The Leeds University badminton team started off their season positively, despite mixed results against a Met team brimming with some of the top talent in the country.
The highlight of the day was an excellent victory for the ladies’ 2nd team, who came through on points difference against their Leeds Met counterparts after a tense 4-4 draw could not separate the two teams.
Already benefiting from two walkovers due to their opponents failing to bring enough players, the Leeds University team recorded two doubles victories to win the tie overall.
The men’s 2nd team had a similarly narrow encounter with another 4-4 draw, unfortunately losing out as the Met team won more sets overall. Jonny Storey and James Baron, and James Rickerby and Blaise Gonsalves both won their doubles matches, and Will Hogg pushed their second singles player very close, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to secure victory.
The 1sts teams put in an encouraging performance despite both being comprehensively beaten by Met teams containing several international players.
The ladies’ 1st team fell 6-2 to talented opposition, with an evenly matched encounter much closer than the final scoreline suggests. Leeds Uni’s England star Helena Lewczynska raced to two stunning victories in the singles rubbers whilst Rae Larmour almost added to these, falling to two close defeats. The doubles matches were equally well-contested, with both the Leeds Uni pairs narrowly missing out on victories against their opponents.
The men’s 1st team fell to a not entirely unexpected 8-0 loss. The opening doubles rubbers an ominous sign of what was to come, with Chris Giles and Mike Phillips, and Jonny Schofield and Tom France going down 21-6 21-6 and 21-9 21-12 to their respective opponents. Nevertheless, there were positive signs in the singles rubbers with RikShien holding his own in a close 21-16 21-17 defeat against the Met second singles player.
All the teams will be able to take heart from a positive display against one of the strongest squads in the country, and will start the season in high spirits.
Author: Chris Giles