AUK Teams in Abu Dhabi International Sports League

April The American University of Kuwait (AUK) participated in Abu Dhabi International Sports League (ADISL) in men's & women's football and men's & women's basketball on. A total of 39 student-athletes represented AUK while competing against New York University Abu Dhabi, Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, and Masdar Institute Abu Dhabi. Matches were held between March 7th and 9th all over Abu Dhabi, from the state of the art facilities on the Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi campus, to the beautiful football pitches in Zayed Sports City, and even playing games on Manchester United's practice pitch at Emirates Palace. This was the first time AUK played against higher-education institutions in Abu Dhabi.

AUK men's basketball started the tournament off strong with a double digit win over Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. They took the lead from the very beginning and easily held it the entire game. Fawaz Al Dakheel was on fire, with every shot being highlight reel worthy and blocks that made others scared to drive-in. Their second game against New York University Abu Dhabi was a nail biter. AUK ended the 1st quarter down by 10 points, but managed to cut the lead to 5 points going into halftime. In the second half, AUK came out ready to play and quickly took the lead. Ahmed Butaiban was a general on the court, calling plays, taking advantage of even the smallest of openings, and having a hand in almost every basket. As the 2nd half progressed, the teams kept exchanging the lead. But with a push in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter, AUK managed to take the lead and keep in this time, winning 67 - 64. The comeback would not have been possible without Uros Lukic dominating under the rim and Saad Abu Al Haj making some clutch outside shots. The last game for AUK men's basketball was against Masdar Institution. Fuelled by their previous two wins, they dominated the game. At the end of the 4th quarter, AUK had another big win and an undefeated record for ADISL.

AUK women's basketball began by playing a top notch team from Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. Unable to contain Paris-Sorbonne's star player, AUK fought hard but couldn't pull off the win. AUK's next game was against New York University Abu Dhabi. The game was close, but despite amazing efforts from Njoud Aweis on offense and strong rebounding from Dalal Abulaziz, AUK fell short of the win. In the last game against Masdar Institute, the AUK team finally came together. The entire team stepped up and played beautifully. AUK finished the tournament with a huge win, the final score being 27-2.

AUK men's football team played near-flawless football throughout both their matches. Playing 11 v 11 for this tournament, AUK's opening match was against Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. AUK made use of the entire pitch, moving the ball around beautifully. After rattling a few shots off the cross bar and the posts, AUK started their scoring frenzy in the second half with a spectacular shot by Abdullah Mustafa. Mr. Mustafa wasn't done there; he added two more goals by the end of the game, earning a hat-trick and contributing to 3-0 victory for AUK. As great as AUK's first game was, their second game was even better. Playing New York University Abu Dhabi, AUK decided to do all the scoring in the first half. Abdullah Mustafa again started off the scoring for AUK. Then Ali Al-Ali managed to stop hitting the posts and finally found the back of the net to score AUK's 2nd goal. The 3rd and final goal was scored by Yacoub Mohammed on a nice assist from Mohammed Al-Obaid. At the final whistle, AUK had another 3-0 victory and an undefeated record for ADISL.

AUK women's soccer was plagued with injuries from the very beginning. In their first 7 v 7 match against Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, the teams were equally matched. Unfortunately, AUK's star striker, Dina Al-Ibrahim, was taken out half through the first half with a bad tackle which severely injured her ankle. Shortly after Paris-Sorbonne scored and AUK wasn't able to score back. AUK's second match was against New York University Abu Dhabi. AUK started strong, but when a key mid-fielder was taken out with an extremely dangerous head-first tackle to the face, AUK lost another strong player and soon after gave up two quick goals. Unable to score back, AUK accepted another loss.

Later this month, AUK will be sending its futsal, volleyball, tennis, and table tennis teams to represent AUK in the Beirut Unisports Festival 2013 in Lebanon. AUK is currently in the middle of its athletic calendar in Kuwait. Student-athletes will be competing in the finals of the University Championship Cup with the men's and women's basketball finals on March 18th and the men's soccer final on March 19th. AUK's Spring sports will begin 7th.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 19th March 2013