Laura Gladdish will take plenty of positives from BUCS Nationals after finishing as runner-up in the women’s sabre, in Sheffield.

The 20-year-old fencer from Bexleyheath defeated joint-highest ranked Alexandra Davis 15-12 in the semi-finals, before losing to Kate Daykin 15-5 in the final.

Getting to the final was a huge achievement according to the University of Exeter student who is looking forward to continuing her season in the same vein.

“It was a really good and fun event,” the economics student said. “I felt really good coming into the event to start with and it was really good fun going through the rounds and making it through to the final.

“The semi-final stood out as a highlight. It was a very tense match and I was quite nervous at the start because I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pull through and then I plucked that result out of nowhere. It was a tough match and she was a really good fight.

“The final was very tough. I felt like Kate [Daykin] won fair and square. I felt like I wasn’t in the game in my head but overall I feel like I was very happy in my head with the result that I achieved.”

This year saw BUCS Nationals return for its sixth year, bringing together individual BUCS Championship events which take place across Sheffield.

More than 500 officials and volunteers made the sport happen from February 16-18, with this the largest annual multi-sport event in the UK.

Gladdish added: “BUCS is quite a big event in my calendar. You’re training a lot and I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and the season. BUCS is a great way for me to get back into my stride and play against a lot of different people.

“I want to keep training and really work hard at it and see where it takes me once I finish university.”

BUCS Nationals, powered by Muhdo is the largest annual multi-sport event in the UK, bringing the best of Britain’s university athletes together to compete across eight different sports in Sheffield.