Tennis players from the University of Coimbra surpassed their own expectations and went to the very end of the tennis tournament at the EUG. The end of the competition at the courts of Mladost Tennis Centre reminded the participants, but also the fans, of the match from a few days ago when, the players from the University of Coimbra and their rivals from the University of Mainz faced each other in their first match of the tournament. The Portuguese won that match, and the saying that something that we have already experienced can sometimes repeat itself was confirmed even in this instance-the Coimbra team celebrated with 2-0 on the last step to the title.
The finale was resolved in two singles wins: Claudia Gaspar won against Nathalie Scherdel and Barbara Luz won against Anne Zehetgrube. Interestingly, the same happened in the first round of Group F when the Portuguese team started on their path to success. In the match for the bronze medal, the University of Bordeaux justified the title of the favourites against the British University of Stirling. The French team celebrated with 2-0.
Coimbra took what all the participants had wanted the most. By starting and ending the tournament by playing with Mainz, their participation came full circle, and it was even sweeter considering they won the first title of this kind for their University.
‘We are very happy about this victory. The semi-finals and the finals were difficult and we are very happy about winning the title,’ Luz, who was responsible for the winning point, described her feelings.
‘Coimbra hasn’t had such a tournament victory until now, we achieved a success worthy of celebration,’ added the Portuguese player while her team mates pointed out that they exceeded their own expectations.
‘It feels great; I don’t know how to express it. We knew this was a possibility, even though we weren’t expecting to win the title when the tournament started. We hoped to get to the podium; we were hoping for a placement among the top three teams at the Games,’ said Gaspar, who found additional motivation for the future after winning the title in Zagreb.
‘This success will help us continue playing and studying at the same time, combining the two things that we love,’ concluded Claudia after talking about the victory that will raise hope for future wins.
Results
