Last night, our coed volleyball and basketball teams participated in their FINAL games of the Fall 2017 semester! Both teams have worked incredibly hard over the past several months and put in a great last effort – we want to thank all of the new and returning students and to those study abroad students that really went the extra mile for both of these teams.. the games would not have been the same without you, and we had a lot of fun this semester!

Starting with our coed volleyball team that played against Oroverde last night at 8:15 pm, our Athletics Assistant Massimilano Menculini said about the game,

“JCU won the first set, lost 2 sets, but then won the 3rd set.  Although they lost 18-16 (very close) in the last set, everybody played well and just had some minor errors that can easily be corrected during practice. The other team was very well organized and had some very strong players.”

Veronica Rusich, the coed volleyball team captain, said about the game and this season overall,

“The last game against Oroverde went well.  We lost 3-2, however the sets were fought hard! During the first set, we played well and were organized. We did only a few mistakes and won.  During the second set there was a typical situation for volleyball, and we played a little less organized and did many mistakes, especially while receiving and serving. It was a similar story for the 3rd set, too many simple mistakes that we could have easily avoided. During the 4th set, we played a lot better and won, yet too many stupid mistakes. In the 5th set, it was very intense and we fought hard. We lost 18-16. I think that we lost this game because we were not able to manage the tension. We wanted to score the final points so badly that we rushed and created some confusion. In general, I enjoyed the game. As a team, we have improved throughout the semester, so it was a nice way to conclude Fall 17′! I would love to thank the team for their hard work and for the fun we had together. Sadly, some students will go back home, nevertheless we have to continue the rest of the season with the same spirit of this semester!”

The coed basketball team participated in another round of the BK3 Tournament with the American University of Rome and Foro Italico – overall it was a successful and fun game, as JCU won two games and lost two. Sam Farmer, playing for the first time for JCU, said about last night’s game and the season overall,

“I think we ended the season in a strong way, going 2-2 in the final tournament and putting on a strong show in all 4 games.  We progressed a lot from the beginning of the year and got much better at moving the ball around the court as well as taking good shots as the season progressed. Overall we got better the more that we played together and it resulted in a smoother game for the team, as well as a fun environment throughout the season.”

Coed basketball coach, Francesco Serraino, said about this semester’s team,

“Last night the tournament was tough, because we missed 5 of our players who couldn’t come to play due to injuries, seasonal sickness and school work. We managed to be three. We won two out of four games, we lost both against Foro Italico and won against AUR, even if they were three our guys fought well, they could have been moving more in offense and moved the ball more as well. Defensively they played well, but could have done more in the first game with Foro Italico. The second one against them was more competitive, but they were stronger and more prepared overall. It was easier against AUR, which lacked a good scorer in their team. However it was fun, and all teams displayed great fair play as always in the BK3 history. Special mention to Gabriel Smith who has grown as a player and has been decisive in many occasions, Sam Farmer and Richard Tarpey for the efforts and engagement that they have shown on the court, which has been helpful in many ways. I wish I could have seen that same engagement from everyone in the team this semester, but because of different circumstances and lack of time it’s been hard to get everybody to practice constantly, however the whole team has shown great potential in several friendly games with local teams, in which they always played with great passion showing that they could play as a real team given the opportunity. Special thanks to our captain Mattia Matteucci, who has done everything he could to make everyone play better, and welcome to the newcomers Francesco Giordano, Gabriel Smith and Kgole Giggs, I hope to see these guys again next semester. I wish good luck and safe travels back home to every student who I got the opportunity and the pleasure to meet and coach during this semester.”

This has been a phenomenal semester for both of our coed teams, and we can’t wait till next semester to pick up where we left off!

#GoGladiators