UK Student Archery Association

Lilleshall Head to Heads [29/Jun/17]

The H2H Tournament on the Sunday following BUCS Indoors brought the curtain down on the domestic season. This is the 5th edition of the tournament, which first ran in 2013. For the first time this year, barebow was split into separate gents and ladies fields.

There were 63 gent recurves and 43 ladies, with barebows split by gender 24 and 13. There were 23 compounds and 7 longbows, making a total of 173. Alex Newnes (Aberystwyth) bagged his second All Unis record of the weekend, qualifying top longbow on 382, 50 clear of the record and 150 clear of the field. Guo Ziheng (Birmingham) shot 676 to top compound qualifying but miss out on a record by only 5.

In gents recurve, 2nd seed Guy Matzkin (Edinburgh) beat surprise finalist Ben Trudgill (Exeter) who had qualified in 12th. Trudgill upset 5th seed Sherman Ip (Warwick) in the Round of 16 and might have expected to meet 4th seed Arthur Coveney (Loughborough) in the QFs, however Coveney himself came unstuck against Phil Middleton (Nottingham). Trudgill beat Middleton 7-3 to face the winner of Francis Berti v Jamal Rahman (both Birmingham). Here another upset saw Rahman (qual. 8th) KO his top seeded team-mate (and Indoor Individual Champion). In comparison the bottom half of the gents draw went according to seeding with Jack Masefield (Derby) and Guy Matzkin (Edinburgh) defeating James Jeffs (Warwick) and Dominic Collis (London) before they collided in a titanic semi-final, won in a shoot off, by Matkzin's 10 against Masefield's 9. Masefield beat Rahman for bronze.

In the ladies recurve event, 2015 H2H winner Johanna Meyer (Edinburgh) beat 2017 BUCS double individual champion Jaspreet Sagoo (East London). Meyer won 6-4 having been 3-1 down and becomes the 3rd person and 1st woman to win a second H2H crown. Meyer beat Rebecca Martin (Bristol). Sara Rubio (Southampton) took the first set against Sagoo in that semi, but lost 6-2, before claiming bronze against Martin comfortably. Rubio also won the pick of the ladies recurve QFs against Pip Taylor (Derby). Taylor won the 5th set to force a shoot-off, but lost on measurement after both women shot 9s. Emily Bryant (Sheffield Hallam) who qualified 10th, was the only one outside the top 8 to make the quarters. She lost to Rebecca Martin but did lead 4-2 after three sets. In the other QF's, eventual finalists Meyer and Sagoo KO-ed Rebekah Tipping (Birmingham)and Hannah Burnage (Warwick).

Pip Tucknott (Edinburgh) picked up his side's third individual title of the day in the mixed compound division. 5th seed Tucknott beat Thomas Taylor (Coventry) by a solitary point 133-132 in the final. In an all-Welsh bronze match, Joshua Moore (Swansea) beat Chris Cassels (Aberystwyth), Moore having beaten top seed Guo Ziheng (Birmingham) in the quarters.

For the first time barebow was separated into gents and ladies fields. Top seed Paul Cobee (Bath) beat Indoor champion, 6th seed Samuel Thomas (Loughborough) 6-4. Thomas won the first two sets, but Cobee came back to win the last three and take the title. 2nd seed Ollie Hartfield (Loughborough) beat David Priestley (Bath) in the bronze match, after both men lost to their respective club-mates in the semis.

Ladies barebow saw the final go a sudden death shoot-off as team-mates Anna Blanchard and Charlotte Wu (both Bath) slugged it out. Wu led 2-0 and 5-3, but it was Blanchard who triumphed with the extra arrow. Megan Salfairso and India Wilson (both Birmingham) contested the bronze match, with Wilson winning.

With only 7 longbows in the field, top seed Alex Newnes (Aberystwyth) followed up two All Unis records for 1440 and 720 with the H2H title as well. He beat Edward Pike (Edinburgh) in the final, whilst Beth Duthie (Aberystwyth) beat Helen Woodcock (Central Lancashire) for bronze.

There are now 50 days to go until the 29th Summer Universiade in Taipei, running from 19th to 30th August, with archery events from 20th to 24th. The Archery GB selection document says that it is expected that a team of no more than 4 athletes will be selected and the names will be annonuced on 19th July.