About Toyo University SPORTS NEWS
Men’s and Women’s Football Clubs
The Women’s Football Club Achieves Their Long-Awaited Goal of Becoming the Top Team in Japan!
The Women’s Football Club, who finished top of the 36th Kanto University Women’s Football League 1st Division for the first time in November 2022, fought their way to the finals of the 31st All Japan University Women’s Football Championship, which started on December 24. The final was held at the Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka (Kita ward, Tokyo) on January 6, 2023, where Toyo faced Yamanashi Gakuin University. This was a must-watch match, with both teams vying for their first championship victory.
With neither side budging an inch, the first half ended goalless. But 20 minutes into the second half, Mai Kadowaki’s (3rd year student, Faculty of Food and Nutritional Sciences) shot was pushed away by the Yamanashi Gakuin goalkeeper, and Eri Kitagawa (4th year student, Faculty of Food and Nutritional Sciences) responded sharply to a pass from the loose ball to score and put Toyo in front. Toyo were able to hold on to their one-goal lead until the final whistle. With this 1 - 0 victory, Toyo achieved the spectacular feat of becoming Japan's number-one university women’s soccer team. Eri Kitagawa, who scored the deciding goal in the final, was chosen as the player of the tournament.
13 Players to Join Professional and Amateur Football Clubs
Players from the Toyo Football Club will join professional and amateur football clubs next year.
(As of February 20, 2023 in Japanese syllabary order)
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| Keisuke Ito / MF SC Sagamihara (J3 LEAGUE) |
Ren Inoue / MF Mito HollyHock (J2 LEAGUE) |
Yuuka Imai / GK YAMATO SYLPHID （Nadeshiko League Division 1 |
Mai Endo / FW YAMATO SYLPHID （Nadeshiko League Division 1） |
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| Eri Kitagawa / FW OMIYA ARDIJA VENTUS （WE League） |
Haruna Suzuki / MF BUNNYS GUNMA FC WHITE STAR （Nadeshiko League Division 1） |
Gijo Sehata / MF V・Varen Nagasaki (J2 LEAGUE) |
Ryo Takahashi / DF Albirex Niigata Singapore （Singapore Premier League） |
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| Fumiya Takayanagi / MF OMIYA ARDIJA (J2 LEAGUE) |
Shion Nakatani / FW Nankatsu SC WINGS (Kanto Ladies Soccer League) |
Taira Maeda / FW SC Sagamihara (J3 LEAGUE) |
Keita Matsuda / DF Mito HollyHock (J2 LEAGUE) |
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| Keisuke Muroi / FW OMIYA ARDIJA (J2 LEAGUE) |
Ice Skating Club (Hockey Division)
Toyo Finished Runners up at the Japan Intercollege Skating Championships
The Hockey Division of the Ice Skating Club, who won the Kanto League for the 10th time this year, once again faced Meiji University, who Toyo beat in the final of the Kanto University League, in the final of the First Division of the 95th Japan Intercollege Ice Skating Championships held at the KOSE Shin Yokohama Skate Center (Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) on December 25, 2022. After a closely fought contest, the game went into extra time, where Toyo lost 2 - 1, and finished runners-up. Riku Ishida (4th year student, Faculty of Sociology) and Taiga Abe (4th year student, Faculty of Sociology) were given individual awards and selected for the best six of the tournament.
Also, at the 2023 FISU World University Games Winter, an international tournament for university students held from January 12 to 22, 14 Toyo students were chosen to represent Japan, and the Japanese team went on to reach the best four for the first time since the Bulgaria Games in 1983. Unfortunately, Japan finished in fourth place. Taiga Abe and Daisuke Miyata (both 4th year students, Faculty of Sociology) will join the H.C Tochigi Nikko Ice Bucks, and we are looking forward to their future success.
Baseball Club
New Coaching Structure From January 2023
The Baseball Club will take on a new coaching structure from January 2023, with the retirement of head coach Yasuhiko Sugimoto.
Masaru Inoue, a coach at the Toyo Baseball Club since 2015, was appointed as the new head coach. Also, since December 2022, Masahiro Inui (2011 graduate, Faculty of Law), a former member of the Baseball Club who played as a pitcher for both the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants, has joined the Baseball Club as a coach. With this new structure, Toyo will aim to reclaim their place in the top league after a five-season absence.
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Masaru Inoue, Head coach Background |
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Masahiro Inui, coach Background |