Tokyo 2020: Opening weekend wrap
What a whirlwind of a first weekend! There was plenty of action in the pool and on the fields for our UNSW students, alumni and club members.
Published on the 26 July 2021
In case you missed any of it, let's take a quick trip around the grounds and update you on how they all went.
It all kicked off with Bachelor of Commerce / Science student Gianni Stensness, who is representing New Zealand's OlyWhites, taking on the Republic of Korea last Thursday and Honduras on Sunday. They began with a 1-0 over Korea, with Gianni playing all 90 minutes of the match. They fought hard against Honduras on Sunday, going into half-time at 1-1 but unfortunately missed out on the win, going down 2-3. Their next match is against Romania at 6:30pm AEST on Wednesday 28 July.
Our men's hockey stars got us started on Saturday, with Tim Brand (Bachelor of Actuarial Studies / Commerce) and Dylan Martin (Bachelor of Construction Management & Property) representing the Kookaburras in their 5-3 win over Japan. Australia got off to a flying start, with a goal to Tim Brand in the first quarter, but Japan pulled ahead to take the lead going into half-time. The Kookaburras rallied and kept Japan scoreless in the second half to finish with the win. They had it a little easier in their second game on Sunday against India, which they won 7-1, with Tim scoring again. Their next game will be on Tuesday against Argentina at 10:30am AEST.
On Saturday afternoon water polo's Aussie Stingers had their first match, featuring Amy Ridge (Bachelor of Arts / Law) and UNSW-Wests Water Polo club members Lea Yanitsas and Bronte Halligan. Lea in goal keeper had an excellent game, pulling off numerous stunning saves, while Bronte got into the action scoring three goals in Australia's 8-5 win over Canada. They play again this evening (Monday) against the Netherlands at 7:20pm AEST.
Our men's water polo players took to the pool on Sunday afternoon against Montenegro, in a Sharks team that included Tim Putt (Bachelor of Arts/Commerce), Nathan Power (Master of Commerce) playing with the Sharks, alongside alumni Aaron Younger (Master of Business Administration) and Andrew Ford (Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering) and UNSW-Wests Water Polo club members Richie Campbell, Joel Dennerley and assistant coach Tim Hamill. Australia had a brilliant first half, but unfortunately their 10 goals, including three from Richie, two from Aaron and one from Tim, weren't enough to get them over the line, going down 10-15. They will look to bounce back against Croatia on Tuesday at 8:50pm AEST.
This morning our Rugby 7s boys started their Olympic campaign, unfortunately not with a win - Argentina came out on top 19-29. They will play the Republic of Korea this evening (Monday) at 7pm AEST.