UNSW Elite Athlete Round Up - July

While Term 2 ramps up with assignments and assessments due, our athletes are balancing their study load with the rigours of high performance sport. 

RUGBY & RUGBY 7s
Our athletes at Randwick Rugby aren't having the easiest of seasons - currently sitting at ninth on the ladder after only five wins from 13 games. However Nick Wilkinson continues to be a shining light as club captain. Ned Hanigan was unlucky to miss out on a place in the first Wallabies squad of the year, however he is still in the mix for the Rugby World Cup to be held in Japan from September to November this year. Young gun and Ben Lexcen scholarship holder Triston Reilly was part of the Australian Under 20s squad who went down by just one point to France in the final to come away with the silver medal at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Meanwhile Henry Hutchison and the Australian Men's Rugby 7s team are preparing for the Olympic Oceania qualifiers to be held in Fiji this November.

WATER POLO
UNSW student Angus Lambie is currently competing with the UniRoos at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Napoli, Italy. It's been a tough start for the Australians who finished fourth in their group during the preliminary rounds and now face a tough quarter final against Russia. Meanwhile six members of the UNSW Wests Water Polo club have been named in the Australian teams to contest the upcoming FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Ben Lexcen scholar Amy Ridge and 2016 Olympian Lea Yanitsas were named in the Aussie Stingers, while Richard Campbell, Joel Dennerley, Andrew Ford and Nathan Power were named in the Aussie Sharks. 

HOCKEY
Ben Lexcen scholar Tim Brand was part of the Kookaburras squad who became the first ever men’s winners of the FIH Pro League, defeating world champions Belgium 3-2 in a breathtaking final on Sunday 30 June in front of a sell-out crowd at Amsterdam’s Wagener Stadium. As well as winning the FIH Pro League, Australia have reclaimed their place at the top of the FIH World Rankings. 

NETBALL
UNSW Law and Psychology student and Ben Lexcen scholar Matilda McDonell recently took part in the Australian Netball League (ANL) finals in Melbourne. Despite the best efforts of McDonell and her Canberra Giants team, they unfortunately lost their semi-final to the Victorian Fury and the third place play-off to the Tasmanian Magpies to finish fourth. It has been an exceptional season for McDonell, who is also a member of the Giants Netball team in the Suncorp Super Netball, which resumes on 27 July following a break for the World Cup. Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice student Olivia Coleman has been training with the NSW Waratahs ANL squad as a shadow player, while also playing with the Eastwood Ryde Hawks in the Samsung NSW Premier League. The Hawks are currently sitting on top of the ladder after five rounds.

AFL
Rebecca Beeson has been a welcome addition to the Hawthorn squad after missing the first two rounds. Her team has steadily crept up the ladder into sixth place and will be hoping for a big win over 11th placed Carlton this weekend.

ATHLETICS
2019 Blues award winner Georgia Winkcup has added to her incredible season with a silver medal and a 35 second personal best time in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville last month. Winkcup ran the event in 9:46.51, just 0.1 second behind the winner.

TABLE TENNIS
Edward Belokopytov started his 2019 Summer Universiade campaign well beating Estonia's Toomas Vestli 3-2, but unfortunately wasn't able to qualify for the Round of 16 in the singles or doubles.

SAILING
Our UNSW sailors are in full swing over in Napoli for the 2019 Summer Universiade. They have been sailing strongly so far and will look to retain their title in the final to be held on Friday 12 July.