Sport Scholar, archer and BUCS bronze medlist Eliza Miller
The Badminton team with their Cup Finalist medals
Sussex students have won a horde of medals at recent events, competing at the highest level of university sport.
Sussexsport sport scholar Eliza Miller wowed competitors at the recent British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Indoor Archery Championships, with a bronze victory at the event.
The second-year Zoology student only began shooting in September 2015, bringing back a surprise silver medal from last year’s BUCS Outdoor Archery Tournament after competing in the novice category.
This year, she knew the massive step up in competition would make her an outsider at the event; qualifying in 20th place to progress to the National Finals in Bristol this month. Eliza said that on the day she felt “surprisingly calm”, adding that her outsider status in the tournament took the pressure off “because of how highly the odds were stacked against me”.
Despite competing against archers who have been shooting their entire lives at the highest level - including Team GB archer Jessica Nilsson – Eliza finished the first round of competition in fifth place, taking her into the head to heads. She went on to take bronze at the Championships, an incredible feat in her first year competing at the top level.
Eliza believes her sport scholarship has been integral to developing her performance. She said: “I wouldn't have been able to achieve this without the scholarship, partially due to the extra practice hours and higher-quality equipment that I was able to obtain.”
The support from Sussexsport staff has also been crucial in developing Eliza’s confidence in her ability, who added that the advice she has had from mentors in the University’s sport service has helped to develop her “mental preparation, which is what I believe gave me the edge in the competition.
“I do not come from a sporty background, so the scholarship has helped me learn all the little things that most athletes take for granted and guided me into being the best athlete that I can possibly be. I know that there is no chance that I could have won the medal without it.”
And Sussex’s sporting success continued last week, with the Women’s Badminton team competing in the BUCS Cup Finals.
Following an incredible season that saw them beat the likes of Bath, Surrey, Nottingham and Queen Mary, the team’s place at the finals was guaranteed after finishing first in their south-eastern regional league.
Sport scholars Alice Torjussen and Theresa Huang Wun – who only last month won bronze medals for the second year in a row at a separate BUCS doubles competition – were amongst the squad that travelled to the University of Bath for last week’s Cup Final match. The scholars were joined by team mates Eleanor Deane and Ella Mountjoy to take on sporting giants Loughborough University in the finals.
Sussex’s performance was strong and Theresa was awarded player of the match: winning both her games 21-1 and 21-13 against a Loughborough seconds singles player, before winning a further two games 21-19 and 21-11 against the opposition’s top singles player. With an agonisingly close finish, Sussex conceded the Cup 3-5 to Loughborough. But the team brought home silver finalists' medals and all-important BUCS points, helping Sussex to climb to 41 in the BUCS rankings – our highest placement in the points table at this late stage of the season.
Club coach Tom Knowles praised the dedication and performance of the women’s team. Tom said: “It's been a pleasure to work with the women’s team this season and see them go from strength to strength.
"They have performed above expectation and have committed their time to the training sessions and matches. I am very proud of what they have achieved and look forward to next season.”
The team are hoping to go up to the Premier division, with a play-off match against Imperial next Wednesday (5 April) deciding their fate.
As sport scholars, Alice and Theresa are also supported to play for local clubs, and compete locally with the Sussex County first team. Hot on the heels of their Cup Final performance last week, they competed with the county team in the Badminton County Championships at the weekend (25-26 March), helping the team to secure a record fourth place in the tournament.
You can follow our sports teams' progress and BUCS ranking on the online BUCS points table.