Logo courtesy of NYUAD Athletics, Graphic by The Gazelle.

On Nov. 10 and 11, NYU Abu Dhabi faced off against Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in several different sports, including the men’s and women's tournaments of football, basketball and badminton and the men's table tennis tournament.

The first team to play was the women’s football teams in the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League in Zayed Sports City. After the team fell behind by one goal, sophomore Alyssa Ferreira tied the match with a long-range strike. Fast-forward ten minutes into the second half and Ferreira put NYUAD in front with a long shot similar to the first. However, PSUAD’s drive in the final minutes of the game proved to be fruitful, and they tied the game at 2-2.

Immediately after the women’s match ended, the men’s football match started. This particular game was merely a friendly match, as the NYUAD and PSUAD men's football teams are in different ADISL divisions. Nonetheless, the historical rivalry between the two made it exciting. The high pressure exerted by NYUAD on PSUAD during the first half proved to be successful with senior Ilya Bozhenkov and freshman Daniel Carelli scoring one goal each. Sorbonne stepped up their game in the second half with two goals, resulting in a final score of 2-2.

The following day, on Nov. 10, NYUAD’s Saadiyat performance gymnasium was the stage for the men’s and women’s basketball, badminton and men’s table tennis matches. The event, dubbed Defend the Nest, proved popular with fans who came to support NYUAD’s teams with purple painted faces, falcon themed shirts and a live falcon. Performances by NYUAD's dancing SIG, Attitude, provided the half-time entertainment. The final scores for the matches are as follows: men’s basketball performed solidly to obtain a 54-5 victory, while women’s basketball was just short two points in their 13-15 loss. Men’s badminton and women’s badminton were victorious, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. Men’s volleyball and women’s volleyball both lost their matches, while the NYUAD table tennis team was victorious.