With the season set to resume after the winter break, now is as good a time as any to review the club’s progress so far this season. The 2016/17 season saw change come to Swansea University Men’s Hockey, as the club grew from three to five teams, thanks to a large intake of freshers. This growth has allowed the club to be competitive at a range of levels, with greater depth benefiting each team.
Following promotion last season, the first XI, led by Captain Alex Bourn, are mid table in the GoCre8 Hockey League Premiership. The team had a good run of results before Christmas, including a 4-2 win away from home against rivals Cardiff and the team will be hoping to continue this good form. The team is also sitting in second place in the Western 1A BUCS league, leaving the team in a good position to continue their pursuit of promotion. On eleven goals apiece, goals from both Luke Pelech and Michael Venn have been invaluable to the team this season, with no doubt more to come in the second half of the season.
Tom Judge’s second XI sit at the top of the De Cymru and the Marches 2 league, boasting the meanest defensive record in the division, meaning that back to back promotion is a very real possibility for the 2s. Back to back promotion is also possible for them in the BUCS league as they currently sit in second place.
The third XI are mid table in the De Cymru 1 league and will be looking to push on in the second half of the season, as they push for promotion. The new fourth and fifth teams have started strongly with the 4s unbeaten so far this season and the fifth XI have only been defeated once.
