The Light Blues made a fortress of the city last Wednesday (10/11), after ten teams won their respective home matches in dominating fashion. Unfortunately, Cambridge fared less successful on the road, only managing to earn victories in five out their twenty fixtures.

CUBaC beats back Derby and Nottingham Trent

Both Blues teams for the Cambridge University Badminton Club (CUBaC) emerged victorious last time out, with the men beating Derby by a whopping 8-0 and the women overturning Nottingham Trent 7-1.

Alongside the men’s clean sweep, the women’s tie against Nottingham Trent was also one of domination, as the Blues only dropped their first doubles match for the entire afternoon. The pair of Cherizza Choi and Alethea Tan were narrowly beaten by Nottingham’s Amy Oakley and Katie Smith. Cambridge’s second partnership of Helen Yan and Rachel Fenner dispatched the same Nottingham duo, as well as beat Betsy Rowett and Alice Gardner by denying them the chance to break into double digits during their games.

Moving to the singles, Rosia Li and Anchal Garg stamped their authority on the hardwood, both beating Kate Poole and Sibal Raz once each.

LXs earn first victory over Worcester

Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club (CURUFC) LXs claimed their first win in BUCS against Worcester University, smashing the visitors 40-10.

The game was a scrappy affair - no thanks to the weather - but saw the Blues gain a foothold early on with a try scored by Connor Fairman (Homerton). LXs backrow dominated the encounter, with Hugo Lloyd-Williams (St John’s) and Alex Froud (Magdalene) adding a physical edge over the team in navy.

Captain Eoin Finn (Homerton) put on an impressive kicking display, while Cambridge enjoyed some commanding scrums largely thanks to both Luke Maxwell (Gonville & Caius) and Connor Gibbons (St John’s).

The next LXs fixture will take place on Wednesday evening (17/11) at Grange Road, as they host Aston University.

Cambridge thump Anglia Ruskin on the court

Cambridge Blues Men’s volleyball team defeated Anglia Ruskin in a decisive three sets to one at the Cambridge University Sports Centre. This was the Blues’ fourth consecutive win and cemented them firmly at the top of the Midlands Tier 2A table.

It was a question of tactics over technique in the contest between Anglia Ruskin and Cambridge. The visitors went in with a clear plan: focus on block defence, fight for every ball, and wait for Blues mistakes. On the other hand, the Cambridge had the technical edge, with wing spikers Po-Chun Lin and Mateus Labrunie putting in dominant performances on the outside. Their talent showed in the first set, as Labrunie opened up the scoring for the hosts and saw them cruise to a 25-14 victory in the first set.

Anglia Ruskin’s tactics, however, proved more effective in the second set, with their excellent block defence producing superb reads to send some of the Blues’ most powerful spikes back at them. This game plan carried the away side through to a 24-26 win, frustrating the Blues as they squared the tie.

Under the leadership of captain João Silva, the Blues rallied in the third set and stormed to a 23-12 score, but slightly dropped their tempo as they approached match point and consequently allowed the final result to reach 25-18.

The fourth and final set was a hard-fought affair, with both teams showing strain after the intense pace of the prior sets. The two teams were neck and neck for most of the set until a few tactical substitutions and timeouts by Cambridge slowed the pace down and knocked Anglia Ruskin out of their rhythm, which allowed the hosts to regain control of the set with a 25-16 victory.

Whilst Anglia Ruskin will feel disappointed that their tactics didn’t enjoy greater levels of success, they still remain third in the table ahead of Cranfield on points difference. Although not the dominating performance Cambridge may have been hoping for, this win continues their four-game unbeaten streak and puts them six points clear of second-placed East Anglia.

Player of the match: Mateus Labrunie

Varsity congratulates all of Cambridge’s clubs on their recent BUCS achievements.