Both the men’s first and second teams were up against close rivals and Championship favourites Leeds Met Carnegie in a hotly contested BUCS Trophy and Championship final.
Second's singles player Adam Dolman kicked off in the singles in a closely fought encounter with rallies often lasting over a minute. Dolman, notorious for his net play, narrowly missed out on victory and Leeds Met led the tie 1-0. It was a marathon game by Adam Richenbach, who was victorious 23-21 in the third and final set, which granted Loughborough the tie equaliser going into the doubles.
Mark Newbery and Andy Brunning, who was playing with a shoulder injury, dominated their match with skill and resilience to win in two sets. The second match saw Michael Campbell and Ryan McCarthy’s Malaysian style defensive tactics work perfectly to also win in two sets taking Loughborough into a 3-1 lead in the tie.
Fortunes however reversed for the Loughborough side as both Richenbach and Dolman were defeated in their second singles matches and it was down to the doubles teams to keep Loughborough's golden dream alive.
With the tie level at 3-3, Michael Campbell and Ryan McCarthyplayed some exquisite badminton on route to beating Leeds Met’s Phil Aspinall and Jamie Pugh.
It was a fairly even start to the final game as both Leeds Met and Loughborough’s Newbery and Brunning played aggressively. At 20-20 in the first set and just two points from the title, a smash at the net from Brunning sent the shuttlecock wide. However, the Loughborough boys kept their cool and won the next three points to win the set and with that the BUCS Trophy title.
Captain of the team Mark Newbery said: "It’s great feeling to have won, especially beating Leeds Met in the final."
The win provided some consolation for the Loughborough men’s badminton side whose first team narrowly missed out on gold in the BUCS Championship.
Strong performances by Leeds Met from the start resulted in the narrow loss of both singles matches and it was left to the doubles teams to get Loughborough on the scoreboard.
Martin Campbell and Angus Gilmouroverwhelmed their opponents in the first doubles encounter, winning both sets comfortably by showing great speed of movement and precision net play. Peter Briggs and Harley Towler brought the tie level at 2-2 after winning comfortably in two sets, Towler and Briggs’s rear-court and net positioning being most effective.
Unable to find his best form, Arthur Cheung went down in two sets to Leeds Met’s Liam Kenn in the third singles match and Martin Drabble too narrowly lost in the fourth singles bringing the tie now to 2-4.
Desperate to close the gap on the BUCS finals tie, Campbell and Gilmour produced some of their best badminton to bring the tie to 3-4, but it was a tightly fought final encounter by Leeds Met that saw the firsts lose in two sets and settle for the silver medal.
