UK Student Archery Association

5 Days, 5 Leagues: SEAL [24/Mar/14]

Usually editorial articles on the this website are allowed to mellow like a fine wine for at least a few days, revelling in the tag of Latest Article, before making their way in to the archives. However, because there are a lot of regional league results to review (including three leagues extracting scores from Telford), this week will see one article per day, focussing on each league in turn.

Monday - SEAL

SEAL match 3 was very tight indeed with 11 points separating the top 3 teams. Southampton came out on top with 2193, including Andrew Howe's 573. Surrey pipped London thanks to Amelie Aichinger and Matt Sharpe who hit 574 and 569 respectively. For London Sherman Ip scored 564, but London's total of 2182 was one behind Surrey. Kent were fourth on 2005, just ahead of Imperial. In novice match 3, London's 1546 kept them well clear in first place, with Surrey second on 1455, Kent third on 1411 and Imperial fourth.

After match 3 Seniors: Southampton 45 points, Surrey 41, London 40, Kent 36. Novices: London 44 points, Kent 41, Southampton 38.

SEAL was one of the leagues to use scores from Telford and once again Southampton's seniors and London's novices came out on top. Southampton's seniors (6th at BUCS) scored 2241 whilst London's novices (bronze at BUCS) scored 1573. The teams reversed for second place (2193 and 1459) just ahead of third placed sides Surrey and Kent (2176 and 1416). Amelie Aichinger (Surrey) shot 575, the top SEAL score of the season, whilst Andrew Howe (Southampton) scored 571. There were 560+s for John Bowes (Southampton), Sherman Ip (London) and David Forster (Brunel).

After match 4 Seniors: Southampton 60 points, London and Surrey 54, Kent 48. Novices: London 59 points, Kent 54, Southampton 52.

So the stage was set for leg 5, held over the weekends of 8th and 15th March. Southampton wrapped up the formalities of a third SEAL title - their third in four years - with another win. Southampton's 2179 completed a clean sweep, 75 league point maximum. The real intrigue was second place, with London and Surrey picking up 2 seconds and 2 thirds across the four previous matches. In the end, London took the runners up spot, with 2145 in the decider, against Surrey's 2131. Kent finished fourth for the sixth SEAL match in a row, breaking 2100 in the process. Imperial took fifth spot ahead of Reading. Amelie Aichinger (Surrey) scored 570 and there was a 572 from David Forster (Brunel). Alannah Garnham (Kent) and Andrew Howe (Southampton) shot 563 and 562.

Having won SEAL's senior title for the first time last year, London picked up the novice title this year with another win in match 5 - Arman Amini, Tuan-Anh Nguyen, Graeme Stevens were their team for matches 3, 4 and 5, with Amini the top novice scorer in all three, with 545, 545 and 542. Southampton took second place in match 5, but Kent were third and held on to second place overall as a result.

Final Seniors: Southampton 75 points, London 68, Surrey 67, Kent 60. Novices: London 74, Kent 67, Southampton 66. For the full standings, see SEAL 2013/14 page. Details of SEAL Outdoor Champs to follow.