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There has been plenty going on for the #hyloathletes over the past week. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Germany’s elite gymnasts compete with the best in Stuttgart
At the 39th EnBW DTB Pokal cup from Friday to Sunday (15 to 17 March 2024), numerous top international gymnasts took advantage of the opportunity to compete against each other at the highest level. For the DTB gymnasts on the German gymnastics team, this was also a chance to review their performance in an Olympic year. Home momentum in Stuttgart’s Porsche Arena promised to make this a highlight of the year. Around 230 elite athletes from 16 countries used this traditional event – offering seven competition categories (including juniors) over three days in front of 20,000 spectators – as perfect preparation for the Olympics.
Day 1 – men’s Team Challenge
Headed by old hand Andreas Toba (TK Hannover), together with Pascal Brendel (KTV 68 Wetzlar e. V.), Nils Dunkel (SV Halle) and Lucas Kochan (SC Cottbus), the men of DTB achieved fifth place in the Team Challenge on the first day. The team from the USA secured the gold medal, followed by Italy in second place and China in third. Of the German team, Pascal Brendel finished in second place on the floor to secure a place in the apparatus final, Nils Dunkel made it to the pommel horse final in eighth place, and Andreas Toba gained a place in the finals the following day with fourth place on the horizontal bar.
Day 2 – women’s Team Challenge and men’s apparatus finals
A young team of German women lined up for the Team Challenge on Saturday, ultimately finishing in fifth place amid a world-class field. China secured the gold medal, second place went to the team from Australia, and the French gymnasts finished in third. First-timer Marlene Gotthardt gained entry to the apparatus finals with two second places, on the balance beam and the vault. Meolie Jauch made it to the bar finals.
In the men’s seniors’ apparatus finals at the end of the second day, Andreas Toba, Nils Dunkel and Pascal Brendel put in a great performance in an exciting competition with some top-class athletes. Pascal Brendel was able to gain silver on the floor and Nils Dunkel celebrated a bronze in his top discipline of the pommel horse. Andreas Toba ended the apparatus finals for the horizontal bar in sixth place after a dismount.
Day 3 – women’s apparatus finals & Mixed Cup
The last day of competition in the EnBW DTB Pokal cup began with the women’s apparatus finals. Marlene Gotthardt showed strong nerves in her first senior apparatus finals, and was able to gain medals for both her appearances: two strong vaults earned her a silver medal, and her performance on the balance beam put her in third place. Meolie Jauch gained sixth place in the apparatus finals for the uneven bars.
The high point of this three-day gymnastics spectacular was the Mixed Cup (new for 2022), which served as a model for an Olympics mixed medal event from 2028 onwards. The Mixed Cup sees four countries competing against each other. A team consists of three women and three men. Gymnastics events are across four apparatus with two men and two women for each. After three apparatus, the interim results decide who is in the final for the gold medal and who for the bronze. The German team ultimately gained third place in a nerve-racking final, amid the fantastic atmosphere in the packed Porsche Arena. Belgium and Germany finished just two tenths of a point apart. The German gymnastics team of Meolie Jauch, Marlene Gotthardt, Karina Schönmaier, Milan Hosseini, Pascal Brendel and Timo Eder put in a good team performance overall. The final saw the USA competing against China.
Royals gain fourth place in the Top4
Last weekend (16 & 17 March 2024), the best four women’s basketball teams in the country competed for the DBBL Cup at the Stadtgartenhalle in Saarlouis. At this two-day event in front of 1400 spectators, the hosts from Saarland lined up against ALBA Berlin, Eigner Angels Nördlingen and the reigning champions TK Hannover Luchse to fight for the first title of the current season.
Day 1 – semi-finals
Things kicked off at midday on Saturday with the first semi-final match, between Saarlouis Royals and Eigner Angels Nördlingen. The hosts from Saarlouis gave their home crowd an exciting, equally-matched battle during which the lead changed hands an incredible nineteen times. Everything was still to play for two minutes before the final whistle, with the score at 77:77. However, Eigner Angels Nördlingen then pulled away with three free throws in the final seconds. Saarlouis had one final chance to equalise in the last play of the game, but Destiny Littleton and Monika Jasnovska’s shots were both just off target, forcing the hosts to ultimately admit defeat after a close cup fight. Unfortunately, Royals’ centre Maria Kostourkova was injured just over five minutes in and will most likely be out for the rest of the season.
Surprisingly, the second semi-final between ALBA Berlin and TK Hannover Luchse was generally much less close: the defending champions from Hanover gained a place in the final with a clear 46:73 win over the Berlin favourites.
Day 2 – finals
On the second day of the tournament, Saarlouis Royals and ALBA Berlin both had some things to prove in the battle for third place. The Saarland team was in a difficult position going into the game, as they were forced to manage without both playmaker Maria Kostourkova and Jaelynn Penn. They were two players down, facing a full ALBA Berlin team. The Saarlouis team were even leading 20:19 after the end of the first quarter, but in the second quarter, ALBA Berlin dominated almost at will and scored an incredible 17 points more than the home side. Although the Royals were able to temporarily start closing this gap twice, after this they never really posed any danger to the Berlin team. ALBA Berlin were therefore able to celebrate third place with a 83:69 win, whilst the Royals had to handle their second defeat of the weekend after their close semi-final the previous day. On Friday (22 March) and Sunday (24 March), Saarlouis Royals are heading away to Berlin for the DBBL playoffs, facing the same opponent in the best-of-five quarter-final series for the German championships.
TK Hannover Luchse were able to celebrate winning the cup and defending their title with a narrow 73:72 win in the Top4 tournament, whilst Eigner Angels Nördlingen missed out on causing a stir by a hair’s breadth after a close game.
SVE lose to promotion hopefuls from Kiel
In the 26th day of play in the 2. Bundesliga on Saturday (16 March 2024), SV Elversberg were defeated 0:2 by second-placed team Holstein Kiel in front of just over 8,000 spectators in their home URSAPHARM arena. After a strong performance in Fürth the week before, SVE did not manage to create an upset against the favourites for promotion. Coach Horst Steffen’s team, still severely depleted by illness and injury, ultimately had to concede a deserved defeat to their opponents after a game rather devoid of highlights. The few opportunities presented to the Saarland team (primarily in the first half) were not put to effective use; their opponents kept clearer, cooler heads and used their similarly small number of chances to gain a two-goal lead, which they defended with an elite team performance right through to the final whistle. More details about the game in our post-match report.
The Saarland team currently occupy eleventh place in the 2. Bundesliga table, with 35 points. SVE have some time to catch their breath with the international cap break next weekend. SV Elversberg’s next second-division game is on Saturday 30 March at 1 p.m. against Eintracht Braunschweig.
A turbulent, electrifying start to the season for Hamadeh-Spaniol in the Ore Mountains
The 2024 Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft 2024 began for Saarland rally driver Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol last weekend (15 & 16 March 2024) with the 59th Rallye Erzgebirge, the first of six races in the DRM Nationals. The classic, unpredictable Ore weather resulted in numerous failures to finish and a real tyre lottery across the entire competitor field. The Saarland driver and his co-driver Henry Wichura had a good start to the rally and finished the first stages in second place for their NC4 class in their Citroën C2 Challenge.
Saturday began with a special stage bordered by sharp stones and deep potholes, causing the pair tyre damage that dropped them down into third place. In the afternoon, they opted for slicks based on the weather forecast, but were surprised by an unexpected rain shower. To avoid risking another flat, they left the racing line in a tight bend and slid across the mud-covered track on their slick tyres and into a field. After numerous attempts to escape, they then slipped into a wire fence that was live and sent current through the bodywork, causing them to suffer a few electric shocks. Thanks to the help of two spectators, they were able to get out of the field after twenty minutes using a rope from the trunk, sticks and stones and at least finish the rally, coming in ninth place. ‘These nine points could be important at the end of the year’, was Tarek’s positive attitude despite the issues.
Mixed feelings for proWIN Volleys
TV Holz proWIN Volleys recently completed a double-header with mixed results. The Holz players were able to celebrate gaining two points in the 2. Volleyball-Bundesliga Süd on Saturday (16 March 2024), but mourned two points ‘too few’ on Sunday (17 March 2024).
On Saturday, the Volleys faced Bad Soden for the start of their double-header in Saarbrücken. This time, the Saarland players wanted to avoid giving their opponents three points, as happened last time they met. This was an open battle between the teams: TG Bad Soden performed better in the first set and won it 22:25. However, the volleys then took charge of the next two sets, with huge drive in front of the home crowd. Although TG Bad Soden consistently remained tight on their heels, the two sets went to the Saarland team at 25:19 and 25:21. Hopes of gaining three points were high, but the fifth-placed team secured the fourth set and sent the match to a tiebreak. However, after plenty of exciting rallies, proWIN Volleys chalked up a well-earned 3:2 home win.
Things then continued on Sunday against the young BSP Stuttgart team. In the first set, the Volleys showed no signs of their five-setter the previous day. The Saarland team scored some lively points and quickly won the first set 25:19. Things were then rather different in the second set: the volleyball players from Stuttgart put in a better performance, although they ultimately conceded the set to the home team by making numerous mistakes. With three points within reach, you would think that the home team wanted to bring the game to a close. However, they did not get their wish, although not through lack of will – instead, they were foiled by their increasingly heavy legs and the strong Stuttgart players, who took control from this point on. Time and again they forced proWIN Volleys to make errors, consistently blocked, and repeatedly powered through with strong attacks. These were the common thread through sets three and four, bringing the game to a tiebreak decider once again. Ultimately this was a well-earned away win for BSP Stuttgart and a bitter defeat for the Volleys.
The TV Holz volleyball players, currently sitting in eleventh place, have their next away game against TV SUSPA Altdorf on 23 March.
Victory and defeat for BCB before the playoffs
BC Bischmisheim faced table leaders 1. BC Wipperfeld in a top Badminton Bundesliga game last Saturday (16 March 2024) in Saarbrücken’s Joachim-Deckarm-Halle, before being hosted by fourth-placed team Union Lüdinghausen on Sunday. The first was a foretaste of the playoffs, where BCB will be seeking to defend their title, and also a mini taste of Saarland’s top highlight, the European championships from 8 to 14 April in the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken.
The Saarland team had to concede a close home defeat in the first game on the Saturday: BCB lost 3:4 to 1. BC Wipperfeld. Mads Christophersen won a point for Bischmisheim in a doubles duo with Marvin Seidel (3:2), and another in his singles match against Iikka Heino (3:0). BCB were also successful in their second men’s singles match: Mark Caljouw beat Felix Burestedt 3:0. This was the eleven-time champion’s fourth defeat of the season.
Sunday then saw the Saarland team win their final match of the season in the 1. Badminton-Bundesliga main round, against SC Union 08 Lüdinghausen. The Bischmisheim players won the home game 6:1. Marvin Seidel won a point for BCB in a doubles pairing with Julien Maio (3:1). BCB also saw success in the men’s singles: Mark Caljouw beat Julien Carraggi 3:0, and Mads Christophersen scored 3:0 to defeat Ade Resky Dwicahyo. The Bischmisheim team only lost their mixed doubles match, at 1:3, forcing them to give up a point.
As the third-placed team in the table, in early April (date TBC) BC Bischmisheim will compete in the playoff quarter-final against Blau-Weiß Wittorf Neumünster to qualify for the final four and the opportunity to defend their title.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.