Sport
In Brief
CARLTON had double victories in
the opening weekend of Victorian
Premier cricket earlier this
month. The Blues had a fourwicket win over Melbourne on the
Saturday, following up with a sixwicket win over HawthornMonash University. But North
Melbourne lost its opening two
rounds, to Northcote by eight
wickets, and Ringwood by 119
runs. Melbourne University lost to
Frankston-Peninsula by 91 runs
and Northcote by seven wickets,
while Richmond fell to St Kilda
and Prahran. Round 3 was played
at the weekend, after deadline.
Turf cricket back on
From silver to gold
After falling short in 2009, Melbourne wins titles
Uni Games | Patrick O’Meara
THREE Melbourne University
teams have avenged their disappointment last year to win gold at
the 2010 Australian University
Games.
The men’s basketball and cycling
and women’s netball teams all triumphed at the week-long games in
Perth from September 26 to
October 1 after having to settle for
silver at the 2009 games on the Gold
Coast.
The basketball team posted
comfortable wins in its preliminary games, and came up from four
points behind with just 40 seconds
left on the clock in a semi-final
against the University of Western
Australia to win by three.
Melbourne University trounced
Griffith by 29 points in the grand
final.
Melbourne’s cycling team was
hell-bent on regaining its crown
after losing the title in 2009 for the
first time in seven years.
Lachlan Norris, fresh from competing in the Tour of New
Melbourne University women’s netball team celebrate winning gold.
Caledonia, and Victorian Institute
of Sport cyclist Eric Sheppard
dominated the road race to claim
gold and silver respectively, before
teaming to comfortably win the
team time trial.
Their results, coupled with topeight finishes from the squad in the
individual time trial and the
criterium, regained Melbourne the
overall cycling title.
The university’s new-look netball
team faced its 2009 conqueror Monash in the semi-final, winning 36-30
victory to make the grand final.
Melbourne beat La Trobe, its first
Division 1 final, by 42-32.
Individual golds were also won by
Melbourne women’s team captain
and 2008 Olympian Angela Darby
in fencing, James D’Alfonso in
400m and the men’s four-by-400m
relay, comprising D’Alfonso,
Yasuhito Nakajim, Darcy and
Dominic Sutton.
From 28 sports, 23 of Melbourne’s
teams finished in the top-six of
their respective sporting competitions.
More than 5000 students from 41
Australian universities competed
in 31 events at this year’s games.
Melbourne University finished
fourth overall, behind winners
University of Western Australia,
Monash University in second and
third-placed Sydney University.
In the Doug Ellis Trophy, which
measures success on a per capita
basis, Melbourne was ninth with
the multi-state University of Notre
Dame the victor.
Melbourne University sport development manager Rod Warnecke
said he was pleased with the university’s overall results. ‘‘It was a
points-based participation structure, so the University of WA had
500 kids, Monash had 450, Sydney
had 400 and we had 350. So being
the fourth-biggest you would expect us to be fourth-ranked.’’
Start for soccer
CENTRAL City starts its soccer
Summer League season off
against Eastern at Darebin Indoor
Sports Centre next Sunday. City
will field teams in under-13 to
under-20 in boys competition and
under-13 to under-17 in girls.
Their players come from clubs in
Port Phillip, Yarra, Stonnington,
Melbourne and Maribyrnong.
Victory seeks upturn
MELBOURNE Victory were looking
to redeem themselves when they
faced arch-rival Sydney FC in
A-League on Saturday night. They
were beaten 2-1 in the hometown
derby against Melbourne Heart
on October 8. The Heart faced
Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.
Tigers hunt for points
MELBOURNE Tigers started their
2010-11 National Basketball
League season against Sydney
Kings at the State Netball and
Hockey Centre last Friday night.
The Tigers will then host Perth in
Round 2 at the centre on Sunday
from 6pm.
University athletics club men win first round at Aberfeldie
MELBOURNE University Athletics Club started the Athletics
Victoria track and field season in
fine style earlier this month, inspired by the success of the Australian Flames at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The club’s men’s Division 1 team
won the first round of competition
at the start of the AV Shield competition on October 9 at Moonee Valley Athletics Centre at Aberfeldie.
The women’s top-flight team came
third.
Individual brilliance was on display as well, as Anthony Hanna
won the men’s pole vault with a
jump of 4.25m while Cath Macrae
completed the pole vault double,
winning the women’s event, clearing 3.15m. Jo Bromfield won the
women’s triple jump, hopping,
stepping and jumping 11.05m. Paul
Kennedy resumed where he left off
last track and field season, winning the 2000m walk, while summer team manager Hamish
Beaumont won the 1500m in
4:14.73. The 4x100m women’s relay
team was also victorious.
MELBOURNE University’s athletics team also claimed exceptional results at the Melbourne
Marathon on October 10. The
marathon incorporated the Australian Marathon Championship,
the Victorian Marathon Championship and the Australian University Road Running Championships.
MUAC had more than 20 athletes
running in the three events – the
marathon, the half-marathon and
the 10km. Three MUAC athletes
finished in the top 25 of the marathon, with Nic Browne (2:28.56) finishing 13th, Andrew Selby Smith
(2:32.03) 21st, and David Paroissien
(2:33.34) 23rd. The results put the
club in a strong position to claim
the Victorian Men’s Marathon
Team Championship, with the result yet to be confirmed by Athletics Victoria at deadline.
Kate Scarlett, MUAC’s winter team
manager, finished 46th in the
marathon in 3:14.05 and was part of
the winning Victorian side which
claimed the national team title.
Harry Smithers put in a withering
surge as he arrived at the MCG to
take second place in the 10km race,
finishing behind Australian representative Liam Adams, who
earnt silver in the 10km event at
the World University Cross
Country Championships in
Canada.
Sophie Barker came fifth in the
Melbourne Marathon’s 10km.
Melbourne Leader October 18, 2010
33
ED: MEPUB: MEV DATE: 22/7/09
The Melbourne University men’s cycling team won gold at the Australian University Games in Perth after losing the crown last year following a six-year champions patch.
THE Victorian Turf Cricket
Association was hoping for blue
skies and sun on Saturday, after
its season’s first round was
cancelled due to wet weather and
unprepared grounds. In senior
division, Royal Park-Brunswick
was due to meet St Bernard’s in at
Murphy Oval on Saturday and
Sunday, with the result
unavailable at deadline. In south
division, Youlden-Parkville was
due to meet Chelsea. Round 2
matches will continue this
weekend.
PAGE: 33 COLOUR: CMYK
Carlton wins twice