BIG wins for the first teams in men’s lacrosse, women’s hockey, men’s rugby and women’s football all bolstered the University of York’s British Universities and Colleges Sport top-40 quest.

The men’s lacrosse firsts progressed to the semi-finals of the Northern Conference Cup with a 11-10 win over Durham seconds at York Sport Village.

Durham defeated York in last year’s cup final, but captain William Chun’s last-minute goal sealed the victory for York this time.

The women’s firsts beat Manchester Met 26-2 in their quarter-final.

The women’s football firsts reached the cup semi-finals thanks to a 4-2 win over Leeds seconds.

The men’s thirds suffered their first defeat of the season against city rivals York St John thirds.

Despite the 1-0 scoreline, York maintained their lead in Northern 6B.

The men’s rugby firsts continued their push for promotion with a 41-10 victory over Leeds seconds.

They continue to hold a big lead in Northern 1A and are looking ever more certain to qualify for the end of season promotion play-off.

The seconds recorded their second win of the season to climb out of the Northern 2B automatic relegation places, beating Newcastle thirds 24-17.

The men’s thirds suffered an agonising 8-7 defeat to Leeds fifths.

The women’s hockey firsts gave themselves some breathing room with victory over Leeds Met 2nds.

York trailed 3-2 before claiming a 5-3 victory.

There was disappointment for the men’s firsts as they lost 3-1 to bottom of the table Durham fourths, while the men’s thirds beat Teesside seconds 12-0.

The women’s badminton firsts are out of their conference cup after a 6-2 defeat by Newcastle firsts.

The men’s squash firsts have reached the semi-finals of their cup after a 3-0 victory over Durham seconds. They will face Leeds Met seconds in the next round.

Meanwhile, the women’s firsts were eliminated from the cup after a 4-0 defeat at Durham seconds.

The men’s fencing firsts eased any relegation fears in Northern 1B with a 120-102 victory over second-placed Northumbria firsts.

The men’s table tennis firsts lost 11-6 against Liverpool firsts.