with Fearghal Kerin.

Volleyball

In a novel set of finals in this year’s Association Cup Final, both the UCD Men and Ladies sides will face off against Aer Lingus in what should be the Women’s side’s advancement to the final, which will be hosted at Belfield andis unsurprising seeing as this could stand to be their seventh final in succession.

Having dispatched of Santry in the quarters, a 3-0 victory over Trinity in a Colours’ clash in the semi final, the Ladies will now face the well organised Aer Lingus girls in what will be a highly anticipated clash.

The Men however, have not enjoyed the same successes as their female counterparts, with this their first appearance in a final in their history. Their shock victory over the League and Cup champions, the Aer Lingus Jets, in the semi set up the tie with Aer Lingus 1, who are known for their physical strength and varied attack combinations.

Given the historical context, this will be far and away the biggest day in the history of UCD Volleyball, and with home advantage secured, it is hoped at least one trophy will be secured to end what has been a largely successful season.

Soccer

UCD AFC have continued their successful start to their tenure in League of Ireland Division 1 have a 100 per cent record of six wins from six and sit atop the league table.

A series of high scoring wins culminated with their most recent success, a 3-1 win over fellow high fliers Shelbourne to set UCD clear at the top of the league, after their 4-0 victory over strugglers Kildare County the previous week.

This leaves UCD the early clear favourites to make an instant return to the top flight of Irish football. Ciaran Kilduff has been the star of the season so far, and is the early leading goalscorer.

Boat Club

UCD Ladies Intermediate Eight had a disappointing defeat at the hands of city rivals Trinity in the recent Neptune Regatta earlier in the month.

The College Green side took an early lead and though UCD started to make a comeback, it was too late and the finishing line came soon enough to protect Trinity from the comeback.

This was a major boost to Trinity who went on to win out the category, while it is a setback for the UCD Boat Club in their preparations for the forthcoming Colours race on 16th April.

Rugby

UCD’s poor finale to the season after an encouraging beginning has continued with their defeat against St Mary’s at Templeville by just one try, with the scoreline of 24-17 more flattering to the Rathmines side than it was to UCD.

This means UCD will continue to struggle to maintain their long run in the top division of Irish rugby, with just one game to go against fellow relegation strugglers Young Munster who are one place below UCD at second bottom, ahead of Terenure who are well adrift at the bottom.

UCD’s poor form was typified by their capitulation against UL Bohemians, with only two late tries from Cian Ahearne and rising star Noel Reid adding some semblance of respect to the scoreline.

In the same way as Rob Kearney was recalled to save UCD from relegation at the end of the 2007 season, it will be interesting to see whether any superstars don the famous blue jersey when Young Munster make the trip to Belfield.