Women: Lancaster 71 – 68 York
Men: Lancaster 76 – 64 York
Happening on over on the Heslington East Sub-Campus at York Sport Village, away from the main sporting areas, swimming kicked off Saturday’s action in the pool. Alternating between the men’s and women’s races, the competition was fast, intense and full of drama, with some of the loudest/rowdiest crowds of the weekend. York began with some early wins in the women’s relays, but Lancaster brought it back with strong finishes in the men’s. Point scoring is complex in the swimming. With 2 swimmers from each team competing, there are different points available for where the swimmers place. Relays are also weighted heavier than the individual races, so it was difficult to keep track of the overall score throughout the competition. After 14 races, Lancaster were dominant in the men’s competition, with a strong 8-point lead over York. York’s women held a 1-point lead over Lancaster, so all was to play for for the women in the second set of races.
The second set saw a more evenly matched competition, with some impeccably quick, 100m races from the men coming in at just over 50 seconds, which were met with loud cheers and astonishment from the crowd that they were putting in these times.
With close, fast-paced racing all day, the competition really could have swung either way, especially in the women. The support from the crowds was absolutely excellent, cheering on the swimmers right to the very end, especially from Lancaster who were by far the loudest in the spectator stands. Great sportsmanship was shown between both teams throughout the entire competition, however Lancaster’s determination saw them take all 8 points, with the men winning 76-64 and the women winning 71-68. This kicked off the red rose dominance in the pool with them going on to take all 16 points up for grabs by winning both of the water-polo matches too.
