Varsity Match
St. Paul's School, Barnes, 22nd February 2014
The weekend before the Varsity Match sees the traditional matches between Cambridge Present and Past, this year on the new Cambridge courts, and Oxford's VIII versus Old Oxford at St. Paul's.
The Match Managers report:
Bob Dolby writes: A Cambridge team drawn from Ed Kay, Jacob Brubert, Jack Malde, Zach Brubert, Jacob Ader, Wilson Lau, Tom Bury, James Pinder and Richard Law achieved a second win in a row against the Past. Kay, Brubert J, Malde and Brubert Z went 17 points up after the Singles, where Charlie Brooks and Tom Chase recorded wins for the Past while Fred Kelly and Elliott Malone went down. The Present increased their lead in the first round of Doubles, which saw Chris Jones & Rupert Walter, Paddy d’Ancona & Mick d’Ancona enter the fray for the Past. Pick of the contests was a 90 minute battle between Malde & Zach Brubert and Chase & Malone. In the second round of Doubles the Past threw in Charlie Brooks & Paddy d’Ancona, Martin Wilkinson & Joe Gribble and Chris Jones & Peter Judge, all three picking up points. Despite this traditional comeback by the Past there was a win for the Present by 242-206. The day ended with a gentlemen’s foursome: Martin Wilkinson, Paul Reeder, Robert Rigg and Gareth Quarry combining for a game which ended something like 16-15 – what else?!
Dan Tristao reports: A 12-man Oxford team made up of Henry Jefferies, Francis Thomas, Alexander Esin, James Roberts, Drew Horsewood, Tom Hoskins, Ed Wilman, Henry Wilman, Ophir Even, Nick Whitney, Ed Birkett, and Will Yates came up against an unusually strong Past team that included 2 past n/national champions and a third top 10 player. Due to a surplus of players on the day, a couple of Past members volunteered their services for the Present, resulting in a 10-a-side main fixture, as well as a Beavers fixture. After the singles, the Present were 27 points ahead, with notable scalps from Henry Jefferies, who beat Marcus Bate, and Francis Thomas who beat Sam Roberts. In the doubles however, experience took over and the Past slowly pulled the lead back (as is typical in this fixture). After many hard-fought contests, the Past eventually triumphed 341-233. Despite the final tally, there were some very promising performances from the Present, with quality fives played right down the order; encouraging signs ahead of this Saturday's Varsity match.