Sports Weekend

The latest from womens tennis, ice hockey, rugby and football

Steliu Lambru, 19.04.2019, 12:52

Romania’s womens tennis team on Saturday and Sunday plays the FedCup semifinal against France away from home, in Rouen. WTA 2nd-placed Simona Halep, WTA 30th placed Mihaela Buzarnescu and 83rd-placed Irina Begu are part of Romanias lineup in the fixture against France. Joining them are Monica Niculescu (132 WTA) and Raluca Olaru, no 34th in the doubles standings. Florin Segarceanu is the Romanian teams non-playing captain. Simona Halep will be the first to play in the singles contest, but Segarceanu said he is yet to decide on the second competitor in the singles.

On Friday and Saturday, the national ice hockey championship final is scheduled. In Brasov, central Romania, Corona faces CSM Galati, in the 3rd and 4th matches. On aggregate the score is 1-all, after the first and the second match. The final is held in the best-in-five-matches system.

Moving on to rugby, on Saturday, 3 National Rugby League matches will be played, counting towards the 11th round. Dinamo Bucharest plays Farul Constanta, Steaua Bucharest faces CSM Baia Mare, while Universitatea Cluj takes on HCM Buzau. The top 4 teams so far are CSM Bucharest with 44 points, Timisoara Saracens and Steaua Bucharest with 39 points each, and CSM Baia Mare, with 36 points on their record sheet. The 4 teams play in the final tournament.

We go out with news from football. The weekend sees matches counting towards the 6th round, with Astra Giurgiu pitted against Universitatea Craiova in Group 1 on Friday. On Saturday, Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe takes on CFR Cluj, while on Sunday, Viitorul Constanta faces FCSB. CFR Cluj is at the top of the table, with 38 points, followed by FCSB with 35 and Universitatea Craiova, with 30 points.

In Group 2, on Sunday, Gaz Metan Medias play a home game against Dunarea Calarasi. On Monday, Politehnica Iasi goes against Concordia Chiajna, while Dinamo Bucharest takes on FC Botosani. FC Voluntari ranks 5th with 21 points, followed by FC Hermannstadt, with 17 points. The two teams compete in the playoffs to maintain their position in League One. 7th-placed Dunarea Calarasi and 8th-placed Concordia Chiajna are relegated to the domestic championships second league.

(translated by: Eugen Nasta)