The Sydney University Handball Club have been crowned National Champions and have also secured the Oceania Title at the Australian Open Club Championships held in Geelong at the weekend.
The victory marks Sydney University’s seventh consecutive title. As Oceania Champions, Sydney University has also secured it’s spot at the next Club World Championships (Super Globe Cup) which will be held in Qatar in October. The 2018 IHF Super Globe is the eleventh edition of the tournament, where the best club teams from each continent compete to become the World Club Champion.
Throughout the National Tournament the team went through the group stage winning most of their games comfortably, with an average 10 goals difference.
In their first game, Sydney University defeated Handball West, 33-20. Ali Mahdizadeh was impressive in front of goal, finishing with seven. Vincent Sancho also added five goals.
On day two of the tournament, Sydney University first defeated UTS2 38-19 in a high scoring affair. Luka Krajnc had seven goals and Pablo Puentes, Anton Fredriksson and Felipe Oliveira each added five. In the second game of the day they faced fierce rival, St Kilda. Sydney Uni got the better of the Melbourne side defeating them, 23-16 to secure a spot in the semi final. Sancho was once again firing, finishing with eight goals. Jordan Perronneau added six.
In the semi final, Sydney University came up against a tough University of Queensland outfit. The blue and gold managed to stay in control for the full 60 minutes, winning 24-15 to secure a much coveted spot in the grand final. Perronneau top scored for Sydney University finishing with five goals.
In the final Sydney University faced cross town rival UTS. The team went into the match locked in and managed to control the game from the outset. They finished the game as 16 point victors, with a final score of 30-14. Sydney University’s right wing Sancho and right back Mahdizadeh were once again impressive, scoring seven goals apiece in the final. They were both named in the the tournament’s dream team for their outstanding performances across the three days.
After a couple of weeks rest, the team will start their preparation phase for the Super Globe, with a potential training camp to be held either in Europe or Asia.
