Women’s touch team wins gold at university nationals
An Avondale touch football team has exceeded expectations to win gold at the Australian University Games for a second consecutive year.
With less than six weeks and five new players to train, the women’s team finished division two pool play in third place. But a semifinal win over Bond University led to a gold medal final against The University of Melbourne, where the Eagles prevailed 4-3. The result in Sydney betters that at the Eastern University Games in Newcastle in July, where the team finished eighth.
It is even more impressive when you consider the team’s other struggles. “We lost a team member just three days before the games, and we were already down a few subs,” says Alyse Hunter, the off-field captain. “We knew we’d be playing experienced teams, while we had much less experience.”
The primary factor that contributed to the team’s success: support. “A team that works for each other can be an unstoppable force,” says Alyse. “The support we received from the men’s team, from other games team members, from students and from family members helped to push us over the line.”
The result surprised Monique Rippingale. “At first, I didn’t mind if we just won a few games. But by Tuesday, we were on track for the semis. The team was pretty stunned.”
On-field captain Amia Spero attributes the win to the friendship that developed between team members. “We played for each other whether we won or lost.”
The men’s team qualified for the division one competition this year by winning the division two competition this past year. But their form, and morale, suffered with a seventh place finish. Avondale also entered teams in basketball, futsal and Twenty20 cricket.
The gold medal qualifies the women’s touch football team for the division one competition next year.
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