Kim Pham
15 July 2016: University of Canberra students have returned home from the Eastern University Games (EUG) with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
The student athletes excelled on the field winning gold in the men's futsal, women's hockey and men's AFL 9s, silver in men's hockey and bronze in women's netball and touch football.
The Eastern University Games is an opportunity for student athletes to compete against like-minded students from New South Wales and the ACT in July.
A total of 17 universities participated in the competition, held in Wollongong this year, with the University of Canberra placing fifth overall.
Men's futsal captain Jeremy Hegarty has competed at four EUGs and described this year's games as an excellent event.
"The EUGs is fantastic for students to participate in. It's not just about the competition but also the social aspect of the games," he said.
"We had a lot of first year students and it was a good opportunity for them to set up new social networks and meet new people."
Students are looking forward to competing at the Australia University Games in September after qualifying at the EUGs. The competition will include teams fielded from all over the country and will be held in Perth.
All eyes will be on the men's futsal team who will be looking for a second consecutive gold at the national event.
"It adds another level of pressure to go and defend your title," Mr Hegarty said.
"But it's really a chance for us to try to repeat our success and prove we didn't just go out once and were lucky."
The University sent 201 athletes who represented 18 teams across 10 sporting codes including soccer, table tennis, ultimate Frisbee and volleyball.
The University of Canberra also took home the coveted Spirit of the Games award, with the peer-voted prize given to the team which demonstrates the best sportsmanship.