La TROBE University student and the Bendigo Tennis Association’s number one player Curt Garwood struck gold in yesterday’s men’s singles final at the Southern University Games.Garwood, who did not drop a match at the tournament on the Bendigo Bank complex hardcourts in Nolan Street, took on La Trobe Bundoora student Adrian Cosetti in the final and won 8-1.Garwood faced tough competition leading up to the final, including a semi-final clash with RMIT student Jonothan Nathar, who represented Malaysia in the Junior Davis Cup before transferring to Melbourne for study.The Bendigo player fought back from 6-5 and a service break down to score an 8-6 victory in the semi-final clash with Nathar 8-6.Bendigo tennis player Corbin Fleming also progressed to the semi-final, but had to forfeit because of work commitments.La Trobe University Bendigo was also successful in the women’s competition as Sarah Lay scored an 8-3 win against Jane Robertson from Swinburne Institute of Technology.Bendigo Tennis Association executive officer Leon Retallick said the University Games had been a great success at the Nolan Street complex.“It’s been a really good week. The players have enjoyed the competition and the quality of the facilities,” Retallick said.“We have had 19 men and six women play throughout the week, and the standard of competition was excellent.“We have had a diverse range of abilities, which is all part of it and probably one of the major attractions of the University Games,” Retallick said.In other sports, La Trobe Bendigo’s mixed touch rugby team won gold after a 10-4 win against RMIT.The La Trobe soccer team won the play-off for gold against Deakin University at the Epsom-Huntly Recreation Reserve.The La Trobe University Bendigo women’s volleyball team won gold at the Southern University Games for the third consecutive year.The La Trobe team defeated a determined Victoria University team, 3-1, in yesterday’s grand final at Bendigo Stadium.The Bendigo line-up did not drop a match in this week’s competition, which was held at both Flora Hill and Bendigo Stadium.The side defeated the University of Adelaide in last year’s Games held in Melbourne.Coach of the La Trobe Bendigo team Rennie Cirillo said there were many impressive performances.“I think the girls did extremely well,” he said“We’ve won gold for the past three years in this event.”“We’ve only got four girls from last year’s team and the rest are new, so the team did really well.”La Trobe Bendigo’s number two mixed netball team progressed to the grand final at Bendigo Stadium, as did the men’s basketball line-ups.Bendigo Braves star Chris Novak was on court in some of La Trobe Bendigo’s basketball showdowns.