The Men’s Badminton 1sts advanced to the second round of the BUCS Northern Conference cup after thrashing the University of Cumbria 1sts 8 – 0 at Foster Sports Centre on Wednesday.

UCLan never really looked in any trouble against a side who were ranked three leagues below the home side. However, in the previous week this same Cumbria side had beaten UCLan 2^nds 5 – 3 so the 1sts knew that revenge would be sweet.

Singles players Graham Hollingsworth and James Pickard had given the home side early confidence winning both their matches in straight games.

Pickard was playing for the first time this season and he looked like he had never been away, winning 21 – 15, 21 – 12 in his first match and bettering that result prevailing 21 – 12, 21 – 9 in his second. Hollingsworth was his normal, dominant self winning to 17 and 16 in his first and to 13 and 9 in his final match.

The doubles encounters were of a similar outcome. Adam Spence and Mike Hubbard beat the Cumbria second pairing 21 – 10, 21 – 12, whilst UCLan’s other pairing of Adam Rowan and Jamie Allen won 21 – 11, 21 – 12.

As the matches were reversed, both the UCLan pairings convincingly won in straight games. Spence and Hubbard won 21 – 14 in their first game and then gave the Cumbria pair a hammering in the second winning 21 – 5. Rowan and Allen’s second match was slightly tougher, but proved only a minor scare as the UCLan pair won 21 – 16, 21 – 14.

UCLan had not dropped a single game throughout the match and after being on the wrong end of an 8 – 0 white wash last week, they had returned the favour this time out. The result meant UCLan men’s 1sts progressed to round two of the cup- where they will meet the University of Manchester 2nds.

After the match, veteran of the team, Graham Hollingsworth was impressed with the teams’ performance:

“We were literally on fire!” he said.

On a more down to earth note, Captain Adam Spence was pleased with the win:

“It’s good to be back on winning ways after a bad result last week”

UCLan 1sts now turn their attention back to the league, as they travel to Manchester on Wednesday to take on one of the strongest sides in the league Manchester University 1sts.

By Jamie Allen

It was a harsh lesson for UCLan Men’s Badminton 1sts after they were convincingly beaten 8 – 0 by a strong Bangor side in North Wales.

Prior to the match, UCLan knew it would be a tough encounter and it proved to be as Bangor are the reigning champions of the Northern Conference Division 2A.

Bangor’s star-studded team includes a veteran of the Chinese national set-up over the past five years. In addition to this, Bangor’s line-up also includes a member of the Welsh national side.

The singles pairing of Eddy Xuan Lu and Bob Li were both beaten in straight games. Bob Li was making his debut for the 1^st team after stepping up from the 2nds.

Bangor took control of the match with the second singles pairing easing to victory to give the home side a 4-0 advantage after the round of singles.

The doubles games were much closer affairs. UCLan partnership Adam Rowan and Jamie Allen raced into the lead, winning the first game of their match 21 – 15.

With a 20 – 18 lead in the second game, Rowan and Allen stood on the verge of opening the away side’s account, but succumbed to a 22 – 20 defeat, before losing the final game 21 – 19.

The second match was much more comfortable for the number one Bangor pairing, winning 21 – 13, 21 – 12.

In the other UCLan doubles pairing, captain Adam Spence was playing alongside 21 year-old new recruit Mike Hubbard. There was a similar outcome for UCLan as they fell to defeat by 26 – 24, 12 – 21, 21 – 14.

They could provide precious little resistance in their second encounter as the confident Bangor pairing romped to a further win, taking both games 21 – 17, 21- 14.

Despite the comprehensive 8-0 defeat, UCLan can take heart from some close games.

Following the match, captain Spence admitted: “It was a tough game against last year’s winners, but we can take some positives from the loss.”

Once again, the UCLan team had to be re-shuffled due to absentees, but Spence was pleased with the new players input:

“It was a good effort by the new men Mike and Bob Li.”

UCLan have a chance to bounce back with a cup tie next week as Cumbria 1sts pay a visit to Foster Sports Centre.

By Jamie Allen

Badminton men’s 1sts got off to a perfect start after a 5-3 win over a travelling Manchester University 2nd team in the opening game of the new season.

With the Badminton team featuring a fairly new set of players this year, due to many of lasts year’s competitors moving on, this made victory even more impressive.

Graham Hollingsworth and debutant Martin Hepworth gave UCLan a steady start, both winning a singles match each, with Hepworth managing to come from a game down to win in three in his final match. Manchester’s number one singles player however was impressive, winning both his matches to level the tie up at 2-2.

Doubles partnership Jamie Allen and Adam Rowan won both of their encounters, scraping through 21–19 in the final game of their last match, with the wins helping put UCLan in the driving seat.

Captain Adam Spence, playing alongside newcomer Eddy Lu Xuan Ya, were involved in two hard fought doubles matches. The first match went the way of Manchester but the UCLan pairing, who had only played together once prior to the game, battled through their last match winning 21–19 in the final game.

These last round of matches won by the UCLan team proved pivotal in the winning 5 – 3 result.

After the match, a tired Spence said: “It was a tough opening game to the season, but we pulled through in the end.”

Spence is now left with a selection headache ahead of the next match, after two good performances from the debutants.  Singles player James Pickard, who earlier withdrew from the team due to illness, is set to return for next week’s match but it will be a tall order to replace a winning team.

Spence stated: “It’s a good start to the season for us especially after back to back losses at the end of last season.”

UCLan Men’s Badminton 1sts will be hoping they can continue their good work when they take the tough trip to Banger on Wednesday.

By Jamie Allen

UCLan 6-2 Lancaster

UCLan Women’s Badminton team recorded their first win as league champions after beating Lancaster 1sts 6-2 at Foster Sports Centre.

The result leaves UCLan with a 100% record in the league this season, the equivalent of ten games, as they prepare for next week’s BUCS Cup final.

UCLan took an early advantage in the tie when Claire Reynolds and Becky White cruised past their opponents 21-3, 21-10 and 21-4, 21-5, respectively.

Doubles pairing Makayla Holmes and Marina Tsujino then overcame stern opposition 21-13, 21-11 to leave the home side 3-0 up.

Before the seconds doubles team of Hannah Pedley and Christina Montgomery were unfortunate to lose 18 -21, 21-16, 21-18, to spirited opponents in their opening match.

Lancaster forced a potential comeback when Reynolds was beaten by White’s opponent from the first game: 20-22, 18-21, to make the score 3-2.

The latter then steadied the ship though with a dominant performance to win 21-5, 21-3 before Pedley and Montgomery recorded a solid 21-17, 21-15 victory in the doubles.

Holmes and Tsujino then made a strong comeback in the final game to win 19-21, 21-14, 21-11 to ensure the team maintained their perfect record in the league this season.

After the match, Captain Makayla Holmes said: “I’m glad we still have our 100% record. We could have let it drop but we didn’t, and we kept up the same effort that we have put in all year.”

By Ed Bretherton

UCLan 6-2 Manchester Met

UCLan Women’s Badminton team secured the league title and maintained their 100% record with a comfortable 6-2 victory over Manchester Metropolitan University.

The team had won all seven of their league matches in the run-up to the game building a formidable lead at the top of the league in addition to success in the BUCs cup.

UCLan had already beaten Manchester Met 5-3 earlier in the season and were confident of a similar result when the visitors had to forfeit two singles games due to lack of players giving the hosts a 2-0 lead before the match had even started.

When the match started, it was business as usual for UCLan as Claire Reynolds defeated her singles opponent 21-17, 21-7.

The doubles team of Hannah Pedley and Christina Montgomery soon added to the lead after triumphing in a three-set match 21-18, 17-21, 21-10.

The second doubles pairing of Captain Makayla Holmes and Marina Tsujino then lost out to their opponents 17-21, 21-19, 18-21, with the UCLan captain showing her frustration and desire to win on several occassions.

Becky White extended the UCLan lead further with an emphatic singles win 21-4, 21-8 after Holmes and Tsujino sealed the match and the league with their 21-5, 21-3 doubles win.

Unfortunately Pedley and Montgomery lost against their second opponents 18-21, 10-21, but it didn’t matter as UCLan kept their perfect record in what has been a tremendous season for the team.

After the match delighted captain Makayla Holmes said: “It was an amazing team performance.”

By Andrew Bunting

UCLan's Becky White, part of the Women's Badminton team enjoying a successful season.

UCLan 5-3 Keele

Unbeaten UCLan women’s Badminton have reached the final of the BUCS Cup, after a close 5-3 encounter over opponents Keele University 1sts.

An upbeat and confident UCLan side had their sights firmly set on a place in the finals.  An impressive year has seen them go unbeaten, and they currently occupy top spot in the league table.

Opponents Keele, who currently lie second, had previously lost their last encounter against UCLan.  Going down 7-1 in a dominant victory which gave the home side every reason to be confident heading into the tie.

Their spirits were boosted even more before a shuttle had even been hit.  A lack of players for Keele automatically forfeited two games to UCLan, giving greater reassurance to the team.

Once the tie got underway it was UCLan and Becky White who took the first game.  White dispatched Keele’s only singles player comfortably 21-9, 21-13 to move UCLan into a strong 3-0 lead, and firmly throw the tie in their favour.

The pairing of Makayla Holmes and Marina Tsujino then made it 4-0 by the half way stage.  Their 21-12, 21-5 win and all but seemingly assured UCLan victory and a place in next months final.

Keele’s second pairing had other ideas and took UCLan’s Hannah Pedley and Christina Montgomery to a third and final set.  It eventually ended 21-19, 10-21, 10-21 to give Keele some much needed hope.

Claire Reynolds suffered defeat in both her sets 9-21, 15-21 losing her singles match as Keele kept the pressure on the hosts.

The pairing of Holmes and Tsujino were then defeated by Keele’s formidable partnership.  Losing 18-21 in a close first set before being outclassed in the second 9-21 to setup a dramatic finale.

The final game saw a terrific performance from both Pedley and Montgomery, as after losing the first set 19-21, they came back to claim the second 21-13 and force a third and final set.  A close and tense set ensued but it was the UCLan side which proved stronger winning 21-19 to win the tie 5-3 and book a place in the final.

Captain Holmes said of the game, “I’m ecstatic. It was a great performance and we’re happy that we’ve progressed to the finals. We’ve got a great chance and certainly we’re on the right track to success.”

UCLan will face either Sheffield Hallam 1sts or Northumbria 1sts in the final which is due to take place on the 24^th March.

By Stefan Mackley

UCLan 4-4 Salford

UCLan Men’s Badminton second team battled to a 4-4 draw against high-flyers Salford at Foster Sports Centre on Wednesday.

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A place in the semi-finals of the BUCs Cup awaits UCLan Women’s Badminton team after a close 5-3 victory over Lancaster 1sts.

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UCLan Women’s 1sts 7-1 Liverpool Hope 1sts

UCLan Men’s 1sts 3-5 Manchester 2nds

There were mixed results for UCLan Badminton as the Women’s 1^st team continued their perfect season with a 7-1 victory over Liverpool Hope while the Men’s 1^st team were defeated 5-3 by Manchester.

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UCLan 8-0 Northumbria

AN 8-0 victory over Northumbria 2nds saw UCLan’s Women Badminton team go through to the semi-finals of the BUCS Cup, ensuring they remain unbeaten so far this season.

The first round of single matches saw Becky White and Claire Reynolds ensure UCLan took the early initiative as both secured wins; White 21-8, 21-5 and Reynolds 21-2, 21-5.

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