BUCS Championships 2013
Marlborough College, 22nd/24th November 2013
An entry of some 49 in the singles and 27 pairs in the doubles, pushed the organisers to their limits in order to finish the schedule on time. In fact only a minimal number withdrew - 2 from the singles and 1 pair . Combine this with the fact that a couple of the 1st round singles went to long three game matches, and we were always likely to remain behind time, writes David Gardner.
Estimating the length of a match is always difficult and this year was no exception. In fact we played for 13 hours non-stop on 4 courts on day 1, followed by 12 hour on day 2!
Even the finals went to 5 hours of play Sunday morning. Thus some 150 matches were played in the main Championships and Plate events, with a total of some 110 hours of play. A mammoth task which exhausted everyone.
However the standard was generally of a high quality - exceptionally good at the top end, with a very broad level in the middle order, which meant even more long matches. Even at the lower end there was much excitement. The arrival of a 'Squash' team from Brunel provided a breath of fresh air to the tournament, and there was much jubilation from everyone when they won their first ever victory in a Plate match v UCL.
I trust that we will see them again next year. It was also extremely pleasing to see Edinburgh represented after a break of a few years, and we hope that Matt Oddy will be able to re-build the Club in Scotland so that we are able to consider taking the event back North of the Border again in the near future.
The finals went to plan with the top seeds, Dan Grant (UCL) and Ed Kay & Jacob Brubert (Cambridge) both retaining their titles. Inigo Ackland & Sam Rolls, tried desperately hard to take the doubles, in their second successive final, in a long and gruelling three game match, where the level of play was top class, but, sadly, the levels of sportsmanship were not always of the standard that we have come to expect in our sport
Self regulation has always been a feature of Rugby Fives and we hope that will continue long into the future!
The Plate events provided more excitement with Durham capturing both events. Ollie Quarry defeated Alan Bowden in the singles, then combined with his opponent in the doubles to take a long gruelling three game match and complete the 'double'.
Perhaps a particular feature was the feat of Alan Bowden, who, after nine years as a student, finally won a title in his last year. Well done!!
The facilities at Marlborough were, as always, excellent, and we are grateful to the College for giving us hospitality for three days.
We look forward to the Representative match v Rugby Fives Association in March, which is being held on the excellent new courts at Cambridge. It would be good to a see a sizeable turn out of spectators for this event which commences at 1.p.m. on Sunday 9th March 2014.
• In the entirely unofficial 'team' championship, calculated by Dave Hebden, the winners were Cambridge University, who supplied the doubles champion and the singles runner-up. In second place were UCL, thanks chiefly to Dan Grant's singles title, while Bristol beat Durham to take fourth place.
RESULTS
Singles
1st round: Esin (Ox) bt Wollard (Dur) 13-15, 15-9, 15-6; Z Brubert (Cam) bt Ward (Bru) 15-0, 15-0; Russel (Dur) bt Chandra (UCL) 15-0, 15-1; Ibbotson (UCL) bt Cook (Cam) 15-0, 15-1; Evan (Ox) bt Lamb (Dur) 15-13, 0-15, 15-13; Hanton (Law) bt R Mathias (Cam) 15-2, 15-5; Ader (Cam) bt Birney (Bru) 15-2, 15-0; Davey (Bir) bt Sedani (Bru) 15-1, 15-0; Page (Dur) bt Fowler (Bru) 15-1, 15-4; Bowden (Dur) bt Bury (Cam) 15-8, 15-12; Lau (Cam) bt Roach (Bru) 115-0, 15-0; Arnold (SP) bt Legget (Dur) 15-4, 15-4; Quarry (Dur) bt Houlden (Cam) 15-6, 11-15, 15-13; Oddy (Edi) bt Ancell (Bru) 15-0, 15-0; Law (Cam) bt Hick (Bru) 15-0, 15-1
2nd round: Grant (UCL) bt Esin 15-5, 15-3; Z Brubert bt Russell 15-11, 15-3; Beltrami (SPS) Ibbetson 15-0, 15-1; J Brubert (Cam) bt Evan 15-0, 15-2; Hanton bt Chen (UCL) 15-0, 15-0; Aquilina (Dur) bt Ader 15-2, 15-3; Gravatt (Dur) bt Chai (UCL) 15-0, 15-0; Burrows (Imp) bt Davey 15-6, 15-3; Kay (Cam) bt Page 15-1, 15-3; Parker (Bri) bt Bowden 15-7, 15-8; Thomas (Oxf) bt Lau 15-6, 15-0; Rolls (Bri) bt Arnold 15-12, 15-7; Butler (Dur) bt Mullan (Ox) 15-0, 15-0; Jefferies (Ox) bt Quarry 15-13, 15-3; Malde (Cam) bt Oddy 15-6, 115-9; Ackland (Bri) bt Law 15-0, 15-1
3rd round: Grant bt Z Brubert 15-8, 15-10; J Brubert bt Beltrami 16-15, 15-13; Aquilina bt Hanton 16-15, 15-5; Burrows bt Gravatt 11-15, 15-5, 15-8; Kay bt Parker 15-10, 15-6; Rolls bt Thomas 15-9, 15-5; Butler bt Jefferies 15-12, 16-14; Ackland bt Malde 15-8, 15-13
Quarter-finals: Grant bt J Brubert 15-2, 15-6; Aquilina bt Burrows 15-4, 15-1; Kay bt Rolls 15-5, 15-2; Ackland bt Butler 15-8, 15-8
Semi-finals: Grant bt Aqulina 15-4, 15-9; Kay bt Ackland 15-13, 7-15, 15-6
Final: D Grant bt E Kay 15-3, 15-13
Plate: Quarry
Doubles
1st round: Legget/Woolard (Dur) bt Wilman/Wilman (Ox) 15-7, 15-8; Bury/Law (Cam) bt Fowleroach (Bru) 15-3, 15-0; Gravattussell (Dur) bt Watkinson/Chua (Win) 15-7, 15-3; Jefferies/Thomas (Ox) bt Tugwell/Chandra (UCL) 15-6, 15-0; Mathias/Lau (Cam) bt Ward/Hick (Bru) 15-2, 15-0; Parker/Frossell (Bri) bt Penn/Ibbetson (UCL) 15-11, 15-9; Ganendra/Ader (Cam) bt Lamb/Page (Dur) 15-4, 15-3; Cook/Houlden (Cam) bt Chenixley (UCL) 15-1, 15-1; Beltrami/Arnold (SPS) bt Esinoberts (Ox) 15-2, 15-0; Bowden/Quarry (Dur) bt Evan/Whitney (Ox) score unrecorded; Mullan/Hale (Ox) bt Binney/Punit (Bru) 15-5, 15-1
2nd round: Kay/Brubert (Cam) bt Legget/Woolard 15-6, 15-6; Gravattussell bt Bury/Law 15-8, 15-5; Jefferies/Thomas bt Mathias/Lau 15-0, 15-2; Butler/Aquilina bt Parker/Frossel 15-9, 15-12; Grant/Chase (UCL) bt Ganendra/Ader 15-9, 15-11; Beltrami/Arnold bt Cook/Houlden 15-0, 15-0; Malde/Z Brubert bt Bowden/Quarry 15-8, 15-13; Acklandolls (Bri) bt Mullan/Hale 15-0, 15-3
Quarter-finasl: Kay/Brubert bt Gravattussell 15-9, 15-7; Jefferies/Thomas bt Butler/Aquilina 13-15, 15-8, 15-8; Beltrami/Arnold bt Grant/Chase 15-9, 8-15, 15-6; Acklandolls bt Malde/Z Brubert 15-7, 15-4
Semi-finals: Kay & Brubert bt Thomas & Jefferies retd; Ackland & Rolls bt Beltrami & Arnold 9-15, 15-13, 15-3
Final: E Kay & J Brubert bt I Ackland & S Rolls 14-16, 15-8, 15-12
Plate: Quarry & Bowden