Sussex wins Varsity for second year running
Sussex students retained the Varsity sports cup against local rivals Brighton this weekend, to the delight of a packed home crowd of supporters.
“Can hear cheering and shouting from my room - so excited for varsity,” tweeted one Sussex student before the annual contest was even under way on Sunday (22 March). “I love how hyped everyone gets for varsity,” posted another.
It was a tightly fought contest, with Sussex winning 11 of the 20 matches that took place.
There was hockey on the astroturf at the Falmer Sports Complex as well as football, rugby and American football on the grass pitches.
The netball in the Sport Centre was an indicator of the triumph to come, when the fixture went against form, with Sussex winning it 43-40.
After close-run losses for the men’s rugby and football teams and an amazing men’s basketball game, the overall score was 9-9.
Sussex then took the overall lead through a win for women’s volleyball, before the women’s basketball team sealed the victory in the deciding game with a close 52-49 win.
Sussex have now won three of the last four Varsity battles, described by Head of Sport Karen Creffield as “an amazing achievement”.
She added: “We are incredibly proud of the performance of the Sussex sports teams, which are run by the Students’ Union.
“This is the first year that Sussex have won the Varsity cup for two years in a row and congratulations go to all the players and coaches.”
Charles Dudley, Director of Residential and Campus Services, was there to support the teams.
He said: “As always, it was a very competitive and hard-fought series of matches. The level of performance was of a consistently high standard and Sussex did really well to come out on top.
“It was an excellent effort by all the Sussex competitors, who are to be congratulated on such a fine overall victory.”
But the students’ union at the University of Brighton pointed out: “It was a close call.” And they promised: “We'll come back next year even stronger!”
You can see more photos and social media posts on the Storify report about the day’s events.