For LUSL Fest 2024, teams from London-based universities descended on the Royal Holloway Sport Centre; among the finalists were five Royal Holloway teams, facing opponents in football, basketball, ultimate frisbee and tennis.
Tennis
Our Mixed Tennis Competitive 2s team faced UCL Mixed Competitive 1s for the First Division Cup. The team consisted of Harrison Clinton, Tisa Mokhtari, Antoinette Chastang, Arda Abay and Jan Sullivan. Royal Holloway won the first two doubles, and despite a couple of defeats, Abay’s singles win sealed the overall victory 3-2 to cap a successful season for the Tennis club.
Men’s Football
Royal Holloway Men’s Intermediate 3s hosted UCL Men’s Intermediate 6s in the LUSL Football Plate Final. The Bears took the lead through Craig Jules, the lead was doubled through captain Rob Mackintosh. UCL never got going and were put away by a goal from Vlad Aykaev. Having seen out a smooth 3-0 win, the team collected their well-earned medals and trophy down at the Sports Centre – the third title picked up by the Men’s Football club this year.
Ultimate Frisbee
The Mixed Ultimate 1s faced a strong Imperial Competitive 1s team in blustering conditions. Imperial took a commanding lead into the half-time break; Inspired by captain and coach Charlie Kerr, Holloway rallied to fight back in the second half; but it wasn’t quite enough.Regardless, it has been an excellent year for the club, which included a memorable first ever attendance at a national tournament.
Women’s Football
The best attended fixture of the whole of LUSL Fest saw our Royal Holloway Women’s 1s take on King’s College 1. The Bears conceded early in the second half, but Holloway responded with a goal from Giulia Livi. The whistle blew at 90 minutes with the score at 1-1, after extra time, the score remained level and a penalty shootout followed. Emma McClement saved two penalties, and successful penalties from Giulia Livi, Andrea Leonidas, Katie Moule-Bettell and Captain Emma Green secured victory for Royal Holloway.
Basketball
The final Royal Holloway fixture of the day took place in the Sports Hall, as the Women’s Intermediate 1s challenged Imperial 1s for the LUSL Women’s Basketball Cup. A couple of phenomenal individual moments breathed new life into the Holloway team in the third and fourth quarters. Successful free throws from Zeynep Koca spurred the Bears into taking the lead, and victory was clinched with the final score of 46-31.
Photography from LUSL Fest is available in the Royal Holloway Sport Flickr album and BUCS Flickr album.