RHUL BEARS Basketball

Lady Bears secure BUCS placement

2011-02-07T11:50:00.001Z

By Jo Svensson.
It would all come down to the final game of BUCS League 1A: what would RHUL Lady Bears Basketball’s fate be this season? The possible outcomes ranged from relegation playoff to promotion playoff for Premiership this Wednesday. Sussex beat the ladies last term with 10+ points and our Royal Holloway players were starving for revenge. As the Little Red Riding Hood came to the Big Bad Wolf, RHUL welcomed Sussex to Nobles for the very last BUCS fixture this season. After 40 minutes of munching, Sussex was defeated 42-33.
Royal Holloway could hardly ask for a better opening of the game. Kristine Flyvholm and Levke Rickmers brought the team to a 7-0 lead within the first four minutes and the game looked promising. After a cautious first quarter, the score stood 11-8 to the home team. The second quarter looked very much like the first, and Holloway struggled to score on a static Sussex defence. Jocelyn spotted up on the three-point line and Alice Couten began her scoring to bring the half-time score to 24-20. Both Head Coach Natasha Green and her players knew they could perform so much better than the first twenty minutes had shown.
So, third quarter, and the ladies had really worked up an appetite. They devoured Sussex with 13-0 in the scope of barely five minutes and got themselves a comfortable 11-point lead after strong hustling from Iv Christova under the basket. Shanty Cheung found empty space in the fast-breaks and Holloway could run from a successively slower Sussex who could not quite keep up with the quick Bears. Going into the fourth quarter – the last ten minutes of BUCS – the red figures on the wall showed 38-27 to our ladies.
What happened in this final part of the game probably puzzles anyone who had come to watch. Perhaps the ladies had started to digest their victory a bit too early, but the basket seemed impossible to reach and RHUL only managed to put in 4 points. Luckily, Sussex’s shooter failed in their attempt and stayed on a feeble 6.
Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 15, Shanty Cheung 11, Jocelyn Lau 9, Levke Rickmers 6, Alice Couten 6, Iv Christova 4
With 42-33, Royal Holloway Lady Bears finish on 21 points and second place in BUCS South-Easter Conference 1A. University of Kent placed top with 24 points after UCL kindly gave them a walkover, thereby automatically giving Kent the win. Both Kent and Royal Holloway were promoted from 2A last year.

UCL’s ’mission impossible’ accomplished

2011-02-07T11:49:00.002Z

By Jo Svensson.
The rivalry has been an epic tale of bloodshed and prestige over the past years. UCL versus Royal Holloway always makes the blood rush a bit quicker, a bit hotter through the veins. This time was no different as RHUL Lady Bears travelled to London in the early hours of the Sunday morning to play UCL in the first game of the ULU Cup. Unfortunately, the ladies were not able to defend their title from last year – won in the final against just UCL – and found themselves defeated, for the first time in two years (!) with 43-48.
The game had been postponed from last term, cancelled, and then postponed again. Finally, UCL had Holloway come in for 10am tip-off at Somerset Sports Centre. The ULU Cup round one and a repeat of last year’s final where RHUL came out on top to secure the title. Previously, UCL has never been in the lead even in a game between the archrivals (perhaps there was that one time where they had a minute of glory one point ahead), so when the first quarter finished 10-9 to the home team, the ladies looked perplexed. What was happening? At half-time, after a step-up from the Bears in the second quarter, the score stood 20-19 to UCL.
So it was time for the infamous third quarter. Time and time again this year have games wavered, and even fallen apart, in just this stage of the game. Accordingly, there seemed to be a lid on the left-hand side basket in Euston. The ladies moved perfectly in offence, swinging the ball and forcing the daring UCL defence to move. Trouble is, if you can’t make the easy chances generated by the excellent offence, the score will stand still. There are no comfort points. The crucial moment in the game was when RHUL missed four straight stupidly easy scoring opportunities, thereby losing eight points in their favour. Instead of going into the fourth quarter with one point up on UCL, the score was 35-28 and Holloway had to fight.
And fight they did. Jocelyn Lau and Kristine Flyvholm found the basket from the perimeter and scored 9-0 on a shocked UCL. The awakening came a little too late, however, and time was not on the ladies’ side. With a final score of 48-43 for the home team, the Bears are now out of the ULU Cup and will have to focus on the ULU League where they remain undefeated.
UCL will now most likely face Imperial College or King’s College in the next round; two teams they’ve lost to previously this season. In the BUCS League 1A, UCL finished in fifth place out of six teams and will therefore be shoved back into 2A for next season. That’s too bad for them.
Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 18, Alice Couten 9, Jocelyn Lau 6, Iv Christova 4, Shanty Cheung 4, Levke Rickmers 1

Bears de-crown Kings in ULU League

2011-01-23T21:09:00.008Z

By Jo Svensson

The RHUL Lady Bears storm on undefeated in ULU League Premier Division. This Sunday had the girls face top of the league Kings College London, also without losses and with an impressive record against teams such as UCL and Imperial College, equally strong opponents. Royal Holloway welcomed Kings to Nobles this afternoon and, after a tough battle on court, conquered the only other unbeaten team in the league with a final score of 59-51.

It had been a long weekend for the Bears, with two training sessions Friday and Alumni Sports Day on Saturday, and most of the girls felt rather beat already on entering the sports hall on Sunday. However, they knew what the task in front of them would entail. Kings College London (KCL) was undefeated in ULU League and boasted extraordinary results against accomplished teams. It would be a tough one. But the RHUL ladies had no fear in face of this difficult mission and went ruthlessly into the game, still high on the thrill from Wednesday’s UCL win.

KCL struggled in the beginning of the game and Holloway could speed ahead up to 16-8 after the first quarter. Jocelyn Lau sported her infamous three-point shot and Vicky Bright served the on-lookers a hot one herself. On the opposite side, KCL could not quite break through the tight defence from RHUL and relied on perimeter shooters to score the points. This would prove more efficient in the subsequent quarters.

Second quarter and Jocelyn Lau was on it again. After two quick baskets by KCL, Lau spotted up and brought the ladies back to a 7-point lead. Much because of a solid collaboration between Alice Couten and Kristine Flyvholm, the Bears swung the ball around to find golden opportunities to score. However, KCL penetrated the RHUL defence and were fouled under the baskets after poor rebounding from the home team, and were consequently sent to the free-throw line repeatedly. After the weakest quarter in the game, the teams went to half-time pause with a score of 30-25.

Defensively, the third quarter must be regarded a success. KCL looked tired and only managed to score four times in the ten minutes, whereas Holloway forced them to move in defence by passing the ball around and utilising the plays at hand. Levke Rickmers scored more or less on the buzzer after a fantastic offence and brought Holloway to 41-34 to the fourth quarter.

Not even the volleyball players who had come in to watch the last ten minutes of the game before their training could avoid noticing the thrill in the air. KCL scored six straight points in the first five minutes and suddenly the lead was down to a mere three points. Out of the blue came the shortest KCL player, anonymous until this point, and hit two threes in a row, leaving everyone – including her own team I’d say – in shock. Coach Natasha Green took a strategic time-out with three minutes left and the ladies went back in, fully focused. KCL tried a full-court press which only resulted in three of their players on five fouls not much else. An important three-point shot from Kristine Flyvholm and a crucial free-throw made by Candice Moses later, the game was handed into Holloway hands at 59-51.

Kings went home, no longer undefeated in the ULU League, and Royal Holloway Lady Bears continue their winning streak of 2011.

Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 22, Alice Couten 15, Jocelyn Lau 9, Vicky Bright 5, Levke Rickmers 4, Shanty Cheung 3, Candice Moses 1 (Luisa Miranda, Tracey Ruenes, Rex Ng)

UCL bites the dust (again)

2011-01-20T21:21:00.005Z

by Jo Svensson

The chant 'UC-What?' has become integral to our RHUL Lady Bears players as archrivals UCL once again stood opponents, this time in an all-important game for BUCS 1A. It has become something of standard procedure for the ladies to beat UCL, home or away of no importance. This time proved no different as Holloway took charge from the very beginning of the game, and achieved a final result of 60-66.

Jocelyn Lau set the tone for the game straight away with a three-pointer in the very first minute. It would take until the fifth minute for RHUL to score again and UCL could get ahead to 5-3. After that, however, the first quarter was a Holloway performance and it seemed as though the UCL players took a little break. Jocelyn Lau, Kristine Flyvholm and Alice Couten brought the ladies up to a four-point lead after the first quarter, but the game was far from over and done.

From their long and ugly history, the Bears knew UCL's sneaky ways of wriggling their way back, and thanks to solid free-throw shooting, so was the case this time. Still ahead in half-time, 27-32, the game remained an undecided business and coach Tasha Green warned the ladies before the third quarter: statistically, and consistently, the weakest throughout the season. This is the point where games have been lost in the past. But not this time. The ladies took Green's words with them on court and simply did not allow UCL to score. It took four minutes before the opposition found the basket and would another three before the next time. A fantastic team defence from RHUL kept UCL away and stopped their baseline hugging in search for points. 6 - 18 in the ten minutes placed the Bears 19 points ahead.

Was the game over? Not so fast: it's UCL after all. With legs getting increasingly heavier, RHUL struggled to keep up with the quick passings and allowed an evidently slower UCL to score easy points. A time-out later, this weakness was fixed and the opponents had to rely on perimeter shooters instead. Unfortunately, everyone can have a lucky day. Two straight three-pointers, and the difference had gone down to 11 points, and further down to seven. A final free-throw set the score and Royal Holloway, once again, stood victorious.

RHUL Lady Bears have one game left in BUCS 1A: Wednesday vs Sussex.

Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 20, Alice Couten 13, Jocelyn Lau 10, Levke Rickmers 6, Iv Christova 5, Shanty Cheung 5, Candice Moses 4, Vicky Bright 3

The Founder interview with Captain Ian Jeffery and President Nick Heff

2010-11-29T23:00:00.003Z

Men's publicist Alfred Tan digs into the history and motivations of basketball's Ian Jeffery and Nick Heff in a revealing interview for Royal Holloway's independent newspaper The Founder.

Click the link and read about the season so far, what it's like having an ex-NBA player as coach and why RHUL students should come watch the Bears play:

The Founder interview!

RHUL vs UCL

2010-11-12T00:08:00.003Z

By Jo Svensson

After Sunday's crushing of UCL 2nds, Royal Holloway Lady Bears surely expected a vengeful 1st team to come to Nobles on Wednesday. As if our ladies needed any extra spark! UCL and Royal Holloway enjoy a long history of rivalry and given last season's five (!) defeats, Lady Bears had no plans on breaking their winning streak. Today was just another day. Final score: 71-65 to Holloway and, yet again, the voices echoed as UCL left Nobles with gloomy faces: "UC-WHAT?"

What a start of the game! As UCL were occupied missing free-throws, RHUL's Shanty Cheung and Alice Couten had the time of their life, scoring Holloway up to a 16-7 lead with help from Jocelyn Lau and Levke Rickmers. It was evident that UCL had lost many players from the previous season and found it difficult to merge together and play as a team. Which Royal Holloway did not mind; not at all. The second quarter proved more troublesome. Some misses in defence and a zone defence which needs to be worked on, RHUL fouled and fouled again and UCL shot themselves up to 31-27, still leaving Holloway in the lead.

Second half. The Ladies walked out of the changing rooms and looked -tired. This tiredness translated onto court and UCL took advantage, as you would expect, and a sloppy defence from Holloway led them once more repeatedly to the free-throw line to score. A number of unchallenged shots and the score was 48-46. The game promised a thrilling ending. "I'm going to have a heart attack if we continue like this," said coach Green afterwards. Quite understandable. With no more than 3 minutes left, the score was 65-63 to RHUL after a 3-pointed by a wide open UCL player. An impressive 6/8 free-throws made by Kristine Flyvholm, Jocelyn Lau and Alice Couten in the last minutes kept UCL at the distance of 6 points and determined the final result. Yet another excellent effort by Iv Hrstova, who had to step in as a core component of the zone defence when Levke Rickmers and Alice Couten both found themselves on four fouls.

Final score: 71-65 and RHUL Lady Bears are STILL undefeated in BUCS League 1A!

Scorers: Alice Couten 18, Shanty Cheung 17, Jocelyn Lau 16, Kristine Flyvholm 12, Luisa Miranda 2, Vicky Bright 1

RHUL Lady Bears remain undefeated in BUCS

2010-11-11T23:40:00.003Z

By Jo Svensson

Last Wednesday saw one of the most hyped up games of the season when RHUL Bears welcomed University of Kent to Nobles. Many were the memories from last season's first, and only, defeat in BUCS for the Lady Bears when the last game of autumn term was played at Holloway against just Kent. That game was lost in the last five seconds of the game and for a while it looked as though Kent were to repeat history. However, with 12 players fully determined not to grant them that lucky shot again, our ladies pulled it together to win by 59-58 in a game where a minute never has seemed longer than that final one.

Royal Holloway cut right to the chase and shocked Kent with two straight 3-pointers signed Kristine Flyvholm and Jocelyn Lau and continued to dominate the first quarter, much thanks to a tight defence. As a humble gesture, Kent, although repeatedly sent to the line, missed 5/8 free-throws and thereby landed RHUL a lead 20-13 after 10 minutes. Holloway's women struggled with the height disadvantage but fought bravely under the basket against Kent's post players.

In the second quarter, Kent stepped up their game and edged nearer RHUL on the scoreboard to a half-time score of 53-51. It was now RHUL's turn to miss free-throws and consequently Kent seized the opportunity to get back in the game. Half-time, coach Tasha Green led her team into the changing rooms to cool down, allow them to gather their heads and speak strategy for the second half. If possible, the ladies seemed even more shattered when stepping onto the court in the third quarter. Kent were allowed easy baskets and after a concluding 0-5 in the last 2 minutes, the fourth quarter began with, for the first time, Holloway lagging behind, 47-48.

And what a final quarter. Royal Holloway reclaimed the lead within the first four minutes with Alice Couten scoring 7 points and Iv Hrstova putting up a good fight in defence, leaving the score at 56-52 in the home team's favour. The game seemed in control of the paws of the Bears. Until Kent scored. And scored again. Suddenly it was 58-57 and evil memories from the previous season surely entered one or two old minds. Finally, however, with less than two minutes left, Kristine Flyvholm scored on a 3-point play and thereby left Royal Holloway winners.

Scorers: Alice Couten 22, Kristine Flyvholm 20, Levke Rickmers 6, Vicky Bright 4, Iv Hrstova 2, Jocelyn Lau 3, Shanty Cheung 2

RHUL Lady Bears vs UCL 2nds

2010-11-09T20:33:00.005Z

By Alfred Tan

As the opposing team UCL started their game with a battle chant of “UC-what?! UC-L!”, “UC-what?” was how it ended.

The central London university students proved to be no match for the home squad as they managed to only score 4 points in the first quarter compared to Holloway’s 18. The basketball match up ended at 77-32, in favour of our very own ladies on the hardwood.

Shanty Cheung ended the first quarter with a turn around fade away jumper at the buzzer. The game would then eventually proceed with Captain Alice Couten leading the pack of the femme fatales as they gave themselves continuous free looks to the basket spurring from the beautiful flow of their offense. Also noteworthy of mention were Grace Shaw and Louisa Miranda, who both combined to nail shot after shot stemming from the incompetence of UCL’s zone defence.

In the last quarter, UCL played with a mental note of desperation as they heaved 3 pointer after 3 pointers in the hopes of cutting down Royal Holloway’s massive lead. But this was to no avail and was most evident from the amusing antics of the opposing team’s coach during the game where all his efforts of a comeback where thwarted by the home team’s execution of their strategy.

What is most noticeable from this game is the vast improvement of the women’s team from last year. In this game, the ladies moved the ball around like seasoned veterans. A quick penetration here, quick kick out to the wing, capitalizing on picks, this indeed was quality basketball that the coach had wanted.

RHUL Men’s Basketball feeling Christmas-y.

2010-11-09T20:30:00.005Z

By Alfred Tan

As the festive season of Christmas looms near, the feeling is felt throughout campus. It is the season of giving they say, and give indeed, is what the Royal Holloway Bears did when they gave Goldsmiths University basketball team a trashing they would always remember.

The final score, 94-29 in favor of Royal Holloway, says everything. Throughout the match, Royal Holloway came out with guns-a-blazin’ as they seemed to connect on almost every shot attempt they did.

But the feeling was reciprocal, Goldsmiths felt like they had to return the favour, only in other aspects. Turnovers were abundant this game as the opposing team looked more like a netball team, immobile on the hardwood, giving way for Royal Holloway to capitalize on their mistakes. the Bears held Goldsmiths scoreless for at least 5 minutes every quarter as a reflection of the final tally.

Zippin’ and zaggin throughout the match, the game featured some highlights including numerous penetrations by Van Yao and a power move off a fast break from Captain Ian Jeffery.

Nick Heff gave everyone a shock start as he fell to the floor in the first few minutes writhing in pain from a ligament strain. He would eventually return like a soldier to his battlefield and proceed to deliver 4 long range bombs from beyond the arc, finishing with 20 points and 8 assists.

But the revelation this game was the prowess of rookie Billy Drakeley, the American exchange student flashed the crowd with his crafty ball handling. In one instance, he ran almost the full length of the court of a steal as he slips by the whole opposing team’s defence topped off by a finishing move that featured remarkable hang time. Drakeley came out as the leading scorer with 23 markers.

Interview: Kristine Flyvholm, Lady BEARS Basketball

2010-11-08T13:51:00.011Z

The Founder Volume 5 Issue 4 2010

RHUL Bears vs Portsmouth

2010-10-30T16:03:00.005+01:00

By Jo Svensson

Full of confidence after the crushing of Kingston University last week, the men welcomed Portsmouth to Egham for the second round of BUCS League. For once with a full squad, coach Bucknall expected a lot from his team.

No one in the sports hall could believe it, but Portsmouth put up a tough resistance and stormed their way through the game, forcing the Bears to hold back, turn over the ball and shoot from uncomfortable angles. Many sloppy mistakes such as stepping out of bounds and failed passes gave the opposition golden opportunities to score easy points. With only one 3-point shooter, Portsmouth somehow managed to take charge of the game and no one quite understood what was happening.

In the second half, however, Royal Holloway, stepped up and fought their way back to an even game. And what an ending! With 11 seconds left, Holloway under by 1 point, Portsmouth passed the ball out of bounds and thereby gave RHUL a last opportunity to turn the game around. With Bucknall's voice echoing in the hall, point guard Billy Drakeley took the ball and kept an eye on the ticking clock. Failing to find any open teammates, he simply took charge of the situation, attacked the basket and, with two inside players covering his shot, went up for a field goal with 2 seconds left - and made it. These final points left the score at 64-63 to Royal Holloway who did not conceal their happiness as the referees announced the game over. Other shining performances came from Romeo McDonald, who rebounded and gave easy points to Holloway, and Nick Heff who contributed with his usual safe 3-point shooting.

Lady Bears storm BUCS

2010-10-30T15:46:00.004+01:00

By Jo Svensson

The Lady Bears remain undefeated in BUCS League 1A after the first two rounds and also managed to beat last year's BUCS Cup finalists London School of Economics in the premiering ULU League fixture. Coach Tasha Green may be content with the winning record on paper, but still sees problem areas where improvement is needed in order to continue the current streak. "We should have won by a lot more against both LSE and Brunel," was Green's comment after this Wednesday's game.

The very first fixture took place on RHUL's homecourt with St Mary's as guests. St Mary's was one of the top 3 teams in 1A last year and expectations were high for this debuting game, very likely one of the toughest of the season. After the first quarter, St Mary's had managed 2 points - off freethrows - and Holloway had slipped in 23. The rest of the game is history and the final score was a crushing 75-22 and RHUL Lady Bears took their first win in BUCS.

The following weekend brought the start of ULU. Opponents were London School of Economics and RHUL travelled to London and Queensbridge to relive last year's premiere of ULU League where LSE could not put up any resistance to the Bears. Same story, different year. Although the Bears played a sloppy game with too many failed passes and a strained offence, LSE never really had a chance, despite great height advantage, and could win by 46-31. In the last quarter of the game, LSE tried a full-court press which, admittedly, surprised RHUL and consequently gave away some easy points, but the win was never threatened.

Another week and another BUCS fixture. Again, Brunel University did well in last year's 1A table and RHUL went to Brunel with this fact in mind. On top of this, the university's sports hall features the new NBA measured lines; meaning an extra 2ft to the top of the key. The change was noteable in the game where our usual 3-point canons Kristine Flyvholm and Jocelyn Lau experienced problems in both finding the actual line on court, and making their shots. It was an unnecessarily tight game as a consequence of the off-shooting and a weak rebounding by Holloway, who kept even steps with Brunel despite a total of 25 turnovers. In the last minutes, important threes by Alice Couten, Jocelyn Lau and a dramatic freethrow drama signed Kristine Flyvholm gave Royal Holloway 45-41 as the concluding signal finished the game. Defensively Iv Hristova and Jocelyn Lau did a great job and the returned Vicky Bright controlled the game as point guard successfully. Jocelyn Lau was voted Man of the Match.

Next fixture for the Lady Bears is Wednesday 3/11 at home vs University of Kent.

Friendly fixtures for Lady Bears

2010-10-30T15:33:00.005+01:00

By Jo Svensson

Prior to the thrilling debute of Royal Holloway Lady Bears in BUCS south-eastern conference 1A, the women warmed up with a friendly against Phoenicians. Although putting up a good fight, Holloway could not quite stand up to the experience as presented by the opposition, who played as though they had never not played with each other before. Also sporting a height advantage, Phoenicians used the weak rebounding from the Bears to score easy points.

On a brighter note, the ladies travelled to University of Oxford for yet another friendly; playing their first team from the Premiership league. Our girls went into the game unsure what to expect from the renowned opposition, and were rather surprised. The final score difference between the teams was +20 for RHUL who took a distinct step in the right direction and surely take away a zesty confidence boost from this game. In all fairness, Oxford was missing two of their key players, but fact remains Royal Holloway takes the win and went home with a positive feeling towards to BUCS premiering.

Defense wins it for the Bears.

2010-10-30T15:28:00.006+01:00

By Alfred Tan

In the match-up between Kingston University and Royal Holloway, the name of the game was defense.

Both teams went through deadlock after deadlock on the scoreboard as they both tried to get a feel into the game during the first half with the score ending at 15-15 at the end of the 1st quarter and with Royal Holloway only enjoying a slight lead by halftime at 33 compared to Kingston’s 30.

But that all changed in the second half, Royal Holloway would not relinquish their lead and started putting on the defensive pressure, forcing Kingston to go scoreless in the 1st 5 minutes of the ball game to the frustration of their players.

It was pretty evident as Kingston threw more air balls than they ever did the whole game during this span. And as Kingston was struggling, the same could not be said for the Bears, most notably for the beast in the post Romeo McDonald.

Romeo put on a gem of a performance, capitalizing on second chance points with his 7 offensive rebounds out of a total 13. His put back after put back got him a tally of 16 points this game. Nick Heff would also make his presence felt as he followed up his hot shooting streak last game with 4 bombs this time, from the top of the arc, whilst finishing with a game high of 25 points. Przemyslaw Niklasinski added to their woes with his consistent commandment of the opposing defense every time he touches the ball contributing 10 points .

The final tally ended at 70-49 in favour of our very own Bears as they doubled the number of points scored after half time with 37 markers off their 14 steals. Kingston only managed to score 19 after the break.

The game produced some exciting moments when frustration of their bad plays made one Kingston player confront the referee, which resulted to a delay of play. The knockout blow was finally dealt by rookie Billy Drakeley from America as he produced an ankle-breaking crossover and a defense shattering spin move in the waning seconds and converted an up and under penetration move to the basket before the buzzer sounded off, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Scorers: Nick Heff 25, Romeo McDonald 16, Przemyslaw Niklasinski 10, Can Cagieri 6, Seun Balogun 4, Stefano Marmo 4, Tim Markov 3, Billy Drakeley 1, Van Yao 1, Ian Jeffery, McGrady Zhang, Anton Demenok

RHUL Alumni Team Trounces the Bears 70-66

2010-10-21T08:25:00.006+01:00

By Alfred Tan

A 3 pointer! Oh and another one! And another one! Those were the impressions one would
have when they witnessed the game last Sunday, as the current Royal Holloway Bears
basketball team took on against the graduated team members of the same club.

The game was the first challenge the teams was faced up against before they start their league
campaign this week. The alumni squad had a significantly more scary team on paper as
almost every one on its roster were taller than most of the current Bears’ players. And indeed,
this proved to be true as the Bears were significantly out rebounded for 2nd chance points
especially with (#8 of the alumni) making life hard in the paint for their post players swatting
away shots and (#13 mani) creating a disadvantage in the wing as a sweet-shooting towering
presence for his position.

Spitfire Nick Heff took the team on his shoulders scoring half of the team’ s points on
some beautiful blitz plays. But perhaps, his best contributions were reserved in the first 3
quarters when he nailed a total of 6 3-pointers to close the gap in on the alumni. Erstwhile,
Ian and Rubie would be the consistent and reliable force behind the team as they knocked
down jumper after jumper every time they were given a good look to the basket. The trio
would then go on to combine for more than 50 out of their 66 points in this game which
includedsome impressive lay-ups that resulted in a couple of “ and 1s” to the benefit of the
team and their efforts.

The Bears had a couple of chances to grab the lead during the last 4 minutes of the final
quarter but all efforts ended up for naught as they fumbled most plays down the stretch
down by only as little as 2 points. This proved to be costly as former skipper Julian Bailes
took advantage of the opportunity and converted a dagger lay up in the waning seconds. The
alumni won 70-66, keeping their lead the entire game and not relinquishing it even once.

On Boot Camp

2010-10-20T12:00:00.003+01:00

The Founder Volume 5 Issue 3 October

3 on 3 Tournament

2010-10-12T22:53:00.001+01:00

By Levke Rickmers

This Sunday the Basketball Team held its annual 3 on 3-charity tournament in the sports hall. With the high interest and large number of people participating, twelve teams battled it out for the winning place. After much sweat and struggle, ten teams were beaten and in an exciting finale Dominic Hu, Jocelyn Lau, and Chris Douglas managed to secure the win.

As well as seeing some great basketball, the event allowed old and new players to come together, and we saw the return of many familiar faces. After three hours all participants met up at Monkeys Forehead for a well-deserved barbecue. The money collected will go towards “Right to Play”, an organization aimed at using sport as a tool in developing nations to bring forth development, health and peace.

Men lose against Surrey

2010-10-12T12:57:00.005+01:00

By Jo Svensson

The brand new men's team took on University of Surrey in their very first game of the season. Luckily, seeing as they lost 46-41, it was merely a friendly and with only 3 quarters played, the absent final quarter could very well have worked in Royal Holloway's favour.

After a first couple of training sessions this past week which left much to wish for, both coaches and players from the RHUL Men's team were curious to see how the new team would perform in a proper game situation. The opponents, University of Surrey, most likely equally eager to try out and explore their opportunities for this year, put up their 1st team on Sunday. The BEARS had a promising start and could edge ahead of the Surrey boys with 6-7 points in the first two quarters, keeping a solid grip of the game after good team work and a tight defence. As the third quarter presented itself however, legs became tired, minds flustered and the play broke down, leaving Surrey a chance of comeback. Chance taken and the BEARS fell behind and finished the 3rd quarter 5 points down.

President Nick Heff remained positive despite the loss: "I definitely see potential, and it was only the first game. Besides, who knows what could've happened in a fourth quarter?" It is also worth mentioning that University of Surrey play in BUCS league 2A - in other words, one division above our men in 3A.

Next up for the BEARS is another friendly, this Sunday against the Alumni team, where many well-known faces return to Royal Holloway for one day to challenge this generation of basketball.

Time: 6pm
Place: Nobles

Friendly fixtures

2010-10-06T11:24:00.004+01:00

As part of the preparation for the season 10/11, both the men and women's team have friendly fixtures to look forward to before their first official game. The games stand as follows:

Women

13 Oct RHUL vs Oxford (A)

17 Oct RHUL vs Alumni (H) - 4pm at Nobles

Men

10 Oct RHUL vs Surrey (A)

13 Oct RHUL vs Brunel (A)

BEARS on boot camp

2010-10-06T11:20:00.005+01:00

Only two weeks to go to the start of season and pre-season training is in full speed for the RHUL basketball teams. This weekend, the BEARS and the other Performance Package teams enjoyed two days of boot camp on Royal Holloway campus and Virginia Waters to improve their conditioning while given the opportunity for the old and new team members to bond. The weekend was finished with a barbeque in Stumble Inn as a reward for the teams’ effort.

After last year’s boot camp, the participating teams (foolishly) expressed the opinion that they “had thought it would be harder” and, naturally, the organisers took this reflection to heart when developing this year’s event. Starting bright and early Saturday morning with two hours conditioning –outdoors – the teams gathered to run, jump and do push-ups through sport specific training from the trained Strength and Conditioning coaches.

Following this first session, the teams had the chance to gather, together with their respective coaches, in a classroom session to go through goals and aims of the season. The RHUL Lady BEARS, recently promoted into BUCS top league 1A, recognised the tough task for the coming year and decided on a goal. Coach Tasha Green praised the girls for their effort in the first part of the weekend and talked about commitment and dedication as key factors for the success of the team.

Next on the schedule was a communal lecture where Sports Development Executive Mark Hyndman informed the five units of the Performance Package about their obligations, advantages and expectations based on statistics from the previous year. This talk was followed by Louis, Strength and Conditioning coach, teaching the athletes on nutrition and optimal muscular recovery among other useful elements of elite sports. If there was anyone in the room who thought (in our case) basketball would be a walk in the park, they surely realised the state of things by the end of the session. Finally, the afternoon saw our teams go through a full 3 hours training in the Sports Hall where coaches Tasha and Steve had an excellent opportunity to run through plays and tactics in preparation for the season.

After a good night’s rest, the men and women woke up early to the second round of boot camp: the dreaded run in Virginia Waters. In a competitive course interrupted by stations, a trainer led the teams through a run of 10K in total. While running and performing the tasks on the course they also had to carry a barrel with them – or, in the men’s case, two. The first obstacle was water and as the players trudged through the knee-high lake, there was a panicked cry in unison from two of the guys: “Oh, no! My Jordans!” In the end, both teams did well and the men came second after Hockey with a time of 1hr52 minutes, only one minute’s gap to the first place.

The weekend was ended with an appreciated barbecue where all teams joined together, exchanged stories of the effort, complained a little of muscle ache, but, ultimately, expressed their joy of being on the other side.

Team trials 10/11

2010-09-26T19:00:00.006+01:00

By Jo Svensson

Finally the academic year of 2010-11 has begun! Basketball welcomed all returning players and fresh faces to the annual team trials this weekend. With many leaving players from last year, both the women and the men looked to recruit and have people come down to the Sports Hall and try their luck to join the most successful club on campus.

First out was the Women's team with trials hosted on Saturday. The turn out was perhaps less than expected, and certainly lower than the previous year, but coach Tasha managed to find around 10 new girls to join the squad. After 3 long hours of dribbling, drilling and running, she directed a final word of caution to the new girls: "This is not the set team; things can change during next week." Now the new recruits have to prove they deserve their spot in the team which faces a difficult mission this year of triumphing last year's four titles.

Sunday presented the Men's trials, and with only 5 players left from the previous season, both coaches were happy to see a great turn out. One by one coach Steve Bucknall sent the aspiring players out from the Sports Hall, all with a crushed dream hanging over their heads. In the end a 20-or-so guys were the last ones standing, forming the team of the season 10/11.

With both squads now carefully selected, the teams go into a tough pre-season training with Boot Camp coming up this weekend. They only have 3 weeks to get to know each other, unify as a team and get fit for the start of the season which is Oct 20. In the first round of BUCS Women play Sussex University in 1A and Men take on 3A's Kingston University at home.

Scholarships

2010-08-06T02:51:00.006+01:00

Royal Holloway, University of London provides wide-ranging active support to assist student athletes in achieving their full potential during their time at the College, in their combined sports and academic performances.

For more information about bursaries on offer to students click here or contact sports@rhul.ac.uk.

2009-2010 Season Review

2010-08-04T15:18:00.217+01:00

Men's Results:

BUCS League

14/10/2009 Hertfordsshire 2nds 74-83 RHUL
04/11/2009 RHUL 90-54 Kingston 2nds
11/11/2009 RHUL 90-32 University of Arts
25/11/2009 St Mary's 85-71 RHUL
02/12/2009 RHUL 20-0 Hertfordshire 2nds (Walkover)
09/12/2009 RHUL 64-94 TVU 2nds
03/02/2010 TVU 2nds 46-54 RHUL
17/02/2010 Kingston 2nds 28-61 RHUL
03/03/2010 University of Arts 42-63 RHUL
17/03/2010 RHUL 79-78 St Mary's

BUCS Cup

28/10/2009 RHUL 82-49 Brunel 2nds
18/11/2009 Westminster 70-73 RHUL
27/01/2009 RHUL 91-70 University of Greenwich
10/02/2010 RHUL 89-58 City University (Quarter-Finals)
24/02/2010 RHUL 62-70 University of Essex (Semi-Finals)

ULU League - Champions

02/11/2009 Goldsmith's 48-98 RHUL
15/11/2009 RHUL 86-45 LSE
14/12/2009 Queen Mary's 86-74 RHUL
17/01/2010 RHUL 69-54 King's
01/02/2010 Imperial 74-89 RHUL
14/02/2010 RHUL 63-80 UCL

ULU Cup

30/11/2009 RHUL 20-0 Goldsmith's (Walkover)
25/01/2010 RHUL 93-49 SOAS (Quarter-Final)
08/02/2010 Imperial 88-80 RHUL (OT) (Semi-Final)

Women's Results:

BUCS League

14/10/2009 RHUL 89-66 Kingston University

21/11/2009 University of Reading 31-85 RHUL

11/11/2009 RHUL 80-26 Roehampton University

25/11/2009 University of Chichester 51-70 RHUL

09/12/2009 RHUL 65-67 University of Kent

20/01/2010 Kingston University 39-66 RHUL

17/02/2010 University of Kent 45-49 RHUL

03/03/2010 Roehampton University 34-77 RHUL

10/03/2010 RHUL 80-30 University of Reading

24/03/2010 RHUL 61-39 University of Chichester (Championship Game)

BUCS Cup

18/11/2009 RHUL 77-34 Middlesex University

27/01/2009 UCL 44-58 RHUL

10/02/2010 RHUL 77-43 University of Essex (Quarter-Finals)

24/02/2010 RHUL 79-26 Queen Mary's (Semi-Finals)

24/03/2010 LSE 62-78 RHUL (Final)

ULU League

07/11/2010 LSE 34-60 RHUL
16/11/2009 Imperial Medics 29-105 RHUL
30/11/2009 London South Bank 66-56 RHUL
06/12/2009 RHUL 67-52 UCL
18/01/2010 Queen Mary's 35-47 RHUL
07/02/2010 RHUL 20-0 SOAS (Walkover)
15/02/2010 Imperial 37-64 RHUL
22/02/2010 RHUL 104-31 UCL 2nds
01/03/2010 RHUL 20-0 Goldsmith's
01/03/2010 St George's 32-89 RHUL
14/03/2010 RHUL 68-20 King's (Championship Game)

ULU Cup

25/01/2010 RHUL 54-31 King's (Quarter-Final)
08/02/2010 RHUL 68-59 LSE (Semi-Final)
27/02/2010 RHUL 52-43 UCL (Final)

Pre-Season Bootcamp 2009

Alumni Sports Day 2010:
Official Photographs: (Mens, Womens)

Colours Ball 2010:

Club Colours 2010:

Tour - Mallorca 2010:

Mallorca 2010

2010-07-01T12:00:00.005+01:00

Colours Ball 2010

2010-03-25T12:00:00.010Z

The Colours Ball is an opportunity for us to celebrate the success of our athletes and a chance to look back on all their achievements over the past year.

The hotel looked spectacular as 300 plus sports men and women flocked into the Ball organised by the Student Activities Committee. Accustomed to seeing one another caked in mud everyone was pleasantly surprised to see that the sports players at the College could scrub up nicely.

Emma Montague, Vice-President Student Activites opened the event with a speech about the year’s achievements and in particular the community and volunteering work carried out by sports teams over the year.

After the meal, it was time to being the Annual Award Ceremony. Claire Nineham, Andrew Steadman, Emma Montague and Mark Hyndman all gave out prizes on the night. The first prizes to be awarded were the Crest Awards. The Student Activities Committee awards Crests to acknowledge those who have made an outstanding contribution towards the running and improvement of their club. These are players who have given time and commitment to make sure that their club runs properly and that everyone in their Club gets as much as possible from their University experience. As a special touch this year a quote from each Crest winner’s nomination form was displayed on the big screen so that the winner could see what the club had said about them and why they deserved the award.

The next prizes to be announced were the Medals for Half and Full Colours. The College awards Colours to those individuals who have performed to a significantly high level at their chosen sport. The award does not only consider performance, but encompasses attendance, attitude, external achievements and overall contribution.

Representatives from almost every club won Colours medals this year and this reflects on the successful year in sport the college has had.

‘Coach of the Year’ went to Mark Robinson, the Hockey Club Coach. The Hockey club has made fantastic progress in all their leagues this year and Mark has worked one to one with his players even providing them with individual training programmes for the holidays. Mark was appointed Hockey coach at the beginning of the academic year as part of the Hockey Club’s Performance Package.

Mark Hyndman, Sports Development Executive awarded ‘Sports Man’ and ‘Sports Woman of the Year’ prizes; to Rodrigo Ideus for Rowing having just won Silver at the South American Games, and 800m Bronze BUCS Medalist Emily Moss.

‘Sportsman’ and ‘Sportswoman’ awards are given to athletes have performed at a consistently outstanding level through out the year. Often the recipient of the award competes in multiple sports and achieves representative honours outside Royal Holloway.

After Sportsman and Sportswoman were awarded, Emma Montague presented the much coveted ‘Club of the Year’ and ‘Team of the Year’ Awards.

Every year the College recognises the outstanding performance of one team; this award is based entirely on performance. Consideration is also given to the nature of victories, the number of leagues entered and honours gained. This year the prize was awarded to Women’s Basketball who are set to finish the season with Promotion to 1A and four titles.

Club of the Year is awarded to a Club who has been outstanding in organisation, development and the overall service offered to its members. All aspects of sporting activity are considered including performance, events, development, administration and general practice. Basketball were awarded Club of the Year 2009/2010 for their work this year.

The last prize of the evening to be presented was the Frank Grimes Cup. This trophy was donated to the college by Mr Frank Grimes, a former member of Bedford College staff. It is awarded for outstanding contribution to sport at Royal Holloway in all aspects of sport. The award is given to someone who through their involvement in sport takes part in the provision of sport to those who do not compete, the development of the sports programme as a whole, building links with local communities and raising the profile of sport within the College. It can be awarded to anyone: students, committee members, staff, coaches or members of the local community. Mark Hyndman, last year’s Frank Grimes winner, awarded the Cup to this year winner Julian Bailes for all the work he has done in the Basketball Club in his many years at the University as Player and Coach.

The night was also a fundraiser for the College’s chosen Sports Charity ‘Right to Play’. The raffle raised nearly £120 for the Charity and a special thank you must go to Alan Lee for his hard work.

After all the prizes had been awarded and all the thank-yous said, a presentation of videos and photos was played on the large screens. There were sports action shots, embarrassing social photos and great game footage. It was a lovely ending to the Awards ceremony with teams cheering as their photos came up and a few finalists getting teary-eyed over memories.

After the video, tables were cleared and the music started. With songs requested by Clubs playing until 2am when the last coach left for Holloway.

‘I had a fantastic time, definitely the best night of the season. Everyone looked lovely and it is so nice to have traditions like this that recognise sporting achievement’.

Congratulations to all those awarded prizes this year and thank you to everyone who helped make the evening happen.