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Our #hyloathletes have been very active once again this week. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Two challenging matches for Füchse Berlin
On Tuesday evening (23 April 2024), Füchse Berlin managed a 33:33 (17:15) draw against HBC Nantes in the EHF European League quarter-final first leg in front of 7,179 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. Mathias Gidsel was the Berlin team’s best scorer with nine goals.
For much of the match, Füchse had the Nantes handball club under control at home, taking a five-goal lead. As also recently happened against THW Kiel, coach Jaron Siewert’s team gave away their well-earned lead in the final minutes, but Tim Freihöfer equalised to 33:33 just 29 seconds before the end. This means that coach Jaron Siewert’s team now needs a win in the second leg on Tuesday evening (30 April), in order to preserve their chances of defending the title and securing a place at the EHF European League Final4 in Hamburg.
After this draw against Nantes, on Saturday evening (27 April 2024) Füchse visited MT Melsungen for a Bundesliga away game. The second-placed team in the LIQUI MOLY Handball-Bundesliga thus faced the fifth. The Berlin team had to accept a 30:28 (13:13) defeat by MT Melsungen in the HBL away game, in front of 4491 spectators in the Rothenbach-Halle. The Berlin team’s best scorers were Hans Lindberg and Mathias Gidsel, with eight goals each. This meant that Jaron Siewert’s coach missed out on gaining further vital points in the fight for Champions League places, but they are still second-placed in the league and are not reliant on others’ results to make it through.
After their defeat, the Berlin players remained in the Frankfurt/Main region until Monday before travelling on to Nantes, where they will be competing in the EHF European League quarter-final second leg against HBC Nantes at 8:45 p.m. The winner of this match will go through to the EHF European League Final4.
On Sunday afternoon (5 May), Füchse will be back in action against VfL Gummersbach in the Handball-Bundesliga.
Germany’s male gymnasts unlucky at European Championships in Rimini
The athletes on the German gymnastics team had an unfortunate appearance on Wednesday (24 April 2024) to kick off the qualification day for the European Championships in apparatus gymnastics. In Rimini, head coach’s Valeri Belenki squad narrowly missed out on the team final on the last apparatus, the pommel horse. As the men alongside Andreas Toba and Nils Dunkel also missed out on the individual finals, the team was forced to leave empty handed early on in the European Championships.
The German gymnastics team actually put in a good performance up until the last apparatus. The pommel horse was the final apparatus on the schedule, but it sadly also marked a change of fortunes for the German gymnastics squad. After Andreas Toba went first and had to dismount, none of the other athletes managed to complete their routines without incident either. Including final gymnast Nils Dunkel, all four athletes had a dismount, meaning that the German gymnastics team – who up until that point were on course for the final – dropped down the scoreboard and missed out on the team final by 0.1 points. This brought the European Championships to an early end for all of the men on the German gymnastics team. Their sights are now firmly set on the Olympic Games in Paris, which the gymnasts plan to attack with new courage and a positive outlook after their bitter European Championships experience.
The women of the German gymnastics team will be starting their own European Championships in Rimini on Thursday (2 May).
Seven World Cup medals for Germany’s female gymnasts
The German gymnastics team cleaned up in rhythmic gymnastics at the World Cup in Taschkent (26 to 28 April 2024). The team returned to Germany with a total of seven medals! Darja Varfolomeev won the all-around title in magnificent form, as well a securing gold with the clubs and ribbon and silver with the hoop and ball. Margarita Kolosov was able to celebrate a bronze medal with the ball. The German group also came third after a strong routine with five hoops.
proWIN Volleys remain in the second division
The proWIN Volleys TV Holz have secured their place in the 2. Bundesliga Süd for next year with an impressive 3:0 win in the final home game of the season on Saturday evening (27 April 2024), against their closest competitors from Ludwigsburg. In front of 500 enthusiastic spectators on their home turf of the Multifunktionshalle at Sportcampus Saar in Saarbrücken, the volleyball players TV Holz secured the final points they needed to guarantee remaining in the league. Despite a difficult start with the Barock Volleys Ludwigsburg initially taking the lead, the Holz players fought back and won the first set with a close score of 27:25. The proWIN Volleys then dominated the second set to gain a clear 25:19 win. The relaxed atmosphere and public support spurred the team on to also take the third set 25:20, and with it tenth place in the final table. Nadin Murad was named MVP for the Holz team.
Under coach Sergej Danilov’s leadership, the volleyball players from Holz have thus completed their successful run in the second half of the season, scoring an impressive 19 out of a possible 27 points. The promoted team from Saarland can therefore celebrate another year of second-division volleyball.
SVE return pointless from Paderborn
SV Elversberg would have loved to have officially secured their place remaining in the 2. Bundesliga last Saturday (27 April 2024), but a win over SC Paderborn – which would have made things mathematically official – remained out of reach: the Saarland team returned from their away game with a 1:3 defeat. SVE remain in tenth place in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, with 40 points.
Despite a promising start from SVE, taking the lead after a Carlo Sickinger penalty shortly after half-time, Paderborn were able to turn things around and gain a clear win. This was a well-earned victory for the East Westphalian club based on the teams’ performance and play in the second half. More details in our post-match report.
Coach Horst Steffen appeared fierce after the game and emphasised that the team would continue to give their all in every game and were trying to gain points so that they could wear the club’s colours with pride. He noted that staying in the league was not about playing freely, but rather about ambition to win the remaining games and earn a good position in the table. Steffen’s message is clear: despite the defeat, SV Elversberg‘s morale and fighting spirit remains strong. The team will put the loss behind them and attack their next home game with renewed vigour: on Sunday 5 May at 1:30 p.m., they are facing Hertha BSC Berlin in the URSAPHARM arena.
We have once again relaunched our betting game for this home match: you can place bets up to two minutes before kick-off and win attractive prizes. The betting game can be found here.
Victory and defeat for FCS Tischtennis
To finish the main round of the Tischtennis-Bundesliga (TTBL), last week newly crowned Champions League winners 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis played two more league games with varying results.
Friday evening (26 April 2024) saw a top TTBL duel in Saarbrücken’s Joachim-Deckarm-Halle: table leaders FCS Tischtennis faced their long-time rivals and second-placed team Borussia Düsseldorf. It was already evident before the game began that the result would not change the final table positions – both teams had already qualified for the German team championship playoffs. Nevertheless, both teams took the prestigious duel seriously, dropping only one core player each. Patrick Franziska initially joined the bench for Saarbrücken and was only substituted in for the doubles.
Saarbrücken quickly took a 2:0 lead. Yuto Muramatsu kicked things off in astonishingly clear form with a win over Anton Källberg, without dropping a set. Next, Darko Jorgic conceded just one set to Timo Boll. The two 21-year-olds Kay Stumper and Borgar Haug then turned things around for Düsseldorf: Stumper beat Cedric Nuytinck in four sets, and Haug did the same for Muramatsu. This made the final doubles game the clincher. Cedric Nuytinck and Patrick Franziska won the match for the Saarland team with a 3:2 victory.
On Sunday (28 April), ASV Grünwettersbach were able to beat the table leaders from Saarbrücken in an exciting duel to finish the main round of play. Despite a strong performance by Yuto Muramatsu, who won both of his games in magnificent form, FCS Tischtennis were unlucky to lose their final game of the season 2:3.
For the players of FCS TT, this how means that they can now turn their full attentions to upcoming international tournaments! The Saarland team now has the ‘best of three’ playoffs against fourth-placed league team Werder Bremen. In this duel for entry into the final, the team that finished lower in the main round enjoys the first home game. Bremen is hosting the Champions League winners for the first match on Thursday 23 May. The following Sunday, 26 May, will see the second duel between the two clubs at the Joachim-Deckarm-Halle in Saarbrücken. If neither team manages to secure two wins and thus gain early entry to the final, there will be a third deciding match. This would be in Saarbrücken once again and is planned for Tuesday 4 June.
Michael Ledermann finishes second at Schwingfest
Swiss wrestler Michael Ledermann was able to gain second place at the Wislisau-Schwinget in Rüschegg (CH) on Sunday (28 April 2024). In this preparatory competition, the 23-year-old fought his way through to the final round, which ended in a draw after 12 minutes. During the 12 minutes, Ledermann was unable to sufficiently threaten his club colleague Fabian Staudenmann, leaving Staudenmann as the sole winner. Ledermann shared his position with Adrian Walther.
Mixed feelings for Team75 Motorsport
Last weekend (26 to 28 April 2024), Timo Bernhard’s Team75 Motorsport headed to Oschersleben in northern Germany for the next two races of the Porsche Carrera Cup season.
The team enjoyed a perfect start to the weekend: with a double win, pole position and the fastest lap, Team75 Motorsport from Landstuhl cleaned up across the board at the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany – Robert de Haan won the race. The 17-year-old from Eerbeek in the Netherlands triumphed in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with the starting number 14, ahead of his team colleague Janne Stiak (also 17) from Steinhude in the sister vehicle with the starting number 15. Robert, now officially the youngest ever race winner in the Carrera Cup, also managed the fastest lap. To team owner Timo Bernhard, this was ‘a historic win for Team75. It is the first double win in our history and also our first win after returning to the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany.’
An early withdrawal and nine championship points was the tally for the Landstuhl racing team after the race on Sunday. Robert de Haan had to pull out before the end, and his team colleague Janne Stiak finished in seventh. During the race, Saturday’s winner Robert had to quickly abandon his hopes of a double triumph: he returned to the pits after just one lap in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with the starting number 14 and had to retire from the race. The cause was a faulty radiator, damaged in a collision with a competitor.
Janne, in the sister vehicle with the starting number 15, survived this turbulent starting section well and quickly made it to seventh. After some tight one-on-one battles, he crossed the line in seventh place and was able to add nine more championship points to his ledger.
In team boss Jennifer Leising’s view, it was ‘all in all a very satisfactory weekend, with a fantastic Saturday and a Sunday that we will look back on with both a smile and a tear.’
Early exit for Gabriel Clemens in Austria
At the Austrian Darts Open in Graz (26 to 28 April 2024), Saarland darts pro Gabriel Clemens was unfortunately knocked out in the first round despite a match dart against Dimitri van den Bergh from Belgium.
In an exciting game against the Belgian, Gabriel Clemens kept the lead for a long time. He started strong and established a 2:0 lead, before van den Bergh struck back with a 78 finish. The game stayed neck-in-neck to 4:4, until Clemens established a match point with a 16 darter. Unfortunately, he failed to take the match with an 81 finish at tops, and it went to a deciding set. The German Giant had everything in hand, but a score of just 26 points threw him off his stride. Van den Bergh seized this opportunity and ended the decider with the remaining 152 points and a brilliant checkout.
Strong performance by Team BIKE AID in Turkey
Saarland’s professional cycling team BIKE AID had a successful week at the 59th Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye (21 to 28 April 2024). At Turkey’s largest road cycling race, a 2.Pro event under the UCI classification, the professional cyclists from Saarland were competing against countless top teams on the international cycling stage. The boys worked together very well as a team, and did an excellent job supporting Vincent Dorn to win the red climbing jersey at the end of the Tour. Vinzent was also able to claim the white jersey for the ‘best intermediate sprint’ on day one, and retain it through to the end. Leo Bouvier finished in fifth place in the first stage and achieved an excellent result for the day. Oliver Mattheis and Antoine Berlin also put in strong performances, continually fighting in breakaway groups and supporting the team. In addition, the team won the unofficial title of ‘strongest attacking team’. All in all, the team did outstandingly well to perform so effectively amid a strong field and end up on the podium multiple times.
The Saarland cycling pros barely have time to catch their breath – next up, to team is heading to Africa for the Tour du Benin.
Two clear wins for the Saarlouis Hornets
With two clear home wins against Frankfurt (16:2 and 16:1) in a double-header in front of a home crowd last Saturday (27 April 2024), the baseball players of the Saarlouis Hornets secured sole position at the top of the 2. Bundesliga Süd-West!
Against the Eagles from Frankfurt, it quickly became evident which team would be leaving the winners. The Saarlouis team were fully on the offensive right from the first hit, and posed some issues on the mound for former Hornet Sebastian Ewald. After an evenly balanced start, the Hornets pulled away decisively from 3:2 thanks to a grand slam home run by Yannik Petry. With some strong hits and plenty of errors by the Frankfurt defence, the Saarland team secured their first win of the day after just the fifth inning.
The second game went in similar fashion, securing an even quicker and clearer win. Once again, the Hornets’s defence allowed little through. On the offensive side, Martin Matlacki followed his solo home run with another grand slam home run, meaning that the game was brought to an end after the fourth inning under the mercy rule.
These were two fantastic wins that provisionally put the team at the top of the table, thanks to the split between Mainz and Bad Homburg. Their next difficult test comes on Sunday, with the first inter-league game of the new season. The Saarlouis Hornets are hosting the Tübingen Hawks, who have also had a good start to the year with three wins in four games, and are one of the favourites for promotion.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.