Gareth Hoskins reports:
A grand total of 12 teams and 76 players took part in the qualifying rounds of the EFA Trophy, the largest entry for a long time and one which comfortably kept all 16 courts occupied all day.
The Fives was both enjoyable and competitive, with the qualifiers from the two groups not being decided until the final pairs of the final round of matches. Group A was dominated by the Old Wulfrunians, with North Oxford A just pipping the Old Etonians to the second qualifying place. Group B was even closer, with four teams evenly matched and competing for the top two positions. As the final round of matches began it was clear that the Old Westminsters were just going to win the group, Cambridge University were going to narrowly miss out and that the winner of the Westway versus Old Salopians match would claim second place. With first and third pair shared, it all came down to the second pair clash, which was eventually won 15-14 by the Old Salopian pair, thus qualifying them for the semi-finals by the closest possible margin.
The excitement of the EFA Trophy group stages was replicated on finals day. In the morning, both of the table-topping teams from the groups ended up exiting at the semi-final stage; the Old Westminsters, weakened by the unavailability of key players, were easily brushed aside by North Oxford, whilst in the other semi-final tournament favourites the Old Wulfrunians lost to the Old Salopians in a close and hard-fought local derby. The final was an equally tense and evenly-matched encounter. North Oxford quickly established winning momentum at third pair, with youngster Theo Bossom in fine form. The reverse was true at second pair, where Salopian captain Marc Quinn and his schoolboy partner Tom Welti played some fine attacking Fives to win in straight games. With the match level at 1-1, all attention turned to the see-saw first pair contest, which provided tension, excitement and high-quality Fives in equal measure. The Salopian pair of Grant Williams and Chris Hughes made a fine start, taking the first game 12-8, before the North Oxford duo of Nick Shaw and Graham Pulsford stormed back to win the second 12-0 with some outstanding cut returning and volleying. With the match threatening to run away from them, the Salopians then showed great fight to claw their way back in the third game, eventually winning it 12-9 to move to within one game of clinching a seventh EFA Trophy title for their team. The momentum now swung back to the North Oxford pair, however, as they replicated their form of the second game to win 12-4 and level the match at 2-2. In front of a vociferous and enthralled group of spectators, all four players produced some fantastic Fives in the final game; Grant and Chris had their noses in front from the start and at 9-5 up it seemed like they had done enough. Instead, in the final twist of a classic encounter, Nick and Graham refound their cut returning rhythm at the crucial time and raced through to clinch the game 12-9, the rubber 3-2 and the match 2-1 to take the EFA Trophy back to Summer Fields for the first time after five successive near misses.
Results
Qualifying Round 25th January - Eton
Group A
Old Wulfrunians 14
North Oxford A 11
Old Etonians 10
Berkhamsted 7
Old Citizens 3
Cambridge University B 0
Group B
Old Westminsters 11
Old Salopians 10
Westway 9
Cambridge University A 9
North Oxford B 5
Windsor & Eton 1
Finals 22nd February - Eton
Semi-Finals
Old Salopians beat Old Wulfrunians 2-1
G Williams & C Hughes beat A Simmons & O Ross 12-8, 12-7, 13-14, 12-9
C Webster & T Welti lost to C Austin & M Yates 3-12, 0-2 ret
M Quinn & J Pollock beat M Yates & J Brazier 13-10, 12-9, 8-12, 13-10
North Oxford beat Old Westminsters 3-0
N Shaw & G Pulsford beat G Coren & F Krespi 12-4, 12-0, 12-2
C Davies & T Bossom beat M Chen & J MacDonald 12-6, 12-8, 12-6
S Chapman & J Shaw beat S Sakhrani & N Tandy 14-11, 12-5, 12-8
Final
North Oxford beat Old Salopians 2-1
N Shaw & G Pulsford beat G Williams & C Hughes 8-12, 12-0, 9-12, 12-4, 12-9
C Davies & S Chapman lost to M Quinn & T Welti 7-12, 1-12, 5-12
T Bossom & J Shaw beat J Pollock & R Pattison 12-4, 12-10, 12-7