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20th March 2017

Seven UoM students receive national call-ups

Seven University of Manchester students make it into the illustrious group of elite athletes
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TLDR

This year, seven University of Manchester students have been chosen to represent their country at the 2017 Home Nations Finals university tournament in April. The competition, hosted in Edinburgh from the 10th to the 13th, will feature three sports — hockey, football, and rugby sevens — and some of the most talented student sportsmen and women from around the UK.

The students selected were as follows: Politics and Modern History student Tom Lush was selected for the men’s hockey team; Civil and Structural Engineering student Ed Hunt was selected for the hockey team; Biomedical Science student Rowan Poots was selected for the hockey team; Dentistry student Megan Clarkson was selected for the football team; Sociology student Charlie Reed was selected for the rugby team; History student Asher Silverman was selected for the football team; and Geography student Ellen Lockhart was selected for the hockey team.

After receiving the news, the selected players were revealed at a photoshoot at the Armitage Centre on Monday 13th March. The opportunity to represent their university and their country in their sport is not one these students will forget anytime soon. These national call-ups present a unique opportunity to the students: a flavour of international sports representation to those who have never experienced it before.

These are athletes who have fought for their chance. Rigorous trials in February, first at regional and then national level in Manchester, Leeds and Hartpury, ensured only the finest performers made the team. The University of Manchester has performed extremely well in seeing seven students make the grade, who make up almost 10% of the entire squad: the second highest of any university represented in the competition.

The Universities represented in the English national team selections: Photo: The English Universities Programme

This year’s Home Nations Event will be the first tournament of its kind after an eight year hiatus. On the competition’s return, the English team will be looking to make their mark. The English team is made up of a total of 36 men’s and women’s hockey players, 32 men’s and women’s football players, and 24 men’s and women’s rugby players, all of whom will be raring to go come the turn of the new month.

James Plowright, the national team manager overseeing the head coaches, said the aim of the tournament was to allow those who have “proven their sporting ability and commitment” to “excel in their respective sport” at the highest level within university level. All in all it’s looking like an exciting tournament in the making, with some talented players having made the squad. The Mancunion wishes the very best of luck to all those involved.

The Home Nations Event is run by the English Universities Programme. For more information, or further updates as the tournament progresses, follow the English University Sport Twitter @EngUniSport, or visit the English University Sports page on the BUCS website.

Jack Greeney

Jack Greeney

Hey, I’m Jack! I’m an English Language student, and I like travelling, learning Mandarin and Spanish, comparative politics, playing guitar and piano, creative writing, painting, kart-racing and playing football. I’m really interested in writing and am looking to improve, so any feedback (positive or negative) would be overwhelmingly appreciated! My Twitter is: @JackGreeney96, but I’m around on Facebook and other stuff sometimes too.

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