22 July 2011
Smells like RMIT spirit
RMIT University athletes have made sporting history, bringing home the "Spirit of the Games" award from the Southern University Games for the third year in a row.
Ten pin bowling members Jason Nogueria, Karri Butterworth, Fairuze Fadzil, Stephanie Kondogonis and Michael Bagnato celebrate their gold medal win.
RMIT team captains Jake Mortimer and Samantha Coates accept the Spirit of the Games award from a member of Geelong City Council.
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There was just one silver medal between the RMIT Redbacks and overall winners, La Trobe University, with RMIT winning four gold, three silver and six bronze medals across a range of sports.
Multi-talented Bachelor of Business (Business Information Systems) student Stephanie Kondogonis won three gold medals - an individual women's cross-country gold and two team golds for women's cross-country and tenpin bowling.
The Redbacks were represented by 185 students who competed in 14 sports at the games, held recently in Geelong.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Vice-President, Professor Gill Palmer, congratulated the team on their historic achievement.
"This was the first time in Australian university sporting history that a university has been awarded the Spirit of the Games three consecutive times," Professor Palmer said.
"It shows just how wonderfully the Redbacks represent RMIT wherever they travel.
"For our Redbacks, it's just not just about winning, it's about how you win, how you lose and how you play the game.
"All the competitors and medal-winners should be very proud of their outstanding achievements at these games."
The "Spirit of the Games" award is presented to the university team which shows the greatest sportsmanship, fair play, organisation and overall team spirit.
RMIT Link Sport and Recreation Senior Coordinator, Janelle Farley, said the three-peat was no coincidence, with the Redbacks working hard each year to win the award.
"Our athletes take great pride in bringing home the Spirit of the Games and our team manager Sally Tanner has done an amazing job in recent years communicating the importance of the Spirit of the Games to the whole team," she said.
"The team captains, team managers and coaches she has appointed and guided have been instrumental in supporting team spirit and filtering the message down to every Redback.
"We've staked our claim on the Spirit of the Games and thanks to Sally's passion and dedication - and the commitment of all our staff, volunteers and athletes - for three years in a row we've succeeded!"
RMIT medal winners at the 2011 Southern University Games
Gold
Soccer (Men)
Ten Pin Bowling (Mixed)
Cross Country (Women)
Tennis Singles (Women)
Silver
AFL (Women)
AFL (Men)
Lawn Bowls (Mixed)
Bronze
Cheerleading (Mixed)
Cross Country (Men)
Women's Netball (Women)
Netball (Mixed)
Squash Singles (Men)
Tennis Singles (Women)
Triple gold medal winner, Stephanie Kondogonis.
RMIT's bronze medal-winning cheerleading team.
Women's tennis gold medallist Jessica Mitreski showing her winning style.
The men's soccer team celebrate their gold medal.
