By Dylan Mistry
The first event of the 2025 varsity between the University of Huddersfield and the University of Bradford kicked off today, with Archery in the University Sports Hall. Huddersfield is led by Captain Evie Smith, who is competing in barebow alongside teammate Syeda Tariq. Huddersfield men’s side in the Barebow is represented by Abdurrahman Yusef, Joshua Jordan, Domanic Moseley and Deping Chen. There are different classes in archery, depending on what bow you use; the other classes that represent the men are Matthew Hodgson in Recurve, Mollie Bower, Hannah Reid, and Rachel Ashworth.
At the halfway point of 30 arrows, Matthew David, representing the University of Bradford, was leading with 134, and Matthew Hodgson was behind with 122 points in the men’s recurve. In the men’s Barebow, Abdurrahman Yusef led with 92 points, his teammate Joshua Jordan had 80 points, Domanic Moseley had 61 points, and Deping Chen had 33 points. In the recurve women’s, Mollie Bower led with 129, with teammate Hannah Reid behind with 114; the same story in Women Barebow, Evie Smith was ahead with 91 and her teammate Syeda Tariq behind with 62 points. In the team’s standings, Huddersfield, represented by Mollie Bower, Matthew Hodgson, Joshua Jordan, and Abdurrahman Yusef, have a 40-point advantage over Bradford, with Huddersfield remaining team’s 3rd and 5th in the standings, respectively.
At full-time, Huddersfield managed to hold onto the top sport quite quickly to take a dominant win. Matthew David (Bradford) won in the recurve men with 266 points after having dominated all sets played; Josh Gray (Bradford) and Matthew Hodgson finished in joint 2nd with 231 points. Abdurrahman Yusef won in barebow men with 167 points. Mollie Bower won in Recurve women with 244 points, and Hannah Reid finished 2nd with 229 points. Evie Smith won in barebow women with 167 points. Overall, in the team’s standing, Huddersfield scored a huge win, with 1713 points compared to Bradford’s 1229 points.
This is the first event for this year’s varsity, and Huddersfield has started strong. This is the momentum that was needed.
When asked how he feels about the result, James Bartholomew, the Sports Development Coordinator for the University of Huddersfield, said it’s essential, and Huddersfield played well. Credits to both sides. Special mention to Mollie Bower, who won player of the event. The competition is so tight. It’s a Big day tomorrow, as every point counts.
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