Nottingham and UWE claim University Cup titles

The University of the West of England (UWE) and the University of Nottingham retained the men’s and women’s university cup titles respectively in Nottingham yesterday.

The UWE team, which includes World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy successfully defended their title for the fourth year in a row following a final showdown against a dominant University of Birmingham team. At two-all, it was UWE’s James Peach who sealed the title with a 3-1 victory.

UWE team captain Roshan Bharos said:

“Winning the men’s title for the fourth year in a row feels incredible. This year, we managed winning the league and cup without any of our top players playing. This shows that with a bit of fortune, incredible effort and team spirit a lot can be achieved.”

The women’s championship final saw Edinburgh University attempting to dethrone three-time champions the University of Nottingham. Nottingham stormed into a 3-0 lead with victories for Josie Barker, Hana Ramadan and Libby Corke. Edinburgh mounted a comeback to claim the fourth but it was short-lived when Nottingham's Coline Aumard, ranked 34 in the world took to the court to win the fifth in straight games.

Richard O’Connor, Head of Squash at Nottingham University said:

“The team is so committed to training, a lot of sessions per week with things they’re constantly working on. Some of them are seasoned professionals and some just live a very professional squash life. But that’s what it’s like with them; they work hard because they know they have to, to stay where they are.”