As we reflect on the culmination of the first term's cup fixtures, we are thrilled to present our weekly update on the achievements and challenges faced by our Essex Blades BUCS teams. This week was marked by a series of National Trophy and South Eastern Conference Cup games, resulting in both exhilarating victories and, unfortunately, a few regretful defeats.

A noteworthy aspect of this week's action was the collaboration of our Hockey, Golf and Water Polo teams, who all came together to support the Men’s Ultimate team. This fusion of talents and sportsmanship contributed to maintaining our impeccable 100% clean record in BUCS participation this year.

• Netball Women’s 1 team, who, despite a narrow 4-point loss away to Portsmouth, exhibited true sportsmanship by swiftly transitioning from the netball court to support the Women’s Table Tennis second team across campus.

Some of the highlights of the week include:

• Both Tennis first teams secured their places in the next round of the national trophy.
• Our oarsome rowing team participated in the Rowing Indoor Series in Portsmouth
• Lacrosse Men’s 1 faced a challenging first half, trailing 5-1, but managed to secure a 6-5 victory against Brunel
• Four individuals demonstrated exceptional dedication in the BUCS duathlon in Leicester
• Basketball Men’s 2 dominated their South Eastern Conference Cup fixture with a commanding 121-50 victory over Portsmouth Men’s 2

This week also saw the following teams progress to the next round of their respective cups, Tennis Men’s 1, Tennis Women’s 1, Badminton Women’s 1, Netball Women’s 2, Table Tennis Men’s 2 and Basketball Men’s 2.

With 32 matches played this week (16 home and 16 away), Essex came away with 12 wins and a draw. With a total of 273 matches played so far this year, Essex has 117 wins, 12 draws, and 144 losses, meaning that Essex is 29th in BUCS, with 1257 points.

Fancy representing Essex and competing against other universities? Join Essex Blades here. Don't want to play but still want to be involved? Come to games and support your fellow students.