Somehow December is upon us and semester one has come to a grinding halt. For some this is a time of reflection on the (un)productivity of the last 12 weeks, a time to stress over impending exams, or a time to simply throw on a Christmas jumper and convince yourself that The Clubhouse is a socially acceptable place to be at midday. For UCD Boxing club however, this week was a chance to end 2017 on a high, a chance which they grabbed with both hands, dominating in both male and female Junior Intervarsity competitions.
In terms of silverware this week, the club’s increasingly strong women’s team lived up to their pre-tournament billing, with three of their five competitors coming home with silverware. Orla Daly was victorious in the lightweight final, while Zoe Beato was crowned champion of the light welterweight division before Emily Black rounded off a successful tournament by taking home the welterweight crown. Corey Holland and Patricia Orza were unfortunate not to bag honours also, both coming unstuck by 2-1 split decisions in the lightweight category against opponents from Trinity College. Orza’s decision was particularly controversial with many in attendance feeling the score should have been reversed.
In the men’s ranks, the team was crowned champions of the McMorrow Cup, with several of the side picking up individual accolades along the way. Cian O Reilly and Martynas Jagutis were both crowned champions in the Bantamweight and Lightweight competitions respectively. Niklas Gaus was unlucky to lose his semi-final bout in the welterweight division, before Eoin Bleakley was narrowly defeated in the light middleweight competition. Elsewhere there was further silverware as Karim Safadi had a comfortable win in the middleweight division overcoming opponents from UCC and Trinity respectively, while in the heavyweight and superheavyweight ranks Carl Delaney and Luke Kearney were crowned victorious. Overall, the week was a fitting end to what has been a very successful semester for UCD Boxing Club which continues to go from strength to strength. We look forward to watching their progress in 2018 with keen interest.
UCD Boxing Club is one of the university’s most successful sports teams. For more information about the club and how to get involved, visit their Facebook page, or call into the sport’s centre on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays between 6pm and 8pm.
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Chris Foley – Sports Editor
