Hall of Famer “extremely proud” as Bath alumnae help England secure netball semi-final spot at Glasgow 2026
University of Bath sporting scholar Jayda Pechova helped England battle past South Africa to secure a well-earned place in the netball semi-finals at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Sport and Exercise Science alumna Imogen Allison also played a key role as England recovered from a 17-11 deficit after the first quarter to win 58-54 in a match which determined who would finish runners-up to Australia in Pool A.
Head Coach Anna Stembridge, formerly of Team Bath Netball and a University of Bath Hall of Fame for Sport inductee, said: “You don’t get many occasions like this, where the last game of the pool stages ultimately decides a semi-final place. The girls leaned into that pressure, they trusted one another, and I feel quite emotional because I’m extremely proud of the group.”
England will now face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Saturday (9am), with the winners facing either Australia or Jamaica in the gold-medal contest on Sunday (1pm).
A Wales squad featuring Team Bath Netball duo Poppy Tydeman and Lowri Windsor had to settle for 10th place overall following a 63-53 defeat to Tonga in Friday’s 9-10 Classification Match.
Wing-defence Tydeman featured in all six matches, while Sports Performance student Windsor – who earned her first senior cap in Wales’ only victory, against Trinidad and Tobago – also gained invaluable experience with appearances against New Zealand and Jamaica.
Athlete Justin Davies was proud of his efforts after narrowly missing out on a place in Saturday’s 800m final. The Team Bath AC runner, representing Team Wales, ran his best time of an injury-disrupted season (1:45.51) in his semi-final but missed out on qualification but just a tenth of a second.
“Obviously I’m annoyed I didn’t quite make the final but I’m happy, especially after a season’s best of 0.5 of a second,” said Davies, who graduated from the University in Biomedical Sciences this summer and was supported by an Alumni Fund Sports Scholarship. “I almost caught Ben Pattison on the line and to outkick some 1:42 guys in the last 100m, I’m really proud of that.”
Visit teambath.com/Glasgow-2026 to follow the progress of University of Bath-associated athletes at the Commonwealth Games.
Top picture credit: Team England/Imagecomms.
