Women’s Volleyball: Oxford 3 – 0 Cambridge

It was with great anticipation that the four Cambridge University Volleyball teams – men’s and women’s Blues and seconds – made the journey to Oxford for the 2016 Varsity matches on Saturday the 20th February. First up at 9am were the women’s seconds.

Throughout these matches the tension was building. When the time came for the women’s Blues game it began in explosive style, with the first set being dominated by powerful hitting and committed defence from both Cambridge and Oxford. Every point was fought determinedly, with neither team letting up the pressure on their opposition. The score was neck and neck throughout, with Oxford stealing the set 25-23.

Cambridge played solidly in the second set, losing it narrowly. Despite the loss, the Blues ladies came away from the match with heads held high after a spirited performance.

Unfortunately, the team then went on to lose their BUCS Student Cup Knock-Out match in Edinburgh on Wednesday – let’s hope things look up for them soon.

Katie Gibson

 

Women’s Squash: Oxford 6 – 0 Cambridge
Men’s Squash: Oxford 5 – 1 Cambridge

Cambridge faced their old opponents on the squash court at one of squash’s oldest fixtures, dating back to the early 1920s. With only two returning Blues in the ladies’ team, and two from the men, facing a largely unchanged Oxford team, with a current professional giving the Oxford men a boost at the top of the order, Cambridge featured as underdogs, but were optimistic that they could upset the favourites.

The ladies took to the court first, with freshers Hannah Yogasundram and Miranda Nicholson starting the game off. Unfortunately, they both faced more experienced opponents, whom they couldn’t overcome this time. Next were captain Katie Hanlon and fourth-year Jenny Martin, returning to squash after a spell on the ski team. Hanlon narrowly lost against a seasoned opponent, in a match which could easily have gone the other way, and although Jenny pushed her opponent to a very close final set, it wasn’t quite enough to take it to a fourth.

Cambridge now looked to Laura Mullarkey, last year’s captain, and Rina Einy, our most experienced player as a former National and British Open Champion. Mullarkey took the first game, but ran out of steam and could not keep her momentum going. Einy had an incredibly tight match, with some great squash on display, despite being hampered by an injury that took her off court for last season and much of this year. She lost 10-9 in the fourth, with two of the games going to 10-9, losing 3-1 overall.

The men’s matches followed straight after. Matt Lees, captain and 2014 Blue, whose leg injury had kept him out since last year’s Varsity, was finally back on court. He comfortably took his match 3-0. Riki Houlden, continuing to improve rapidly, won the first, but succumbed to illness and eventually lost 3-1. Jamie Giddins had a very close match, but couldn’t convert the games. Luis North, a fresher but an experienced junior player, didn’t get off to a great start, but sharpened up to draw at 2-2. The work he had put in to get there showed in the fifth, with his opponent able to take advantage of his tiredness. James Liley, the only player from last year’s Blues, played an experienced and tough opponent. Although he fought a close match, he wasn’t able to convert it into a victory.

Josh Carter, unable to play Blues last year, fulfilled his potential when facing Phil Nightingale, the new Oxford number one. As a current professional, Nightingale was just a little too consistent for Josh, although they had some great rallies.

Unfortunately, Oxford’s experience proved just a little too much for Cambridge this year.

Ali Hemingway