A silver lining
The TeamMONASH cheerleading team
After a wet and windy week in the Latrobe Valley for the Southern University Games (SUG), TeamMONASH™ fought hard and took the silver home.
With a team of almost 160, TeamMONASH™ competed against the 1500 university and TAFE students from all over Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Sports Programs Leader Matthew Sheldon-Collins, from Monash Sport, said TeamMONASH™ had done extremely well.
“We came a close second, only one gold pennant short of being the overall winners. We at Monash Sport are extremely proud of our students, they fought the good fight and really shone through in the week-long competition,” Mr Sheldon-Collins said.
TeamMONASH™ competed in the men’s AFL, men’s futsal (indoor soccer), men and women’s hockey, men and women’s tennis, mixed ultimate Frisbee and cheerleading. TeamMONASH™ also had four mixed teams competing in the touch rugby games.
The men’s football, women’s hockey, mix touch rugby and women and men’s tennis took home the gold, five teams won silver and two took home the bronze.
“We had our largest team competing in the SUG since 2006 and this year was the first time that TeamMONASH™ competed in the Cheerleading competition, and they did really well, placing fifth overall,” Mr Sheldon-Collins said.
Tennis was a singles sport, but the four men and six women of TeamMONASH™ dominated the competition, winning gold, bronze and silver in both the men and women’s tennis.
The men’s AFL team kicked off the medal tally winning the first gold pennant against Deakin University. The men’s hockey team weren’t quite so lucky, losing the gold pennant in a penalty shootout against RMIT, the overall champions.
“But our mixed touch rugby team thrashed Latrobe University for the gold, taking a 12-3 win,” Mr Sheldon-Collins said.
“Overall it was a fantastic week for TeamMONASH™, we’re proud to take home the silver. It was also a great opportunity for some of our metropolitan students to see our Gippsland campus and the wider Gippsland region.”