UCC finally end varsity quest | Alan Goode and Annette Gilroy

UCC 1 UU 1UCC win 5-3 on penalty strokesUCC won an emotional inter-varsitytitle on home turf at the Mardyke on Tuesday last, ousting University of Ulster on penalty strokes after a tense 1-1 stalemate.The Mauritius Cup will reside in Cork for just the second time in their history — the other was won in 1995 — and rounds off a memorable year for the club who won their first  national senior crown, the Irish Hockey Trophy, in April.It also ends a three-year quest for the crown; in 2010 they were controversially dumped out by DCU in the semi-finals and then saw neighbours CIT win the decider, before being wiped out by UCD in last year’s final.Having seen DIT dump holders UCD out in the group stage to take over the favourites’ mantle, the Cork hosts did a number on the Dubliners in the semi-finals, winning 3-1 thanks to two Fionn O’Leary strikes and a cracker from Nigel Bateman.That setup a clash with the Belfast men, for whom goal machine Jordan Robinson had struck twice to hold off the challenge of Trinity.Shrew Power gave UCC a 15th-minute lead but that was cancelled out by Ricky O’Neill’s second half drag-flick. Golden-goal extra-time loomed, with Andy Gray making an excellent high goal-line clearance to keep UCC alive.College were then spot-on with their strokes, nailing all five to prevail 5-3 in the shoot-out. Andrew Scannell, Adam O’Callaghan, Wesley Brownlow and Peter Catchpole all beat the UU goalie before the decisive flick was fittingly taken by Gray, who finally has a varsity medal to his name after nine years of trying, which included final defeats in the colours of both CIT and UCC.UCD made it three Chilean Cups in a row as they strolled past surprise finalists Queens on a 4-0 scoreline. The Belfielders, backboned by nine Irish senior internationals, prevailed via a brace from Jeamie Deacon and one each for Caroline Hill and Emily Beatty.Queens had qualified for the last four as a best runner-up to UCC in Pool B, but shocked a hotly-fancied UU side 1-0 to make the decider, while UCD saw off the hosts 2-0. In a hotly contested game, UCC stepped up to the challenge and fought hard for every ball but could not beat the eventual tournament winners.UCC Captain and Irish U21 player Aine Curran had this to say about her team: “This year’s varsities were a great experience and such a learning curve for our team. It was a chance for the first years to really find their feet; it was also a time for the more senior players on the team to step up to the mark and show leadership throughout the tournament. After coming through the group stages quite easily, unfortunately we met a very strong UCD side in the semi-final. Although we displayed a very impressive performance and created huge chances throughout the game, it was their experience and ability to finish the ball in the circle that was the deciding factor.“We are now eagerly looking forward to playing in our Munster league. We showed how well we can play with each other and showed just how much passion each and every one of us have for hockey. Our aim is to build on our performances from the varsities and hopefully be crowned with a Munster title by the end of the year!”The tournament got underway on Sunday the 28^th of October with the men getting off to the perfect start with a 4-1 win over Trinity thanks in part to an Andy Gray brace. This win was followed by a facile victory over an under-strength Tallaght side, 10-0.Meanwhile the ladies team began their tournament by scoring 11 goals in two matches on the opening day against eventual finalists Queens (2-1) and the Royal College of Surgeons (9-0). Goals from Curran, Irish International Miriam Crowley, Sarah Browner and Steffi Bowe put the hosts at the top of Pool B going into the second day.On day 2 experience proved key for UCC as they saw off Trinity 7-0, while the men also closed out top spot in their group with a 14-3 win over the Surgeons.Both the male and female seconds, placed 11^th of 12 teams in the respective competitions. The two Skull and Crossbones teams lost all their group games, although both managed to save their best performances for clashes against CIT, before winning their 11^th/12^th place play-offs against the Royal College of Surgeons and IT Tallaght respectively. The men’s penalty strokes win over the Surgeons proved a pre-cursor for the firsts’ ultimate victory in penalty strokes which sealed the Mauritius Cup.The tournament is set to move to a new format in 2013, with 12 colleges forming two six-team divisions. This is to help alleviate the lop-sides scorelines from recent years, as Irish-international laden sides chased the goal difference boosts they needed against teams featuring complete beginners.Mauritius Cup winning squad: Brian Corcoran, Stuart O’Grady, Colin Manning, Fionn O’Leary, Andrew Scannell, Peter Catchpole (capt.), Shrew Power, Greg Chambers, Andy Gray, Wesley Brownlow, Andrew Colton, Nigel Bateman, Mark Welch, Brian Egan, Jack Cherry, Adam O’Callaghan.Ladies Chilean Cup squad: Emma White, Sarah Wrixon, Nicola Kerr, Sarah Browner, Aisling O’Sullivan, Steffi Bowe, Antonia McGrath, Olivia Roycroft, Kate Humphreys, Aine Curran (capt.), Amy-Kate Trevor, Julie Coyne, Emily O’Leary, Kate Murphy, Emily Reidy, Sarah Sullivan, Rachel O’Hanlon, Miriam Crowley.