Badminton v Hall 10

Written by Johnathan

Photos by Wei Han

It was a match between us and our neighbouring hall. Although our team had been training with hall 10 but it was inevitable that they still had to compete with each other.

The first match was the male singles. The Hall 10 player was quite skilful opponent as he smacked quite a few fast shots. Wee Kuang also did fairly well to block and return the shots as much as possible. Unfortunately, we lost the male singles.

Up next was the female singles. With Sharon  who had little experience fighting against a IVP player, it was obvious who was going to win but at least Sharon still did us proud as she managed to score a few points for a beginner.

The third match was the male doubles consisting of the Wei Long and Wei Long. Not a typing error but yes, two different Wei Long. They were a strong pair and had good teamwork. It was a fierce match of smacking between two teams. However, we lost both sets with close scores. It seems that they just needed a bit of luck.

Then it was our female’s double up next. From the way they played, it could be seen that they were indeed skilful but also had good teamwork and chemistry. They won the first set, lost the second and managed to claim victory for the third set.

Finally, it was the mixed doubles. It was a fierce battle between two strong teams. Both teams were exchanging smooth and swift shots. Good teamwork could also be seen between our players as each of them knew how to cover each other well. The match lasted quite some time and finally it ended with us losing both sets but with close scores too.

Well done Hall Eleveners. All the best for our next match!
 

Hockey Female Preliminaries

Written by Si En

Photos by Guolong

The hockey game started on a sunny Sunday morning against hall 6. Made up of mostly inexperienced players, hall eleveners were not put off by the size of the pitch nor the experience of our opponents. However, it was obvious that hall 6 had a strong attacking frontline throughout the game, with most part of the play on our defending side. With much determination, our hall defenders managed to hold out through the end, extending into extra time. When the final whistle was blown, the score was still standing at 0-0! The final showdown was carried out through the penalty shootout. Unfortunately, our 3 shooters (Cecilia, Yik Ying, Si En) was unable to put a goal in, while hall 6 managed to put a goal into ours. This summed up the first game of the day.

The second game of the day was against hall 5. Unlike the hall 6 game, more balls managed to enter the opponent’s strike zone, with hall 11 strikers attempting to score. However, despite the effort, the score was still 0-0 when the final whistle was blown. The fatigue from the 2 games could be seen on the faces of all players. At this time, it started to pour. Nonetheless, the penalty shootout was carried out. No goal was scored from the 3 penalty shooters of both teams. This led to sudden death in which both teams will send one player each to try the shootout, such that whenever a penalty was scored and the opponent is unable to match it, victory will be unto the scoring team. The atmosphere was tense despite the pour, with Cecilia scoring and hall 5 matching, following 2 other shootouts. The final blow came when hall 5 managed to put a goal in. With the thump of the ball against the hockey goal board, it ends the game between both teams.

Although both games were lost on the Sunday morning, as the team captain Cecilia has said, “they have tried their best” and the fact that hall eleven held firm through the end, losing only to penalty shots, the hall eleven hockey girls are indeed a team to be proud of.

Softball (M) vs Hall 1

Written by Kah Kiat

Photos by Wei Han

It was a tense and close affair as Hall 11 met Hall 1 in the Softball Male Preliminaries. The weather was perfect with the waterlogged pitch posing an interesting challenge to both teams. Both teams failed to display a clear dominance over the other, with crucial errors being committed that led to runs being scored. The match went all the way to tiebreakers before Hall 11 dug deep to edge out Hall 1 7-5.

Hall 11’s starting line up featured a blend of veteran campaigners with some fresh faces. Hall 11 began batting 1st in buoyant spirits as the team looked to begin their IHG campaign on a good note. Hall 11 managed to score 2 runs before changing over. However, we failed to maintain the lead as we conceded 2 runs in the bottom half of the 1st inning to go in all square at 2-2.

The 2nd inning saw Hall 11 score 3 runs while holding Hall 1 to 0, to lead 5-2. However, poor batting saw Hall 11 being held to 0 in the 3rd inning. To compound matters further, a series of errors saw Hall 1 score 3 runs to level the scores once again to force a tiebreaker.

This prompted the entry of coach Ee Tat for Wai Ken to takeover pitching duties. The 1st inning of the tiebreaker saw both teams being held to 0. The 2nd inning was an equally tense affair, with the match being settled by a crucial error being made by Hall 1’s centre field as he failed to catch a pop fly that allowed Hall 11 to score the game winning 2 runs. The match ended 7-5 in favour of Hall 11.

A thrilling encounter for the neutrals, but probably too close for comfort for Hall 11. Hall 11 got the crucial win they needed, much improvement is needed if they wish to emulate last year’s run to the finals.
 

Volleyball (F) v Hall 2

Written by Johnathan

Photos by Thi Hong

Our females first match rivals were from Hall 2. Their rivals were a strong bunch as they consist of 3 IVP (intervarsity players) and a few more experienced players. However, our team were not afraid of our opponents at all and they felt pretty prepared and was going to give their very best.

When asked how they were feeling before the match, Mei Yan and Jeannette replied ‘Alright!’ with a bright smile. While our female volleyball captain, Si En, said that she was feeling good. ‘We will try our best!’

The match then began with our opponent’s team leading the first few scores. It can be seen that our members are getting abit nervous. However, they manage to calm down and earn their first score. The match was a fierce and interesting one. With a strong rival team of experienced spikers and setters, our team did their best to defend and strike back. Most of the balls were near the net and it was like a matter of luck which border the ball would cross over to. But it seems lady luck was not on our side this time. The first match ended with a score of 12 – 25 with Hall 2 winning the first match.

The teams then rested for about 5 minutes meanwhile strategising and organising themselves. Soon the second match began.

During the start of the second match, our girls were giving their very best and were engaging in a fierce battle with our strong rivals with close scores. We cheered for them hoping to boost their morale. It also seems that our female team are quite popular as they had earned an unknown supporter who was from some other hall, cheering for them loudly and giving them encouragement. It was a surprising sight indeed.

However, Hall 2 players were too strong. With their IVPs, they had an advantage over our team. We lost the second match too but at least we all know our female’s team really did their very best and fight all the way till the end. Still we did not lost all as we gain an unknown admirer for our team.

Hockey (M)

Written by Wei Han

Photos by Wei Han

With all hockey matches being held at Delta Sports Complex this year, Hall XI's hockey team set off from Hall XI at 9 a.m. with high hopes as we were semi-finalists last year.

The first match of the day was against Hall 15. Although clearly outnumbered in terms of both players and supporters, our hall's valiant hockey team managed to end the half ahead, with a goal scored by Hashim. Jing Yuan, Chong Yu and Chunji were likewise stars of the match as the team proceeded to win their first game in what was a tight and defensive match against the opposing hall in white.

It was another close match against Hall 8 after lunch, with neither side able to score in regulation time. Thus, extra time was played and the hockey team lost undeservedly 1-2 to penalties, in what must be a very cruel defeat to swallow. Jing Yuan scored the only penalty as the other players missed or had their penalties saved. Alvin Yeo was the star goalie as he saved many times to keep the team in the game both during normal play and during the penalties.

The last match of the day was against Hall 3, which was clad in a striking yellow. With a national team player in their ranks, it was never going to be an easy match, and the team was closed out with a 0-2 defeat although it was in reality a close match, Hall 3 proved to be too strong in depth for our Hall's brave hockey team as they had to play all three matches with mostly the same team, with Chong Yu even playing through the pain with an injured ankle.

Well done, Hockey guys! I'm sure we can improve on this year's performance with more training and some luck on our side.

Table Tennis vs Hall 9

Written by Shu Yuet

Photos by Jewel

Hall XI played their 2nd table tennis match today. They were up against hall 9 which is top seeded in their group. It was a tough match for us. Despite a valiant effort, our team was unable to defeat Hall 9 who had many IVP players amongst their squad.

Up in the first match in the men’s singles was Shu Yuet. Unfortunately it was a defeat as his opponent outmatched him 11-6, 11-4 and 11-7 to win the first match. Next up was Belinda for the women’s singles. She managed to fuel our hopes towards a victory as she defeated her opponent with a resounding victory ; 11-4, 11-0, 11-3. For the men’s doubles, we had Xu Kai and Eugene (Captain) playing for Hall XI. It was an extremely tough match up as one of their opponents is the current captain of the NTU table tennis team. He was indeed extremely skilled. Xu Kai and Eugene lost the first 2 sets by 3-11 and 6-11. They fought back to win the 3rd set by 11-9. The 4th set was an extremely fierce fight. We led by 7-5 due to 2 service errors made by the opponents. We managed to maintain the lead with 8-6. However, he Hall 9 pair managed to close the gap with sheer tenacity and win the set 11-9, thus winning this doubles match.

Our representatives for the women’s doubles were Xin rong and Sherilyn.  They led by winning the first set 11-8. Hall 9 made a comeback though, winning the next 3 sets, 11-8, 11-6 and 11-9. The scores were close. Our girls sure did try their best! Our last match was the mixed doubles, played by “teh-si” and Anna.  We lost the first set 7-11, but pulled back on the 2nd set with a 13-11 win, but then lost the next 2 matches 8-11, 11-13, to give Hall 9 the win in today’s table tennis games.

Kudos to all our players! The values of determination, never give up, and sportsmanship were definitely in the air.

Squash vs Hall 7

Written by Prashant

Photos by Wei Han

Squash vs. Hall 7

Score Summary:
Saransh:           0-2
Mei Yan:         0-2
Jason:              0-2
Xin Lin:           2-1
Vijay:              0-2

Result: Loss to Hall 11.

Hall 11 players faced Hall 7 this Saturday at the squash courts. The competition was very intense, especially since the players were well-matched, with except for a couple of IVP players on the opposing side. The most exciting set of the day was won by former Hall Queen Gwee Xin Lin, who showed great perseverance in making every point count, and finally defeated her opponent 2-1. Saransh, Jason and Vijay also gave their best, never giving up until the referee said it was over.