Alumni news
Sussex students celebrate a weekend of sporting victories
Posted on behalf of: Sussexsport
Last updated: Wednesday, 19 February 2020
The Men's Ultimate Frisbee team after their victory against Durham, to win the BUCS Indoor Championships
Sport Scholar Katrin-Maria Zhivkova (end right) wins the BUCS bronze medal for fencing
Sussex students are celebrating after taking the top spots at a number of recent national sporting events.
The University's Ultimate Frisbee team, The Mohawks, have reclaimed their title as British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) Men’s Indoor Champions after a tough competition in Edinburgh at the weekend (15-16 February).
They last held the Indoor title a decade ago, in 2010, when they won the double after taking the Ultimate University Open Outdoor top prize the same year.
Despite winning the south-east regionals a few weeks ago, the team were seeded 19th out of 20 teams for this year’s Indoor Nationals, with top predictions placing them in only 14th place.
But the underdogs impressed by defeating Loughborough, UWE, and UCL in their crossover, quarter final, and semi final matches to make it through to a dramatic final against Durham on the Sunday.
With match time running out and Sussex leading 5-4 against their Durham rivals, second year Law undergraduate Gray Sinden caught a pass just outside the opposition's end zone, which he managed to slot through Durham’s remaining defence to reach Captain Harry Ogden and score a point - securing Sussex a 6-4 lead. In the last point, Ben McCrindle caught a long pass and made the final throw to Ogden, providing Ogden's hat trick for the match, the win for Sussex, and the National Championship victory for the Mohawks.
Coach Felix Shardlow said: "The team did really well to keep their heads, apply our strategies, and adapt in each game.
“Athletically they were superb, and it’s a credit to all the work they put in outside of training hours. All our focus now turns to BUCS Ultimate Outdoor Nationals in two months time, where we hope to do 'the double' as we did in 2010!"
Captain of the winning squad and Politics undergraduate Harry Ogden said: "After intense training for months we did it! The whole team are ecstatic: it’s an achievement we will all remember forever and one that has returned the Mohawk legacy to its former glory!”
There were more sporting celebrations over the weekend too, with Sussexsport Sport Scholar and Life Sciences student Katrin-Maria Zhivkova taking a podium finish and winning bronze in the Women’s Fencing (Sabre) competition at BUCS Nationals in Sheffield on Sunday.
Katrin receives sports mentoring and financial support as part of her Sports Scholarship, which is supported by the Sussex Fund, thanks to generous donations from alumni and friends of the University.
The next big event in the student sport calendar is the Students’ Union week-long Varsity, which opens with Women’s Rugby on Wednesday 18 March. You can view the full fixture list on the Students’ Union website.