for Smith as she interrupted play on many occasions with her flying interceptions.

For the second year in a row UYNC didn’t let St John’s get a look in on what President Liz Cowell described as an “epic day for UYNC”. She went on to praise “every team’s commitment to training throughout the term” and how “UYNC outshone their opponents with both their skills and fitness”. With 2 BUCS matches left for each squad and Roses on the horizon, they will look to continue with this winning training formula and end the season in a wave of success that emulates their victorious Varsity weekend… WELL DONE UYNC!

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