Oxford team: Sam Woolard, Jon Cookson, Tim Luetchford, Henry Carter, Andrew Green
Unfortunately a very disappointing showing from the Squirrels against our biggest rivals. Brookes have gained a couple of strong players this year (partcularly at numner one!) and this really showed. We all had great difficulty finding a length on the lightning fast brookes courts against opponents who all hit the bal very well and powerfully not really giving the Squirrels a chance to settle in to their more refined gamed, honed on the notoriously slow winter Iffley courts, and to display the array of shots they had been working hard on improving in training. Sam, Jon, Henry and Alex were dispatched in relatively quick time with only Tim putting up any realy resistance with some heroic gets and tigh volleys. Much to work on but a good day was had by everyone and we were all relieved not to be cycling DOWN headington hill after a bit of a run around.
Oxford team: Sam Woolard, Jon Cookson, Varun Sarna, Josh Bell, Tim Luetchford
The Squirrels second match of the new season saw them play against Nottingham Uni's 4th team. Being their 4th team did not stop them being a good match for the Squirrels showing the strength in depth Nottingham posses.The 5th string match saw Tim Luetchford making his Squirrels debut and he wasted little time in a fairly comfortable 3-0 win, despite a gritty determined performance from his opponent.At string 4 Josh Bell showed his pedigree with well fought victory winning in 4 close games.Varun Sarna playing at the 3rd spot however did not fare so well. Despite close games Varun's opponent's mixture of determined retrieving and good shot selection in the end proved to be the deciding factor as Varun went down to a 3-0 defeat.The 2nd string match proved to be both the pivotal and best match of the contest with a good squash being displayed from both players in a hard fought match. Despite losing the losing the first game, Oxford's Jon Cookson fought back to take the next two games before a finishing off his opponent in a close 4th game to seal a 3-1 victory, as well as an overall victory for the team.So finally it was up to Sam Woolard at number one to put the gloss on the Squirrel's victory. However his opponent had different ideas as Sam lost 3-1 in a high quality match, with a good array of shots from both players.So overall a solid first victory of for the squirrels of the season which will hopefully provide a platform for a successful season and for a victory against Brookes on November 10th.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Alex Walvis, Emma Schlee, Rosie Atkinson, Lauren Crichton
With this being the second match of the day for the women's blues, a special mention should go to Aly and Alex who played two and won two today! Having beaten Witney in our last encounter with them, we were keen to win again. And so we did. Aly (1) and Lauren (5) both won 3-0, Emma (3) won 3-1, Alex (2) won 3-2 and Rosie (1) just lost 3-2. Overall a 4-1 win for Oxford.
Oxford team: Christina Fast, Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Alex Walvis
This match was an important game as it decided whether we remained in the premier division of BUCS or were relegated. The match started with Christina (1) and Alex (4) on first. Christina had a tough game and lost 3-1 while Alex also had a close game winning 3-1. Sarah (3) and Aly (2) were up next, both playing well and winning 3-0. Overall a great match with Oxford through to the quarter final. (3-1 to Oxford)
Oxford team: Yuan Sum, Mike Molinari, Miles Jackson, Simon Colver, Tom Lowish
In the beginning God made earth and the heavens. Light emerged from darkness and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the water. And God proclaimed “Let there be squash, and there was squash. And God saw that squash was good and God separated the squash from the darkness. This was the first day of creation… (Genesis 1.1) Squash is woven into the very fabric of being. In ancient times on the summit of Mount Sinai, amidst howling gales and of waves of lightning its rules were passed from God to man and they were set in stone so that its traditions could be upheld and venerated by the many civilizations of the planet. It is the driving force of history. Its epic battles have marked the turning points of humanity and its tales of glory and sacrifice reverberate in the hearts and minds of each new generation. Only those that can endure endless drills and court sprints can become its true guardians and in times of trouble it is to them that mankind turns. Such an occasion has just been and its tale should be told. Departing on the 27.01 MMXI the final crusade against the Warwick began. Time had stopped, earth was poised on the brink of annihilation and only total victory by the holy knights of Oxford would save us. The approach was difficult as the evildoers thwarted out offensive at every opportunity. Their complex labyrinth of roads and irrational positioning of their castle sought to lead us astray, but we did not stray from the light. Yet the scale and nature of our quest were only just dawning on us. Singing students and communist car packs revealed the true depths of Warwick's deprivation. The stench of heresy was rife but with the Lord’s guidance our arrival could not be prevented, and after a quick chat with the enemy we took to the court. First to engage the dark knights of warwick were the young bloods, brothers Colver and Lowish. Brother Lowish underestimated his opponent, and Long rallies and the infernal heat of the Warwick bastion quickly dealt heavy blows to his already frail physique. Too often did he break the first commandment of squash (Thou shall not play bad shots) and he slumped to defeat in four. Shaken by the loss and his further fall in fitness, despite his new training regime there could be no immediate consolation. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways! On the next court Brother Colver fought valiantly against a deceptive foe who, unable to run due to his size reached the ball by teleporting around the court, much to Colver’s dismay. The battle raged for hours but what mere mortal could prevail against such an opponent? Defeated, but not shaken in their faith we looked to our team mates for salvation. Saint Molinari, as he now likes to be called displayed all the qualities that have made him the captain of our holy Order. His opponent George, although armed with Heidegger’s knowledge of the essence of space and time could not escape his holy retribution. The duel was a close and protracted affair. The audience was captivated by an amazing contest of strategic squash and for minutes at a time the fate of the planet hung by a thread. But then!! as if lifted by some devine force brother Molinari prevailed with insurmountable shots that seemed as if they came from the very heavens themselves to vanquish the enemy. The Red Sea had parted and The route to victory was in sight. With the tables turned Brothers Jackson and Sum led the final attack. Both cut exalted figures on the court and both stood firm in the face of violent opponents that kicked the walls and swore with unrestrained fury at all who were present. Brother Sum was up against a demon from the deepest circle of hell itself - A Scottish beast, an avatar of savagery, probably related to Cassius and Brutus, probably related to the Loch Ness Monster aswell, he represented the dark side of Squash and a symbol of everything that is wrong with the north.But Sum was unperturbed and like Saint George against the Dragon, or David vs Goliath he banished the fiend back into the darkness of the abyss. Brother Jackson was equally merciless, ruthless and intolerant. Sticking to the ancient rules of prudent play and whilst chanting the litany of boast/drive he methodically crushed his opponent in 3 quick games. The day had been won and much rejoicing swept the earth and this was the sixth day of creation (Genesis 1.6). For our opponents, they were gracious in defeat and even treated us to jacket potatoes with cheese which brought the crusade to a satisfactory conclusion. All in all a brilliant day and a great end to the season!
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Yuan Sum, Michael Molinari, Simon Colver, Tom Lowish
Fresh from the Hurlingham fixture, the Oxford lads faced a pivotal match in the BUCS campaign – up against the previously undefeated Birmingham 2nds at fortress Iffley. This match presented a potential turning-point in the season: victory would put us in reach of 2nd place in the league, defeat would consign us to 4th position and potential relegation. It also marked the first BUCS appearance of Nelson and Sum, giving us our strongest team for the season. Well, it was meant to be the first appearance of Nelson – who nearly opted for a laboratory safety induction over squash. Eventually sanity prevailed. First on court were Lowish and Colver. Lowish displayed the clinical efficiency of an efficient clinician in disposing of his opponent in short order – 11-8, 11-5, 11-4, getting the team off to the best possible start. Colver began well, being particularly vicious in volley-dropping the s$%t out of anything loose. Jason would have been proud. His opponent had a minor resurgence in taking the second, before Colver clicked into ‘I’m-absurdly-fit-and-you’re-not’ mode and closed out the match convincingly – 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-2. Mike, playing at 3, was reasonably close in the first game, but was outgunned by a devastating forehand in the last two games to go down 11-8, 11-7, 11-6. Sum showed that he really is a class act by dispatching the Birmingham number 2 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 11-1, putting the result of the fixture in no doubt before Nelson even took to the court. Nelson showed why he has been Oxford’s number 1 for four straight years with a brutal display of court speed and placement to take out his opponent 11-7, 11-5, 11-6. In all, a great match to inflict their first defeat on the Birmingham 2nds, and to keep us in with a chance to make the playoffs for a shot at the Premier League next season.
Oxford team: Tom Lowish, Miles Jackson, Simon Colver, Mike Molinari
Monday of first week and the lads were straight back into the swing of things, this time venturing down to the luxurious surrounds of the Hurlingham Club. The Hurlingham boasts many high-powered members, none more so than recent Oxford alum Edward Mortimore esq, who was our host for the evening. The fixture got off to a great start, with Tom ‘Schumie’ Lowish getting us into the London city limits in record time, and then demonstrating why there are no intersections on racetracks with his Hansel and Gretel-esque navigating abilities leading us well up the garden path between Hammersmith and Putney. On the plus-side, we now know where that dude from the Twilight films went to school. Win. Once firmly ensconced within 42 acres of privilege, Tom and Miles took to the court at seeds 1 and 2. Miles gave it a real crack against a bloke who seemed to get faster and faster throughout the match (a la our esteemed coach), but ultimately went down. Tom played a great match against an old adversary, looking strong early. Unfortunately, as the match went on he appeared to be feeling the effects of the bubonic plague, going extremely pale with large red rings under his eyes and stumbling around the court. Understandably given the circumstances, he went down in 5. Simon’s opponent was a racquets specialist, very mobile around the court with strong reflexes. He quickly took an early lead, which he eventually capitalised on despite a strong comeback from Colver. Mike was last on court against another Oxford alum – Rod Shephard, who played such a pivotal role in the mighty Squirrels victory in 2010 Varsity. No such heroics from Rod this time, however, as Mike took the match quite comfortably. ‘To the dining room!’ they then cried. ‘Which one?’ came the response from the Hurlingham staff. That’s right, we hadn’t counted on there being not one, not two, but three separate dining rooms within the complex. The Harness Room was eventually deemed to be the most suitable for our ragged bunch – a lovely roast dinner followed, and thanks to Schumie we were comfortably tucked up back in bed in Oxford 15 minutes later.
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Michael Molinari, Simon Colver, Miles Jackson, Tom Lowish
Wednesday 1st December was a memorable day for Oxford University. The Blues squash team headed north to confront Birmingham in the league’s most pivotal match to date. The winner would gain enough points to put themselves comfortably clear of likely relegation. The loser would find themselves staring into the abyss of BUCS division 2. A spacious car and discussion of Mike’s spinal liquidiser and the evolution of the UN charter put the Oxford players in a buoyant mood. The relaxed atmosphere led to unlikely candour from Tom Lowish, who began to explain the reason for his regular absence team racket and fitness sessions. It turns out that he is, in fact, spending all his time at a new private members club in Oxford called St Vincent’s. Although, when pressed on the matter he did admit that word of the club was extremely hush hush and everyone he spoke to claimed to have never heard of it. Unable to contact any members, he decided that the easiest thing to do was just to buy the tie, which he hangs in his wardrobe beside his Augusta green jacket. As we neared the Birmingham campus, our driver and tour guide, Tom Lowish, pointed out remarkable local landmarks including an ALL YOU CAN EAT curry house, which paradoxically allows you to keep eating until you can’t eat anymore. Certainly an attractive proposition for most. The media presence at the Munrow Sports Centre marked the significance of the occasion but only served to intensify the focus of the Oxford team. After brief interviews, Lowish took to the centre court. The persistent Paul McDonald pushed Tom physically in each game but the superior racket skills instilled former Roehampton champion saw him through before the onset of the torturous lactic acid that he experienced in the Gulag. First blood to Oxford. Meanwhile, Miles Jackson was battling with Jordan Langdon. The first game gave Birmingham hope but Miles was pumped. Fierce forehand kills saw him edge towards victory in 4 games and he left the court knowing that he had put Oxford 1 match away from a decisive win. However, there were still worrying problems. Like Sunday mornings, Wednesday afternoons play havoc with Will Buckfield’s ability to tell the time. Will was already in Birmingham on Wednesday to collect the wallet, keys and jeans that he had left on his previous visit, but without the protection of his fellow team mates someone had also managed to steal his brain. 30 mins before his match, he was uncontactable and sending his team mates to despair. Simon Colver and Mike Molinari went on court knowing that a win from one of their matches may well be essential. Mike and Martin Szwaba palyed some gripping squash that yo-yoed in and out of each others’ favour. Eventually a series of brilliant nicks in the fifth game left Mike in disbelief and 3-2 down. On the next door court, Simon was 10-6 up in the fifth against Tom Barker, victory as his fingertips. A tight backhand volley drop was all it needed but milliseconds before he struck the shot a bead of sweat fell from his brow into the trained eye, blinding him momentarily causing him to send the ball into the tin. Some have advised that, given the frequency of this occurrence, Simon should get a head band. Match points were saved by both players until, eventually, Simon prevailed 15-13 and the match was won. Woops were heard all around and the Birmingham players shook hands with admirable grace. Will Buckfield took the stage with Stuart Lord for the last match. Will’s careful preparation for this important match meant that he still had dangerous levels of alcohol in his blood which might have been the reason for his over-zealous air shot in the third. Periods of magical squash was played by both players with Stuart taking it 3-2. After a quick shower and curry, Oxford zoomed back in the Batmobile, and got back to the Dreaming Spires in 10 minutes, despite taking a wrong turn. Just in time for Chistmas Pud.
Oxford team: Yuan Sum, Will Buckfield, Simon Colver, Miles Jackson, Tom Lowish
In no mood for jokes, at least three members of the Blues assembled at our home base at 3pm. Our opponents had arrived at 12, in time for a final training session before the match. This was surely an error, exacerbated by their choosing to play under the electric heat of court 2. Sapped of energy, Loughborough's 4 and 5 stumbled onto court to face Miles and Tom. Neither match lasted long, with Oxford taking 3-0 victories. The speed of these early victories almost counted against the Blues, as we waited and waited for Will 'Godot' Buckfield to appear to take his place at number 2. Eventually, he made it, at around 4 o'clock, proudly announcing that he was so prepared for the match that he had even taken the time to iron his bandana. He thus secured a repeated victory in our weekly floating trophy named in honour of Richard III. In the meantime, Simon was going through his warm-up [...apologies to Dave Phillips re: stolen joke]. He shot out of the blocks and took the first game with some decisive drop kills. Unfortunately, his wily opponent found his length, surging to take games two and three and leave Simon staring defeat in the face. Being English this was not an uncommon position for Simon to find himself in [insert Ashes joke here], and he drew on this experience to take games four and five. Victory to Oxford 3-2. At two and one respectively, Will and Sum took to the courts. Fresh from a physics tute, Sum wasted no time in putting his opponent to the sword. With a flurry of straight drives and trickle boasts, Sum raced to a 3-0 victory. The huge gallery thus moved left to watch Will. Playing some top squash, Will took the first game, his opponent getting no read on his deceptive drives. The second game, won by Loughborough, was memorably primarily for Will's huge fake swing at a backhand drive off a back-wall boast, a fake followed up by the same shot on the second swing. As expected, his deception sent his opponent the right way. Nonetheless, Will's class showed and he took the match 3-1, making it 5-0 to Oxford. Jacket potatoes followed.
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Michael Molinari, Simon Colver, David Phillips
Wednesday 17th November saw the Blues take on the relatively unknown quantity of Warwick 1sts. Perhaps the reason why they are so unknown is down to the fact that they only seem to travel with 4 players. Lateness is of course not uncommon in Oxford squash, but arriving with 4 players had captain Mike somewhat dismayed, although an automatic 3-0 Oxford win wasn’t the worst that could have happened. Nonetheless, this added twist to the fixture meant that Tom (originally seed 4) nobly resigned from the match because of what can only be described as ‘a sniffle’ – a malicious disease which caused him to miss the subsequent early morning fitness session. This meant that Dave rose to no.4 and boldly came out of the blocks, quickly taking the first game. From there on, however, his concentration seemed to waver, allowing his opponent to take control of the court and move him to all corners, eventually taking the tie 3-1. Mike, meanwhile, was involved in the tightest of matches, being edged out in the first 2 games both in tie-breakers. Yet The Marine is not so aptly named without justification, as he displayed such great grit and determination in the 3rd game that makes his young team proud in calling him our captain. His opponent, on the other hand, was in no mood for Braveheart theatrics, again coming out on top by the smallest of margins. Will and Simon, then, went on court to try to salvage the tie for Oxford. At seed 1, Will raced to a 1-0 lead, combining fierce power with some elaborate, yet precise, nicks. A brief stumble in the 2nd did not falter his ruthlessness, as he ran out a 3-1 victor over an opponent who has hopefully now realised that anger towards the marker does not prevent you losing. This behaviour continued to a lesser degree in Simon’s match. Simon quickly found himself 2-0 down, apparently due to him not having been able to complete his full hour’s warm-up. Nevertheless, his physical prowess and strong mental capacity started to show through, bravely fighting back to equal the score after some enduring rallies. With the tie neatly balanced at 2-2, the result came down to the final 5th game, and the added pressure unfortunately seemed to favour the Warwick player who, after a couple of lucky breaks, sneaking home in a tight encounter. With Mike having to rush off to apparently prune his hedge, Will, Dave, and Simon were quite literally left behind, as the Warwick team swiftly left with no farewell… or jacket potatoes. The left-over food was therefore rapidly consumed by the 3 remaining players, which at least lightened up an otherwise disappointing result.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Will Buckfield, Mike Molinari, Miles Jackson, Simon Colver, Tom Lowish, Dave Phillips, Sam Woolard, Jon Cookson, Varun Sarna
Saturday saw the Jesters return to Oxford for the annual showdown. This fixture (and the dinner that follows) is a real highlight on the Oxford squash calendar, and 2010 did not disappoint. It is always great for the Oxford team to come up against some experienced opposition with a very different style of play to the teams we play in the BUCS competition, and Mike Sauvage does a great job in matching up the strength of the two squads. The fixture got underway shortly after 2pm, with Miles Jackson taking to the court against former Blues captain Oli Jefferies. The two of them played together back in Miles’ undergraduate days, with the history adding a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to proceedings. Miles took the first comfortably, pinning Oli to the back wall with laser-like precision on his drives, and finishing him off with vicious kills up the front. The hoped-for early lead for Oxford did not eventuate however, with Oli scraping off the rust and working his way back into the match. Miles eventually went down in 4. Next up were Sam Woolard and Owen Moelwyn-Jones at 8. Sam quickly showed the Jesters that this was not going to be an easy win by any means, taking the match in 4 and leveling the scores. Strings nine and ten followed them onto the court – with Oxford’s Varun Sarna taking on Charlie Donald at ten, and Jon Cookson playing Bill Johnson at nine. Charlie quickly showed his experience and touch up front to take the match away from Varun 3-0, while Jon went ahead early against Bill. Defying the age-old adage that youth wins when the match goes to five, Bill came back from the brink to take the match and send Oxford down 3-1. Oxford’s number 6 and star import from Russia Tom Lowish then took to court against last year’s Squirrel’s varsity winning hero Rod Shephard. After being warned that Rod was renowned for his fitness (perhaps not Tom’s strong point), Tom decided that he would try and dictate terms from the T rather than chasing Rod around the court. Surprisingly, the strategy seemed to work, with Tom coming away victorious in 4. Just imagine what he could do if he was fit… Dave Phillips then evened the score against Martin Juckes at number 6, winning a match that turned out to be much tougher than initially expected 3-1. The number 1s hit the court – with Oxford’s Nelson Fung matched up against Jack Colbourne. Nelson proved to be too strong with his shotmaking and deft touch up front, taking the match 3-0. This year’s Blues captain, Mike Molinari, then challenged Ed Mortimore, number 3 in last year’s Blues squad and captain in 2008-09. Mike’s best hope was that Ed had spent the 6 months since graduating either tied to his desk in an office job, or sitting on his couch and eating pies. Unfortunately for Mike, it turned out that Ed had not only been watching his weight, but playing a lot of squash as well. Ed was far too strong, taking a somewhat one-sided match convincingly. This left the score at 4-4 going into the final two matches. Simon Colver at 5 was playing Matt Hall, the Blues Captain from back in his first year. This match did not pan out as Oxford was hoping, with Matt taking it in 3. Thus it was that the fixture came down to a match at 2 between Will Buckfield and Chris Hobbs. Will made up for having to wear all-white in the previous fixture against Roehampton by sporting a particularly fetching pair of floral boardshorts combined with a lovely pink wristband – Chris dressing somewhat more conventionally. An epic match followed, stretching out for over an hour before Chris took the match in 5, clinching the fixture for the Jesters. A thoroughly enjoyable dinner followed, with Dave Phillips admirably performing his duties as the youngest member of the squad. The Wadham SCR beckoned, and what followed that is best left to the imagination. Thanks to the Jesters for what was once again a memorable event and a real highlight of the calendar. May it continue for many years!
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Michael Molinari, Simon Colver, Sam Woolard, Josh Bell
This match saw a confident Oxford side, buoyed by recent victories, faced with what must surely be their toughest adversary yet. After a seemingly unfathomable drama-free journey up to Birmingham, the team were champing at the bit to get on court against their presumptuous and hopefully complacent unbeaten opposition. This enthusiasm was well fortified when Josh, first on court, held his opponent to 8-8 in the first before succumbing to a string of mistakes to go down 11-8. Unfortunately, however, this level of competition was only short-lived and the match ended 3-0. From thereon in, each player had their game systematically and quite professionally deconstructed, with not one player even succeeding in taking a single game. Indeed, only when Simon pushed his talented but lacklustre antagonist to a tie-break in the first game did it appear that such a feat was achievable. But alas, he too was thwarted by unforced errors and capitulated to a 3-0 defeat. Fresh from the disheartening, even if not disappointing, conclusion the team headed to the cafeteria to sample the well revered Birmingham squash teas. Much to our bemusement, the admittedly very enjoyable curry was tainted by the obvious absence of our opponents, and the mystifying lack of seating. All in all, returning with no points and no banter, the trip would seem to have borne very little fruit and one can see it being quickly forgotten.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Will Buckfield, Simon Colver, Mike Molinari, Tom Lowish, David Phillips, Sam Woolard
Dick of the day reporting: yesterday the blues took a day out of their heavy schedule of early morning pyramids and BUSA fixtures to take on the grizzled veterans of the world famous roehampton club (no bias here) amidst the bright lights and glamour at the very heart of our merry country’s booming metropolis!! Having arrived by train to Paddington, overcoming the bustling madness of the evening rush hour was the first immediate challenge - and to that effect it provided the ideal warmup to an evening’s competition!! Initially we were dismayed by the stampede of people hemming us in from all sides like a 4 walled boast and we descended into the underground having had to ditch our plan of arriving at the club in style in a convoy of taxis. Thankfully, however, London transport lived up to its name and after an hour or so of agonisingly slow progress on both bus and tube we arrived fashionably late by half an hour!! Of course, without further ado we hit the courts! Overall the matches were well balanced and the age and experience of our opponents made for a stern test, very different to the one churned up by Wednesday afternoons trips up to brommyland. On the club’s brilliant glass back courts (sorry will) and against the background of a an ensuing match between the roehampton firsts and the mcc's cricketeers, which coincidently drew away most of our spectators, the drama of the blues match unfolded. Dave prevailed against the hard hitting lefty James dearman who always comes out all gones blazing hitting half his shots into the Knick and the other into the tin. Dave was unperturbed and made it 1-0 to Oxford. Mike Sam and will followed suit and emerged victorious after closely fought matches. Sam in particular had the misfortune of having to play Nigel - a man, to whom the very concept of hitting a ball straight down the wall is totally diverse. Thankfully Sam wasn't put off by nigels eclectic mix of drops , boasts and on the whole physically and geometrically impossible shots that one should only be able to pull off in a 4 dimensional universe . Good effort! Next up was Dick himself, pitted against the club’s trainer Paul Lindsay - a player with the unique reputation of being the only person in the whole history of the world to have gotten 5 points against the infamous bane of oxfords existence - the Scottish 20th year Cambridge medic, Harry Leitch. Dick started well taking the first game but eventually succumbed in 5 due to the complete absence of anything resembling fitness. Last up Simon and nelson!! Both were brilliant performances. Simon came through against the tenacious and at times brilliant Tom whilst nelson prevailed against the club’s number 1 Peter Taylor, who had just minutes early annihilated the mcc captain in 3 short games . Nelson however, was not going to have any of that and played a solid match that all present thoroughly enjoyed to watch. 3-1 Oxford! So, all in all a good display from the lads, despite Dick’s rather unfortunate shortcoming of failing to seal the win with a whitewash. Nevertheless spirits were high and the evening was topped off with a fantastic dinner and a good chat in the bar - one couldn’t have asked for any more.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung,
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Michael Molinari, Simon Colver, Miles Jackson, Tom Lowish
The Oxford boys turned up just minutes after the scheduled start time of 3 o’clock to find 5 impatient Loughburians at the courts. “We need to leave at 5.30 and we need food” was the opening line. To ease the tension Oxford made a quick warm up. Tom Lowish had only hit the ball once before his opponent demanded to start. Tom smiled in amusement at his tactics. The first game was cat and mouse with Tom gradually being able to warm up and suss out his opponent. 1-0 Oxford. At this stage, Tom realised that he would rather be heading to Stamford Bridge to see his mates than toying around on a squash court. A whirlwind of nicks, deception and power brought Loughborough to his knees: 11-2, 11-4. Miles Jackson, a warrior of a squash player, came up against the number 4. Needless to say, Miles wasn’t concerned. The relentless forehand length of MJ started to take its on the poor lad. The first game to Miles, 11-9, was a mini-victory. Lougborough’s legs started to shake with fatigue as Miles began to put a few boasts into the mixer. In desperation, Loughborough cried out for lets at when Miles hit it too tight for him to reach the ball. Game Over. 11-6, 11-8. Simon Colver and the Marine went on court simultaneously with 1 more match needed to seal overall victory. Both players were hungry - Simon, with a point to prove after his embarrassing display the week before and the Marine, super-fit from his Californian training week. Mike came up against the Loughborough captain - a tricky opponent with a severely unorthodox game plan. The only thing you can be sure of is that he’ll be hanging out somewhere near the back wall. Mike took the first game by a fair margin, 11-7 but then succumbed to Loughborough’s persistent hacking. A frustrated Oxford captain left the court. It seems that a week in the Californian Sun doesn’t enhance racquet skills. With 1 more match required, Simon faced up to Loughborough’s number 3. The first game slipped away rapidly leaving Simon looking foolish and somewhat perplexed by an opponent with a forehand windup even more elaborate than his own. At 10-5 down in the second, it looked as though last week’s result would repeat itself. Then something miraculous occurred. Simon, out of nowhere, discovered how to play a straight drive. This new piece or artillery was too much for Loughborough. He was helpless as Simon decisively took the next 7 points to take the game 12-10. Worried that the break between games might make him lose this new weapon, Simon stayed on court awaiting Loughborough return. He had obviously talked tactics with the rest of his team because Loughborough started to give Simon a taste of his own medicine by answering the forehand drive with his own straight drives. The play was closely fought but fortunately for Oxford, Loughborough hadn’t done his Tuesday morning pyramids. 12-10, 11-8. With the match wrapped, Buckfield went on for the final show piece. Understandably, as he didn’t have his own racquet, Will struggled to find his length in the first game. The Loughburian fresher hit solid shots from all over the court and raced to a 1 game lead. The second game was a different story. With his head screwed on, Will began to punish Loughborough with some remarkably sensible shots and lethal precision. 10-5 up, Loughborough managed to flick it off the back wall but Buckfield was waiting like a vulture to finish off the scraps. There was no hope and Loughborough turned to leave the court, his fingers in the door handle. But, Will seemed unaware that he no longer had a man to beat. Despite knowing that Loughborough was at least pinned to the back with no chance of getting to a drop, he still felt it necessary to wrong foot his imaginary opponent. He stepped into the ball and then stepped away, the classic delay. He then looped his racquet around the ball four times before opening up his shoulders as if to go cross court. Eventually, he decided to hit the ball....into the bottom of the tin (it may even have hit the floor first). There was silence. Buckfield managed a wry smile. On the balcony his team mates all looked at each other with one thought. But he was still in it, still 10-6 up, a lead that he managed to promptly throw away. He clearly wanted to stage an epic comeback from two games down. The next game was an improvement and Buckfield took it with ease, 11-3. But continuing the hot and cold day it had been for the Oxford number 1, the fourth game slipped away, 8-11, with a series of a short drives. We still don’t know exactly what happened to Will that day. Could it have been the girly pink wrist band, or the garish bandana? Or perhaps it was something deeper, something that some old fashioned drop-shot drills might sort out? We may never know the answer to this but we can all speculate. Cheered by the win, the Oxford team took to the teas with customary relish, and got Loughborough on their way in time to catch their bus back up north.
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Simon Colver, Miles Jackson, Tom Lowish, David Phillips
Yesterday saw the blues in action on home soil for the first time this season. Following two successful northern campaigns against Loughborough, the team was hoping to follow it up with a cracking win over another strong side in the league – Birmingham thirds. Amidst the raucous of the unraveling volley ball game and the general feeling of competition prevalent on Wednesday afternoons the day started with confusion as Dave and myself, arriving late, were greeted by empty courts and an empty viewing area. Totally discombobulated by the absence of both team members and opponents we decided to take advantage of their late arrival to practice cross court volley nicks and trickle drops. To our chagrin however, the Birmingham players meant business and they were neither impressed nor intimidated by this brilliant display of precision and flamboyant shot making skill, which we had thought would give us the psychological edge. With this disappointment still at the back of our minds Dave and I took to the courts first, hoping to put into practice the training of the last few weeks and get the first points on the board. Although things looked bleak from the whistle we were able to rally after having both gone down 1-0 in a matter of minutes. In my match Jordan was unable to consolidate his narrow lead and keep up his blitzkrieg style of ridiculous shotmaking for three games straight, a couple of unforced errors and an overall greatly reduced game tempo helped me to get back into the rallies and fight back to 2-1. The fourth game was finally balanced but it was Jordan who cracked first and gave me the win after a wild serve at 10-9 hit the red. Dave’s opponent was not in quite such a charitable mood and Dave was finding it hard to get into the lead. Regardless of some outrageously brilliant winners, which allowed Dave to draw level at 1 apiece he was unable to impose himself for long periods of the match and he lost 3-1. With the outcome of the match still uncertain Simon and Miles stepped up to the plate to try and take the lead. Miles led by example. Taking to the court covered in a lifetime supply of deep heat and in enough bandaging to wrap a pantomime horse he played valiantly. Despite severe stiffness and a minor setback of a broken leg he played a strategic match by trying to not to move but to cut off drives and cross courts and send his opponent to all four corners. Miles found it hard to put this strategy into action as his opponent took increasing advantage of his impeded mobility with front corner drops, and in the end despite monumental efforts, which would have been worthy of the halls of Valhalla themselves, Miles went down in the fifth to an opponent that looked like he was on his last legs. Our hopes were now on Simon and Will. Despite doing pyramids for fun in his spare time, Simon was up against it as his opponent wasn’t interested in getting into long draining rallies of attrition. The match, like all the others, was close to the very end, and although leveling at 1-1, it looked like it wasn’t shaping up to be Simon’s day and he went down 3-1. The last game was a real epic. Sporting the retro 60s look with a polo shirt and a bright red bandana, Will got off to a good start winning the first easily as his nervous opponent over-hit drives and slammed too many tins. In the second he found his length and the momentum started to swing in his favour. Down 2-1 Will changed up his game, opting for the classic strategy of keeping it tight and deep and it eventually paid dividends by taking the game to a 5th . Composed and committed to this strategy Will saw it out with some nice fakes and clean finishes. A great effort. All in all a rather disappointing day at the office despite some close matches and good individual passages of play. Luckily the ladies at cafe cheered us up by offering a discount on a large order of burgers and chips, and after enjoying some time to reflect on the matches and having a laugh at the large bearded inhabitants of the Oxford University Swimming pool our minds were set on victory again!
Oxford team: Miles Jackson, Tom Lowish, David Phillips, Sam Woolard, Henry Carter
Midday on Wednesday saw a repeat of last week's journey to Loughborough, this time to play against their third team. Setting new standards for efficiency, Tom's driving ensured that we arrived early for our match. This gave us time to discuss the various virtues of Nelly's recording career, with a unanimous assessment of his genius. First on court at 5 was Henry Carter, playing his first game for OUSRC. Despite some crisp winners in the first two games, Henry went down in three: 11-9, 11-6, 11-0. On the other court, Sam Woolard was staging an epic fight back for Oxford from 2-0 down. Taking the third 12-10, Sam found his length and powered to victory in 5: 7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8. A great performance. These results brought Dave on court at 3, with Tom making his debut at 2. After going down in the first two games, Dave's second wind kicked to take the third. Unfortunately, some nicks by his opponent in the 4th saw him race away to take the match: 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5. Meanwhile, playing at 2, Tom was running his opponent to all corners, taking the first two games, before losing the third. Reasserting his dominance in the fourth, Tom ran out a strong winner, 3-1: 15-13, 11-4, 11-13, 14-12. This tied the match score at 2-2, leaving Miles needing to win at 1 to secure Oxford's victory. Playing against the same opponent from last week (!), and wearing the same borrowed shorts embroidered with Will Buckfield's name, Miles took the match in 4, fortunately a little more quickly this time: 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3. With the match won, we took to the Loughborough student union for some pasta and a memorable sighting of Paula Radcliffe. A speedy return on the M1 took us back to Oxford by 6:30 for dinner.
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Mike Molinari, Simon Colver, Miles Jackson, Dave Phillips
Midday on Wednesday saw four members of the all-new (and improved) Blues squad waiting on the corner of Longwall Street and Jowett Walk to set off for the match against Loughborough’s mighty second team. Twenty minutes later it also brought Mike with the car, and the team was under way. After the two-hour drive, which seemed to be largely on the way to er’s house, we arrived only 20 minutes late for the start of the match. First to hit the court was Dave Phillips, playing at 5, and making his debut for OUSRC. He put in a sterling effort, burning so much energy that very soon his face was as red as his hair, and Buckfield and Colver were placing bets as to how many games he could go before falling over. Despite putting in a very strong performance, Dave went down in four: 11-9, 6-11 7-11 8-11. Meanwhile on the other court, Miles was using all of his wiles to work his way back into the match against the Loughborough number 4. Despite going down in the first game, Miles began to find his depth and width and used them to great advantage, wearing his opponent down to take the match in five: 2-11 11-8 9-11 11-9 11-6. The final stages of the match were particularly notable for the linguistic skills of Miles’ opponent – managing to condense ‘I wish I hadn’t hit that tin, now I’m extremely frustrated that I have lost this game after taking an early lead and thinking that I would take it easily’ into a mono-syllabic four-letter word, and then verbalising it expressively at the top of his lungs. The conclusion of these matches brought Simon onto the court at 3, and Mike playing at 2. From the little I saw of the game, Simon obviously had the better skills, with his opponent propping up the back wall for the better part of the match. This did not, however, translate into the easy win that it could have, as Simon found it hard to hit the nicks with his droppies. In the end, a very good win for Oxford in a hard-fought match, with Simon coming out ahead in five: 11-8 8-11 11-9 5-11 11-9. In the other match, Mike got out to an early 4-0 lead in the first, and thought that he might be cruising to an easy victory. Except he didn’t, losing 3-0 in straight games: 5-11 8-11 13-15. He seemed to struggle to get into the match, hitting too many loose shots and being a little timid in putting his opponent away when he did get to the front of the court. Hopes of a comeback in the tie-break in the third game were snuffed out by a lucky nick or two to end the match. Thus it was that Buckfield took to the court in the deciding match against their number 1. He wore the shorts (a particularly attractive floral number), but didn’t own the courts – also going down in three: 4-11 7-11 8-11. At times he looked as though he would run away with the match, but unforced errors and a low roof let him down on crucial points. Worthy of mention is that after defending four match points in the final game, he lost by putting a serve out – something that I’m sure will be remembered in Club initiations next week. All in all, a pretty decent effort and an encouraging start to the season. The loss was disappointing, but with training kicking off properly this week we’ll be in much better shape when we meet Loughborough again later in the season.
Oxford team: Jonathan Cookson, Joshua Bell, Gwennael Fedder, Andrew Green, Malcolm Begg
The Men’s second team match against Warwick 3rds entailed a day full of close-calls. As our starting player and driver, Malcolm’s near miss of a bus just 5 minutes into the 60 miles journey to Warwick would be the first of many such ‘close calls’ – though not all would end with the same feeling of relief. The team was a bit unsure of what to expect as the Warwick courts are notoriously fast, being located near the school swimming pool. Malcolm tested the courts for the rest of the team, perhaps falling prey to the newness of the courts to concede a 3-0 victory to his opponent. Even though they had 6 courts Warwick was pressed for space to accommodate the 4 other teams playing the same afternoon and we were forced to play on a single court. Andrew’s entrance onto the court promised a change in the tide. A veteran of his college team, he dominated the match in his first two games with some killer shots, sending his opponent all over the court. Unfortunately, he lost the next game and failed to dominate in the same way as before for the next two. His match was a close-call but not close enough, ending in a 3-2 loss. Another court opened up, allowing both Gwennael and Josh to face their opponents simultaneously. After a shaky start, Gwennael chipped his hard-hitting opponent into back-court submission, finally prevailing 3-1….Thankfully, no close-call here. Josh’s comeback in the second game of the match ultimately proved insufficient, despite his attempts to use the frame of the racquet a number of times. In spite of an astonishing succession of nicks, the Zimbabwean could not quite turn the tide and lost with a close 3-1 score. The team then all gathered to watch our number one hammer his opponent 11-5, 11-5 in the first two games. This was surely the end. But it would not be so easy. John decided to give his opponent a sporting chance, taking a dose of his own medicine to lose the next two games 11-5, 11-6. In a very sweaty 5th game, John managed to pull through by winning 14-12 - the last of our close-calls for the day. The day ended in a loss, 3-2 to Warwick. We cannot blame the quickness of the courts, yet perhaps when the jelly legs of summer holiday have worn off we’ll have our chance again.
Oxford team: Joe Bartlett-Marques, Rod Shephard, Rhys Parfitt, Fergus O'Brien and Tim Belcher (reserve)
In the last game of the season, the men's second team hosted top of the table Warwick 1s. Warwick have gone unbeaten through the season and sit well clear at the top. We received late notice that they were sending only 4 players, which meant Tim and Fergus played off for the honour of competing in the fourth string match. Ferg won which meant that Tim went back to the lab. Almost immediately afterwards Ferg was back on court against his opposite number. He played well, but lost in 3, despite making it to at least 6 points in each game. Joe was on the other court in battle against Warwick's top player. Joe won the first two, but justice was served when he lost the third after awarding a point to himself on the basis on a personal interpretation of a rule he was not sure existed (a google search did in fact vindicate Joe's dubious on court claims). The Warwick number 1 took the fourth game too, but Joe secured the final game taking the match in 5. At number 3, Rhys played a lad he'd previously lost to in 3 games. This time the match went to 5, and while the Warwick team took the points, Rhys played a good match, an improvement from their last encounter. The result rested on the final match of the day between Rod and the Warwick number 2. Despite getting up early, Rod lost the first game. Dominated the second, taking it easily. He looked good in the third, racing to a 4-0 lead but was pegged back and beaten by persistence and a crazy amount of volleying. In the fourth, Rod again got away early, but a few tins at the front of the court and some bizarre distractions when his opponent and the referee tried to establish whether a let had been called or not meant Rod let his opponent back in. Warwick took that match in 4 to secure a 3-2 win overall.Wed Oct 20 11:53:54 2010
Oxford team: Dave Phillips, Pete Le Neve-Foster, Tom Larkin, Gwennael Fedder, Phil Judd
After two convincing losses to the Warwick 1sts and 2nds teams in successive weeks, another inexperienced Oxford team set out to put the record straight against an ultimately weak Bedfordshire side. Having been inspired by some lengthy yet motivating team emails, Oxford were keen to make a fast start despite the opposition pitching up with only 4 players, which led to no.3 and 4 on court first. Tom Larkin made an electric start without even dropping a point in his first game, and, dumfounding his opponent with some aggressive and unrelenting squash, wrapped up a straightforward win. Meanwhile Gwennael also dominated from start to finish, with some powerful hitting proving foundational to his victory. This inspired Pete Le Neve-Foster to go out all guns blazing against a slightly tougher opponent. After showing tremendous grit to take the first set 12-10, Pete somewhat took his foot off the pedal in the second, only to refocus and quickly snatch a 3-1 win thanks to some innovative stroke play. Next up was Dave Phillips who came up against classy player. Having sneaked the first set 13-11, this then caused his opponent to remove his full tracksuit as well as his ipod, which unfortunately resulted in him controlling the rest of the match, simply making Dave run until the game was finally up. However, no.5 Phil Judd managed to end the tie on a positive note for Oxford, dispatching their no.4 in three comfortable sets. By the end of proceedings, the team were wholly satisfied not only because of their convincing 4-1 win, but, thanks to only 4 of them turning up, Dave also managed to steal the fifth ham baguette as small consolation.
Oxford team: Jon Cookson, Leng Lee, Dave Phillips, Pete Le-Neve Foster, Gwennael Fedder
With the Men's 2nds Varsity match only a few days away, a weakened Oxford team was sent to Coventry to take on the dominant team of our division in the BUCS Knock-out semi-finals - Warwick 1sts. The 2nds team had taken on Warwick 1sts with a solid line up late last year so we knew we were in for a tough match. Things did not start well when Pete Le-Neve Foster left behind his Celine Dion CD and we were left to listen to Heart FM for the ride up to Warwick. We started with no. 4 and 5 first and Warwick got off to a fast start. Gwennael showed some flair on his backhand and Pete was boasting everything in sight but it is fair to say they both went down to stronger players. Next up were Leng and Dave and 2 and 3 respectively. Dave earned the respect of everyone by continuing on despite throwing up after 2 games. His opponent ran him around a lot and he eventually succumbed. Leng was matched against a lefty and in the first game, the two played a number of long rallies in the humid Warwick courts. Before long, the Warwick player was in control, dropping and lobbing for a straightforward win. In the best match of the day, Jon Cookson took on the Warwick no. 1 and, after a slow start, matched the player in a tight second and third sets. Alas, he also went down but did manage to elbow and trip his opponent many times. So, again we went to Warwick and again we came home with a 5-0 loss.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Henrietta Ball, Vicki Ormerod
After winning two weeks earlier we found ourselves in the quarter finals of BUCS against the dreaded Cambridge, having lost to them in November. Vicki played some fantastic squash to win 3-0, Henri lost to the better oponnent 3-1, Sarah played absolutely amazing, not letting any nerves affect her and won 3-1 and Aly lost 3-0 although played well anough to win at least a game. Overall this meant we had tied on matches and games and it went down to points. Overall Oxford won by 6 points.
Oxford team: Henrietta Ball, Emily O'Brien, Emma Schlee, Charlotte Bushnell, Emma Batty
Emma B lost in a very close match, she played fantastic shots and lost to the more canny squash player. Charlotte played the best she has all season but unfortunately played someone alot better than her. Emma S had a really tough game at 3, but her opponent out smarted her in the end. Henri and Emily won reasonably comfortably at 1 and 2 although some dodgy spells during both matches. Overall result Oxford lose 3-2
Oxford team: Henrietta Ball, Vicki Ormerod, Emma Schlee, Rosie Atkinson, Rachel Duffy
We started with 4s and 5s. Rachel's opponent seemed to be just too good for her and she lost 3-0, Rosie put up a great battle and narrowly lost. Then the 2s and 3s. Vicki won very easily and Emma lost to the better player on the night. At 1, Henri won 3-0. Overall result lost 3-2
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Henrietta Ball, Vicki Ormerod
This was a very important match of the season as a result in our favour would mean we would stay in the Premier Division of BUCS for another season. Both teams had their best teams out. At number 2,3 and 4 we had no problems, winning every match very easily. At 1, Aly faced a very handy Scottish ranked player, but after alot of grit and determination Aly won 3-2 in a very close match. Overall result 4-0 to OXFORD
Oxford team: Rod Shephard, Rhys Parfitt, Ross Harman, Tim Belcher & Sam Woolard
The team got off to a great start in our knock-out universities tournament with a win against Brookes. We suffered a few injuries in the lead up and Brookes were missing a couple of their players too. The teams were well matched and there wasn't a great deal in it. Sam played first and won without any real trouble. His drops were working well and his silky lob won him a few sneaky points. At the same time, Ross was doing battle with the Brookes number three in what was probably the match of the day. The two players had contrasting styles, Ross was hitting powerfully and consistently, the Brookes lad was hard to read and crossed well. Ross won the first, Brookes took the second and Ross the third. In the fourth game Ross was down 7-10 facing a series of game balls, but found focus and clawed his way back to level at 10 a piece. He then had a match ball at 11-10, finally sealing the win 13-11. Tim looked dominant, and emphatically won in three. He did it in an retro OUSRC squad shirt from at least three years back. It turns out he has Club 10 kit shirts. Rod lost a close battle with the Brookes top seed. He was looking strong in the second game, which he won, after dropping the first. The third could have gone his way had he not found tin so regularly on his kill shots. After levelling at two each, Rod was unable to find the shots needed to put away his speedy and determined opponent. In the last encounter of the day, Rhys came up against a player who had almost the same style as he does. Not long into the match we realised we could sit on the stair rails because despite not being able to see the back half of the court, our view of the front was not obscured, which is where all the action took place. It was an old fashioned front-corner shoot out, each player going for their winners of the first, second or third shot of each rally. Sadly for Oxford, Rhys was out gunned in the fourth, after levelling at one each after the second game. We had done enough though, so Oxford took home a win and Brookes took home the baguettes.
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell, Rod Stewart, Will Clerk
The penultimate BUCS League match was a hard fought affair, with both teams fighting for the top spot. A great win from Will C started this away fixture, however their overall strength overcame a weakened Oxford side, with only Ed Mortimore managing to claim another win. Lost 2-3
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Fergus O'Brien, Tim Belcher, Maurits Pot and Sam Woolard
In line with the latest mission objective to turn up for away matches on time, the squad assembled promptly around the hour of 14.00 at the impressive sporting complex at the top of Headington Hill. Before some of us had even hit a ball, the first two matches got under way, showing that Brookes were obviously eager for blood. First up was Mr Belcher at number 3, and with the best will in the world, he had a tough time. His opponent went with drop shot after drop shot for a comfortable 3-0 win. On the other court, no.1 Mr Buckfield, raced into a 2-0 lead against the well proportioned fella who had taken Big Ben apart in the home leg. At this point Mr O'Brien was called off to play, and was later shocked to hear that Young Buckfield somehow threw this lead away (in the spirit of Christmas). Playing on the same court Tim had been on, Mr O'Brien found himself lumbering around like an old tractor and succumbed 3-1 to their number 2. Playing at 4 and 5 respectively, Mr Pot and Mr Woolard fared little better, neither managing to trouble the scorecard against their strong Brookes opponents. Some friendly games of doubles ensued, then the Oxford team scarpered leaving Mr O'Brien alone to represent Ox Uni in the Bar afterwards. The Brookes lads showed admirable hospitality in treating him to a pint and a lift home, maybe implying that that's where he belonged on that kind of form. A fun afternoon, a poor result, but beats the hell out of driving to Birmingham.
Oxford team: Will Buckfield, Mike Molinari, Rhys Parfitt, Ben Carmichael and Sam Woolard
The team set out for Warwick at lunchtime on Wednesday, which turned out to be a slight problem since the University of Warwick is actually in Coventry. Go figure. Sally the Sat Nav was up to the task this time, however, and set a new record by getting us there only five minutes late. Warwick boasts an impressive sports centre that really shows up the terrible facilities at Iffley – with squash courts, basketball courts, a swimming pool and a large gym all in the one building. However, we soon found that putting the squash courts next to the swimming pool meant that they were hot and humid, perfect conditions for (in the words of Will Buckfield) ‘the most boring squash ever’ where winners were in short supply. Things didn’t get off to a great start as Woolard went down to his guy in three, and Mike played (and lost) some outrageously long rallies against a guy who couldn’t drop a piano out of a plane. Signs of a potential recovery in the third game were quickly snuffed out as he lost in four. In a typically fiery performance, Ben went up against a guy who played a very attacking style of squash and also went down. This brought up the last two matches of the day, Will Buckfield at number one and Rhys against (in his own words) ‘a … ginger.’ In hindsight Will may have made a tactical error in whacking the ball as hard as he could during the warmup, since it then proceeded to bounce like a racketball and negate his Mandelson-like deception and obfuscation skills at the front of the court. Despite some strong comebacks in the last two games, Will went down in three. Rhys put in a valiant effort to salvage some pride for the team, but also went down. All in all, a frustrating day where the only highlight was arriving on time. That, and some quality banter in the car on the drive up. We can say that we were beaten by one of the best teams in the division, and work on developing our patience in very different conditions to the cold outhouse that is Iffley.
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell
Despite beating this team at home, we knew that this away fixture was going to be a tough ask (especially without Nelson at the helm). Mark lost convincingly to a decent number 4. Ed did more than his fair share of running in a tight match- but a pre game meat-ball panini proved to be his downfall as he eventually conceded to a 3-1 loss. Pete played an opponent considered by many to be the best player in the division. He did well to compete but his opponent's class was too much and he lost in 3. Simon was still recovering from an illness and although he put on a solid performance he couldn't sustain the high level and lost 3-1.
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell
Another convincing win for the Oxford side. Mark was pushed by his opponent but eventually won in the 5th. The other matches were far more comfortable
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell
Oxford team: Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell, Alex Iltchev, Chris Stefanowicz
Even with a very weak side, Oxford managed to win this fixture convincingly. The only blemish on the scorecard came from Alex Iltchev's lost against an awkward hacker.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball, Vicki Ormerod,
Against the only team we'd lost to so far in the league a good performance would be needed to get a win. Jenny and Henri were up first. Henri won emphatically in 3 games showing great concentration and accuracy, while Jenny never quite got into the match and lost in 3. Sarah faced a very strong player and lost, while Vicki showed great skill, accuracy and movement to win her match in 3 games. With the match at 2-2 and facing a player she has never won a game against before, Aly took to the court. After losing the first game, some great advice by Henri meant she came out more aggressive in the second, taking advantage of any openings and won that game. Keeping up the high pace set in that game she went on to record a 3-1 victory in her best perforamnce of the season to date. A great team effort.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball, Vicki Ormerod
In our play off against the 3rd placed team from the north BUCS division we faced Loughborough. Comfortable 3-0 wins for all the team meant that we have secured our position in the top 4 of the premiership league.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Henri Ball, Vicki Ormerod, Vikki Haley, Sarah Clarke
In a similar situation to our away leg against this team, Sarah lost narrowly in 5 games and Vikki had a strong opponent at 4, losing 3-0. Vicki and Henri were on next, both needing to win. Henri raced to a 3-0 victory over an experienced opponent, showing great skill and concentration. Vicki never looked in too much trouble, and won her match 3-1. Aly went on needing a win to secure the match. In another close game, she managed to stay composed in the close games, and won 3-1.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball
Armed with a one way AA road map to Birmingham and 3 packets of jaffa cakes, early on saturday morning we headed for Birmingham university for the first BUCS matches of the year. Over the past 2 years we have risen to 5th and then 4th place in the premiership and we were keen to see if this year would see another rise up the league. Due to UWIC pulling out we only had 2 matches to play. First up were Birmingham. A weaker team than last year, but still very strong. We all had competitive games, (notably Henri who was unlucky not to get a game) but we all lost 3-0. Due to extreme cold conditions in the courts we then had a change of venues to the nearby Priory Club for our next match against Bath. For the last 2 years we have lost out narrowly to Bath so knew it was going to be a tough task to win. First up were Henri and Jenny. Knowing that with only 4 players in a team, every point counted, both stormed through their matches 3-0. Next up were Aly and Sarah, knowing that only 1 game would mean we won the match. Against a strong player Aly recorded an impressive 3-1 victory. In what was the match of the day, Sarah played her twin sister- an impossibly difficult situation. After losing a few match points in the 4th game, Sarah kept her composure and was able to win the 5th game convincingly. So with a win against Bath, we had come 2nd in the southern division of the league. Providing we win against the 3rd placed team in the northern division, we were now on our way to the upper tier of the premiership.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball,
With the home team only fielding 4 players, we were one match up before we got on court. Jenny and henri were up first. Henri didnt seem to know she was on a squash court in the first couple of games, but after a stern talking to (!) turned the match around and won the next 3 games easily. Jenny had a tricky opponent and lost 3-0. Sarah, in her first match of the season lost 3-1 to an experienced opponent. Aly went on last, and was slightly off form and losing 3-0 to a very strong county player.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Henri Ball, Vicki Ormerod, Vikki Haley, Sarah Clarke
Sarah and vikki were up first. After a tense match sarah lost narrowly, losing 4-9 in the fifth. Vikki was up against an experienced player, and after a nervous couple of games managed to find confidence in the 3rd, but eventually lost 3-1. Vicki and henri were on next- knowing only a win would give us a chance of staying in the match. Henri was up against a tactically cunning player, but managed to stay composed and won in 5 games. Vicki was up against a very strong number 3 string, went 2-1 up, then lost concentration and lost the 4th. With the match at 2-2 vicki displayed great skill and accuracy to win the 5th game 9-4. Next was aly- against an opponent she was forced to retire against at 2-2 in their last match. After a very close couple of games she managed to step up the pace in the 3rd and won 3-0. A good result against a strong team.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Jenny Brown, Vicki Ormerod, Vikki Haley, Sarah Clarke
The first match of the season saw us up against a team promoted after last season. Being keen to pick up where we left off at the end of last season sarah and vikki H stepped up first. Sarah recorded a comprhensive victory against a less experienced player. Vikki- in her first match for the 1st team put in an amazing effort against a talented youngster. She showed huge determination but lost narrowly 7-9 in the fifth. Vicki o and jenny were up next. Vicki took a while to find her eye (and backhand...!), losing the first game. But she quickly refound her form, and went on to win the next 3 games comprehensively. Jenny, a veteran of the oxfordshire squash league had no such difficulties, and wasted little time in recording a 3-0 victory. Aly was up last, and against a injured opponent won comrehensively 3-0.
Oxford team: Ross Harman, Seb Byas, Alex Gilmore, Henry Tayler, Joe Bartlett-Marques
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell
Absolutely fantastic result against the strongest team in the league. Mark played a blinder at 5, finally bringing the improvements he has been making in training out into a match. Ed Mortimore was not on his game but managed to dispatch his opponent without too much fuss. Pete played well in patches, but his concentration let him down. He should have pushed his match further but succumbed in 3 to a very unorthodox opponent. Simon had a tough time against a quality player. He did well to nick a game off him. So it was 2-2 when Nelson stepped on court. His opponent was a very solid lefty. The Admiral at times did his best to lose the match, playing some fairly reckless shots at key moments. In the 5th game he stepped up a gear and dispatched the tiring lefty. The shot of the season came at match point. The Birmingham player put up a decent lob and Nelson, jumping backwards and at full stretch, casually slotted a backhand smash into the nick! The crowd erupted and Nelson reminded us just what a class act he is.
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell, Rod Shephard
The score line says 0-5 to Loughborough, but that is not a fair reflection on the match. Nelson's absence was crucial in our first truly competitive game of the season (had he been there, we almost certainly would have won). Rod Shephard very graciously stepped up to play at the last minute and performed well given the circumstances. Mark started poorly, which was largely down to the lengthy and very cramped drive from oxford. Towards the end of the match he showed glimmers of the improvements he has been making in training, but it was too little too late. Ed Mortimore faced a player who had chopped our number 2 last year. In the first game Ed played some intelligent squash, mixing up the pace and direction well. As the match wore on, Ed's concentration waned and he resorted to mindless hacking. He ended up losing 3-2. Pete fought valiantly and played a tidy match, but again lost in a very tight 5 game marathon. It was left to Simon to salvage some pride for the team. When he won the second game to draw level, it looked as though he had the advantage. A few lapses of concentration and a couple of quality points from his opposite number halted his momentum and he lost in 4. This was our first match where we were pushed and it showed. The team played well in patches, and probably should have done better, but the lack of concentration on key points was the difference. It served as a wake up call as to how far our games can and need to develop before the big day in February.
Oxford team: Simon Roach, Pete Winzeler, Ed Mortimore, Mark Blundell
We arrived in Warwick with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, thanks to Pete's poor map reading skills, he managed to neglect the fact that the University is actually 20mins outside of the town!. We ended up getting onto court on time at around 2:00pm. By 3:30pm, all the matches were over, with Oxford claiming every game. Since Nelson was unable to play this match, everyone was elevated a position. Even so, none of the Oxford players were pushed by their opponents.
Oxford team: Will Clerk, Will Gaisford, Seb Byas, Junghans Tasani, Joe Bartlett-Marques
A very convincing win over Warwick with every Oxford player winning comfortably.
Oxford team: Tsz (Nelson) Fung, Peter Winzeler, Simon Roach, Ed Mortimore, Alex Iltchev
This was a comprehensive performance by the Oxford team in their first BUSA match of the season. Everyone won their matches comfortably. Brooks will be one of the weaker sides we play in this league, nonetheless this was a great result. Warwick next week.
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Vicky Ormerod, Sarah Clarke, Anna Steynor
At numbers 4 and 5, Sarah and Anna respectively both put up great fights in their matches with 5 out of the 7 of their games oing to 8-8! However, unfortunately it wasn't their day both being unlucky to lose in very well contended matches. Following on from them Vicky managed to seal a 3-1 win and reliably both Ali and Sarah to close up the match both winning 3-0. I good result in all.
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod, Henri Ball, Vicky Haley
Jenny and Vicky O were on court first managing to both record 3-0 wins to get the team off to a good start. Following trend Ali playing some very fluent shots also recorded a 3-0 win. In her début appearance for the 1st team this season Vicky H put up a great fight against her opponent being unlucky to loss some very close games to eventually losing 1-3, however definitely proving her potential in the match. To finish the match off in style, Henri went on court fully determined and she quickly dealt with her opponent showing no remorse, again winning 3-0.
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod, Henri Ball
A fantastic start to the second half of the league with all 5 of us recording good wins against our opponents. Our most challenging mission of the evening was our route into the squash courts. However with us all equipped with wellingtons, we managed to wade through water to get there and all performed really well.
Oxford team: Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Chris Stefanowicz, James Machin, Pete Glenday
An away fixture in 9th week is never a good idea, but we managed to pull through 3-2 against a side that our full team beat 5-0. Pete won at 5 in what may prove to be his last match for OUSRC. We wish you luck in Liverpool, God help their flies... At 4 James lost 3-1 to an awkward ginger lefty, and at 3 Chris went down 3-0 to a player I narrowly beat in the home leg. Their order seems a little fishy... Nick ran his opponent off court at 2, winning comfortably in the end, meaning that Captain Matt Le Blanc had to win at 1 in a bid to secure third spot... As one might expect at 1, the skill level was a little higher than he would have liked, but he dug in to wrap things up 3-2 in an impressive display of fitness. Good stuff.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Mark Blundell
A disappointing 4-1 loss against a side that simply outclassed us, with the exception of the Admiral Nelson at 1 who dispatched his opposite number without breaking sweat. Tom and Matt both went down 3-0, and so it was left to our 4 and 5 to rescue the match... Mark battled hard but lost in the 5th to a very capable player, and Nick narrowly lost out to an awkward ginger. Looks like we are aiming for third place this year!
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball
With Banbury only bringing 4 players for this match we were already 1 game up at the start...(we're not pernickety - a wins a win...!)Both henri and jenny won their matchs relatively concisely 3-0 only dropping 3 points each. Sarah next on court found herself facing a very awkward 'classic lobber and dropper' but was able to fight through to a well deserved 3-2 win. Ali followed this win (although initiaaly showing a slightly dubious start) by picking up her game, greatly to the dissappiontment of her opponent, to breeze through to a 3-1 win. So we recorded our third 5-0 win of the season, bringing us even closer to the top of the table..
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod, Henri Ball, Alex Barry
For the return match, Kidlington arrived stronger than the previous week - cunningly managing to produce a number one player to move them all down one position. Leading the fight was Alex, who recorded her first victory for the blues team this year with a very convincing 3-0 win only losing 3 points. Henri again put in a high performance, showing great concentration and killer instinct to win 3-0. Next up was Vicky who decided to make full use of her court time, going down 0-2 after two closely fought games. However after breaking her strings and very professionally having to ask up to the balcony to borrow a racket, this seemed to be the turning point. With a new racket in hand - she stormed through to recorded a very will deserved 3-2 win showing her great determination and reluctance to give in. I was next up, and after loosing the first game found my rhythm (and my serve) and cruised through to a relatively easy 3-1 win. Ali, finished off the night with again a very controlled game - dominating her opponent to record a 3-0 win.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod, Henri Ball, Anna Steynor
This turned out to be our best result to date with all the team showing great play, recording victories all around. Anna started us off with a very comfortable 3-0 win over her opponent - who hardy had a chance to get into her game as Anna showed no remorse dominating most rallies. Next up saw both Henri and Vicky again comfortable best their opponents 3-0 before either really new what had hit them. I was next up - and although facing an opponent who seemed to be able to pick every lose shot out from anywhere to produce a unreturnable winner..(Im not bitter really!), Ieventually managed to win 3-0. Sarah taking up the number one seed for the first time this season saw this as no challenge again recording a 3-0 win. A great performance by all.
Oxford team: Alex hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod
Due to great play and determination last year we maintained our spot in the premier division of BUSA for this year. Therefore at 7am on Saturday morning the four of us found ourselves packing into my car with our squash bags in one hand and a Google route planner map in the other as we set off for Birmingham. Our first match was to be definitely a 'challenge' as we faced a very strong Birmingham side comprising of three England player and one polish champion...but we didn't let this scare us...too much. We all raised our standard of play against these experienced players (..I even coming off court thinking I could possibly challenge for the Polish number one spot one day...!) However despite our best efforts, we all lost without gaining a game. Next up in the afternoon was Uwic. Vicky playing at number 4 quickly dismantled her opponent with a very convincing 3-0 victory getting us off to a great start. I, playing at three however didn't have as much luck and having only just finished my first game after Vicky had come off court with her victory, I eventually lost 3-0. Sarah then faced a very tricky opponent and although playing well also lost 3-0. Following on from this trend Ali, facing a well known player put up a determined fight in each of her games but eventually lost 3-0. Sunday morning saw us take on Bath. With the addition of an unknown player at number two in the Bath line up we weren't quite sure what to expect. Again Vicky, playing the best we've seen her this season put in a great performance beating her opponent 3-0. Sarah and I unfortunately couldn't get into our matches both losing 3-0. Ali, with added vigour following her close loss to the same opponent last year in BUSA, went on court with her sights on reversing this previous result. In a similar match to last year it saw both players showing great skill and movement around court - both reluctant to give up easily. However despite Ali getting the game to 2-2 and having a 7-7 score line in the 5th, she unfortunately narrowly lost 7-9 in the final game. Therefore concluding our weekend - although not recording any outright victories, each player showed great potential and we all left with added determination to dominate in the next round of BUSA in December.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Mark Blundell
We were truly schooled by a very strong Birmingham outfit, although the match was much more competitive than the away leg. Our greatest source of comfort comes from Nick, who lost at 4 9-7 in the 5th to a useful if slightly unfit player. Nelson, Tom, Mark and myself were outclassed but the opposition were kind enough to call us the next-best side in the league... We just have to go to Loughborough next week to prove it and practically book our tickets to the BUSA finals...
Oxford team: Will Gaisford, Simon Colver, Tim Belcher, Henry Tayler, Junaid Mohammed
After scrabbling around for a player at the last minute, we managed to set off for Nottingham with a full team. Making a brilliant debut at no 5, Junaid saw off a seemingly able opponent 3-0. Perhaps still feeling the effects of Saturday night, Henry struggled at 4, but managed to salvage a game to go down 3-1. At no 3, Tim smoothly despatched his opposite number. Simon, showing no sign of nerves at no 2, won victory in a comfortable game. Lacking a strong no 1, I stepped up to face a decent player who despatched me fairly swiftly. However, the victory holds us at the top of our league, hopefully keeping us there until the grudge match v Birmingham 3rds in January.
Oxford team: James Machin, Pete Glenday, Will Gaisford, Nick Bennett, Oli Plant
With our strongest team to date we took on our biggest rivals in the league. Things started well when Nick and Oli dispatched surprisingly weak 4 and 5's 3-0. At no 3, I played an old school friend who was on top form, chopping me 3-0. With the match precariously balenced, Pete came on court at no 2. Deciding he didn't want to run, Pete planted himself on the T and dominated his opponent with some superb touch, winning 3-0. James at 1 came up against a tough lefty, losing 3-0, but by then we had already won, propelling us to the top of the league.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Mark Blundell
Another week, another win... WOOF. Given that we suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the Loughborough 2nd team a few weeks ago, we assumed that we would win this match comfortably with what is looking like our full-strength side. The 5-0 result masks the very spirited performances that the other side put in. Nick was ruthless in mashing his opponent to about five points, whereas The Admiral and Mark won in 3 at a gentle canter... As usual, Matt and Tom found life more difficult than the rest of the side. Matt won 3-0, but went to sleep from time to time, allowing his able opponent to win a few points on the trot. Tom edged his match 9-7 in the fifth in typically tenacious fashion, but you do have to wonder if every now and again it might be easier for him to win in 3... Just a thought... Birmingham next week will be a much tougher test, but we'll be fielding a stronger side than last time and I think we can run them closer than any other team in this league...
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Mark Blundell, Chris Stefanowicz
After driving around Nottingham for an hour via Trent's other campus we found the leisure centre-esque buildings that the guys from Trent are now forced to call home... It seems their former courts have been turned into a gym... Oh well... Anyway, risking the wrath of Nottingham's parking attendants, we recorded our second win of the season which sees us nestled snugly behind Birmingham and Loughborough 2nds at the top of the league. Not too much to say about the squash... Chris, making his Blues debut, seemed to be gunning for the triple doughnut but couldn't quite stop his opponent from grabbing a point or two in the third. Mark and the Admiral also won their matches 3-0 in fairly convincing fashion. Tom raced to a 2-0 lead but his opponent's consistency eventually took it's toll, meaning that 'Gooder-Bates', as he shall now be known, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Matt, after losing the first, made his Stretch Armstrong of an opponent witness the fitness in a tight 3-1 victory. So, 4-1 overall, and not bad at all...
Oxford team: Will Gaisford, Simon Colver, Junghans Tsani, Seb Byas, Dan Tristao
A decent 4-1 win against an unbalenced side. Newcomers Dan and Seb had relatively easy 3-0 victories at 5 and 4 respectively. Junghans saw off a lefty, again with a 3-0 scoreline. At 1 and 2, the standard seemed to suddenly switch. Simon played well to come off 3-1 winner against his opponent. I, at no 1, managed to win the first game 10-8 but then my opponent upped his game and, with some very tight scorelines and long rallies on Birmingham's hot courts, I lost 3-1. Birmingham 3rds are certainly going to be interesting next week...
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Sarah Clarke, Alex Barry
This, most probably was the longest match fixture recorded in the OUSRC history - not however due to the greatest rally play never seen before in the ladies game, nor even in fact due to nail biting 8-8 games where the crowd struggle to maintain their composure... instead it was due to there only being 1 court for the 5 matchs. Therefore in our eyes, a win was definately needed..!Unfortunately however we didn't get off to a great start with Alex playing a very cunning opponent who could kill off the ball from anywhere, losing 0-3. Sarah C playing the best Ive seen her this year, then put up a very good fight however was unlucky to lose 2-3. Next was Jenny who managed to record a 3-1 victory to get OUSRC back on track. Following her Sarah recorded a very well deserved 3-1 win over an opponent who would refuse to let any ball rest - she was literally like a running machine..quite impressive, but not enough to prevent sarah winning through! So again with the score at 2-2 Ali had all the pressure, She vitally won the first game 10/8 which gave her the psychological advantage for the rest of the match eventually winning through 3-1.
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Sarah Clarke, Alex Barry
Just a week after beating Morris Motors 4-1 at home, we found ourselves travelling to the return match with high hopes...however...with a slightly different team from the first match we found ourselves 2-0 down after both Alex and Sarah lost 1-3 in two very close match. Next up was Jenny who managed to have a pretty concise game winning through 3-0. Following her lead Sarah recorded a 3-0 victory over her opponent. With the scores equal at 2-2, Ali had all the presure on her shoulders. Facing a very awkard player she unfortunately lost 1-3 but put in a very good effort.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Mark Blundell
Our first win of the season, 5-0 in front of a representative from our kind sponsors, Olswang, and things are starting to look up. Mark dominated in his Blues debut at 5, whilst Admiral Nelson and Nick were equally efficient. Tom and Matt both picked up hard-fought 3-2 victories against two good players who were made to witness the fitness, with Matt deserving special mention for fighting back from 2-0 down... His poor opponent was made to look into the eyes of despair... he also got cramp in the 5th, which may or may not have had an equally large effect on the outcome. A wise man once said "Refuse to lose"... So...
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, Mark Blundell
Our first win of the season
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Henri Ball, Anna Steynor
For our second oxfordshire league match it saw Anna at number 5 dominate in a 3-0 victory, only dropping 5 points throughout the whole match. Following her comprehensive debut performance in the first week, henri at number 4 put up another good performance winning 3-0. Next Jenny went on court and clearly wanted to make full use of her court time, only just pulling through in a 3-2 win. Sarah on the other hand wanted to get off court and into the bar asap, dispatching her opponent with consumate easy 3-0. Lastly Ali, up against a well respected england junior, put on a good display having gone down 0-3.
Oxford team: Ali Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Vicky Ormerod, Henri Ball
Our first Oxfordshire league match of the season saw our two new freshers, Henri at number 5 and Vicky at number 4, showing no remorse for their opponents as they both stormed through to convincing 3-0 victories. Next on court was this years new captain Jenny who after suffering a 'near death' experience involving a racket, a very big swing and a nose... pulled through to a 3-1 win. Our number two seed for the match and new president Sarah put on a very determined performance to win 3-0 - showing her opponent who was the boss..! Finally our number one seed and Welsh demon Ali went on court where she faced a very well known tough opponent, unfortunately ali lost 3-0 but she put on a very good performance.
Oxford team: Will Gaisford, Simon Colver, Junghans Tsani, Tim Belcher, Oli Proudfoot
Our first away match of the season saw another 5-0 thumping from the 2nds. Oli, after a shaky start in the first game, swiftly despatched his lefty opponent. Tim, at number 4, won with little difficulty and so did Junghans at no 3. Mine and Simon's matches, at 1 and 2 respectively, were a little more competitve with Simon dropping a game before eventually tiring his opponent out. I managed to wrap things up in a long but comfortable 3-0 victory.
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Nick Douglas, James Machin
Our second match of the season and our second loss against the second best side in our league... Nelson and James dominated at 1 and 5 respectively and Nick was unlucky not to let his fitness tell... Tom and Matt, whom one senses will struggle at 2 and 3, were beaten fairly comfortably by two tidy players. Things will get easier from now on... Famous last words?
Oxford team: Nelson Fung, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, James Machin, Brett Shaheen
I played in this fixture last year and we each took a hammering so I knew that the match was never going to be easyÂ… This year it seems that half of their second side from last year now canÂ’t even make it into the team such is their strength in depth! Their side had money in a pot for the man who gave away the least points and unfortunately for us they all seemed to want to win itÂ… 3-0 defeats all round but some impressive squash was played, notably from Nelson at number 1, and I think we may surprise them with a stronger team in the home leg
Oxford team: Ed Mortimore, Will Gaisford, Simon Colver, Oli Plant, Rod Shephard
Our first game of the season and a massive victory! Rod smashed his way to a 3-0 victory, closely followed by Oli, fresh from a Summer of tennis. Simon quickly saw off his opponent at no 3 and then, still stiff from the warm up, it was my turn. Despite getting smacked in the face I managed not to embarrass the team and clocked up a 3-0 win. Finally, Ed had a baptism of fire at no 1, winning 3-1 and wrapping it all up before neighbours.In a word, yum.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Jess Watson
A tough match against the strongest team in the Oxfordshire League. Bryony managed a 3-2 win at string 3 and Sarah managed a 3-1 win at string 2. At 2-2 Aly faced another strong Oxfordshire Junior and just missed out on a win.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Alex Barry
Tired, after Varsity celebrations the evening before, we had one of the closest matches in the Oxfordhire League this season. First on court were Sarah and Bryony at 2nd and 3rd strings. Both went 2-0 down but managed to wake up and pull back 3-2 wins. Jenny had a comfortable 3-0 win at 4th string and Alex won a tight 3-2 at fifth string. Aly, facing a strong Oxfordshire County Player, narrowly missed out on a win in the 5th 9-7 but put in good performance, the final result of the match being a 4-1 win - a good result against one of the stronger sides in the league.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown
An important match for the ladies team - first round of the BUSA knockout tournament which also served as a promotion playoff to stay in the premier division. Still in high spirits from the Varsity win at the weekend the team played confidently against a strong side from Bristol. First on court was Jenny who secured an easy 3-0 win followed by Sarah who lost a close 3-0 at number 1 string. Aly played well against a strong 2nd string to win 3-0 leaving Bryony needing 1 game to seal the victory. Bryony managed a 3-2 win coming from 2-1 down to give us the match and keep us in the premiership for next year. The next round sees us away at UWIC
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Nick Hillyard, Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson
A good result for the Oxford 1sts in their last pre-Varsity warm-up match. Convincing wins at 4 and 5 early on meant that only a further one was required to seal victory, duly provided with ease by Will in his match-up against a well-rounded but very deceptive opponent. Tom was the victim of some truly diabolical no-let calls in his match at 3, but his opponent more than made up for it with his extremely entertaining and insightul dinner-table repartee.
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Nick Hillyard, Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate, Alex Iltchev, Chris de Coninck
Strong performances at 1, 2 and 3 paved the way for the first OUSRC win in this fixture for some time, eventually sealed by some very good squash from the lower order. Nick put in a particularly brave, and bloodied, performance at 2.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Jess Watson, Sarah Clarke, Alex Barry
A really good win for us against one of the stronger teams in the division especially with a depleted side. Alex Barry and Sarah Clarke won comfortably at strings 4 and 5 and Jen won a close match at 2 to give us a 3-2 win overall.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Sarah Clarke
Our first 5-0 win in this half of the Oxfordshire League and a reversal of the home fixture. This should hopefully keep us on the right track to stay up in the division
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Laura Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Anna Steynor
A tough match against probably the strongest team in the league resulted in a 4-1 loss. Bryony won her match 3-0 and Jenny picked up our only other point of the night at string 4.
Oxford team: Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Jess Watson, Alex Barry
One of our closest matches ever in the Oxfordshire League. We were unfortunate to loose 3-2 especially with Bryony and Alex loosing 10-8 in the 5th. Hopefully the result can be reversed in the return fixture
Oxford team: Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate, Alex Iltchev
A comprehensive 5-0 win for the Men's 1sts in the final league fixture of the year means that a BUSA season probably best described as indifferent ends on a high note.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Sharif Ismail, Alex Iltchev
More of a catch-up with old boys than competitive fixture, this match nevertheless featured some strong performances. Alex played particularly well at 3 to take last year's Oxford captain to a 5th game.
Oxford team: Ian Gibson, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall, Alex Iltchev
A strong performance from a relatively youthful Oxford side (for a change) comfortably saw away a Warwick team we were unlucky to lose to in the reverse fixture last term.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Sharif Ismail, Ollie Rider, Ian Gibson, Alex Iltchev
A third comprehensive win on the trot for the men's blues, though Sharif did his best to undo the good work by making a real meal of his match at 2. Fortunately he pulled through 3-2 in the end against a very hard-hitting opponent.
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson
A surprising 5-0 whitewash for the men's blues against a fit Army side.
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Tom Coode-Bate
A comprehensive win for the men's blues. Will destroyed a classy opponent at 1 who simply couldn't handle his variation. There were convincing wins elsewhere too, from Tom C-B in particular.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson
The first London match of term saw us pitched against a strong Bath and Racquets team, lead by a professional at 1 who proved too hot for Tom to handle. Fortunately the other matches were much closer, with good squash from Ollie in particular.
Oxford team: Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate, Pete Rogers
Our top order were unable to capitalise on good wins at 4 and 5
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jen Brown, Jess Watson
This was by far our closest match in the Oxfordshire League this season. Jess unfortunately lost against a very tricky lob/drop player then Jen put in a good performance to overcome another tricky opponent 3-1 at string 4. Bryony loat a very close match 3-1 after almost managing to clinch the 4th and Aly put in an excellent performance against a Senior Oxfordshire County player to win 3-0. At 2-2 Sarah lost the first 2 games but despite managing to get it back to 2-2 lost the final game 9-6, unfortunatley meaning a loss for University. Hopefully we should be able to reverse the result in a couple of weeks where we face them again.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Jen Brown, Sarah Clarke, Jess Watson, Anna Steynor, Alex Barry, Christine Gan
This fixture involved 4 people playing on the friday evening and 4 people on the saturday afternoon. On the friday evening, Christine and Alex had comfortable 3-0 wins, Anna won a very close match at string 2 and Jess lost against a very strong opponent at string 1. There was a similar pattern on the saturday afternoon with comfortable wins for Aly, Jen and Sarah C. Sarah B lost a tight 3-0 match against the opponent Jess had played the day before. Overall a sucess for the Oxford Women's Squad.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jen Brown, Anna Steynor
Our first match in the premier division started well with the bottom three strings securing 3-0 wins. Aly followed this at 2 with a 3-1. Sarah struggled with a very good older player Anna Cherry which resulted in a 3-0 loss. This gave us a 4-1 win and a good start in are bid to stay in the top league for more than one term in a row.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown
Loughborough were depleted as a result of injuries within their team and as a result were weaker than expected. Loughborough only put out 3 players giving Jenny a walkover and the rest of the team had comfortable 3-0 wins. As a result by the end of the BUSA weekend we have finished 6th Nationally in the league which has been a big achievement.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown
This was by far our toughest match of the weekend and we were unfortunate not to be able to pull off a win. Jenny lost a very close 3-2 at string 4 as did Aly at string 2. Bryony again faced a tough opponent (happened to be my sister) and lost 3-0. I managed to get a game off a tough opponent but eventually lost 3-1
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Aly Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown
Our first match of the weekend got off to a good start with Jenny putting in a strong performance, winning 3-0. This was matched by a comfortable 3-0 win for Aly at 2 and a tough 3-0 win for Sarah at 1. Bryony faced a tough opponent in addition to not feeling at her best and unfortunately lost 3-0 but put in a brave performance.
Oxford team: Alex Iltchev, Russ Butland, Chris de Coninck, Will Gaisford, Simon Arnold
5-0 domination. C de C had a good game with his brother. Otherwise pretty solid all round. 4 wins in a row!! can we beat Warwick 2nds?!
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Maria Camilla, Anna Steynor, Alex Barry
Our final match of the term was against the weakest team in the league and resulted in a 5-0 win. A debut from Maria and good performances from everyone throughout the term should ensure we are successful in the top division
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jess Watson, Alex Barry
Our last home match for this term in the Oxfordshire League and another 5-0 win keeps us at the top of the laague table ready for promotion
Oxford team: Pete Glenday, Alex Iltchev, Chris de Conninck, James Machin, Will Gaisford
Won 5-0. V weak opposition. At least we've won as many as we've lost this term (3-3)
Oxford team: Alex Iltchev, Chris de Coninck, Oli Plant, Pete Rogers, Simon Arnold
5-0 WIN! Excellent effort by everyone. all won 3-0 apart from C de C, who had an epic 3-2 won after trailing 2-0!!! amazing stuff. hopes are high for Aston next week. Thu Nov 16 17:44:48 2006
Oxford team: Pete Glenday, Alex Iltchev, Chris de Conninck, James Machin, Will Gaisford
FIRST WIN THIS SEASON!!! Won 4-1. A solid team performance seeing the debuts of Pete Glenday, C de C and Will Gaisford, who all won. The guns of C de C were unstoppable. James Machin was up against their best player and lost a close 3-2 battle.
Oxford team: Tom Coode-Bates, Matt Hall, Alex Iltchev, Russ Butland, James Machin
Lost 4-1. 3rd loss out of 3 this season! Good effort all round against a very strong side. Alex produced the only win by using tactical mind games and using the force of the wife beater.
Oxford team: Tom Coode-Bates, Matt Hall, Alex Iltchev, Russ Butland, Dave Collins
A good performance against a strong team. Matt had a cracker at no.2 but Russ and Alex looked tired at nos 3 and 4, losing 3-0.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Ian Gibson, Sharif Ismail
A pretty convincing 3-1 win overall, with Ollie putting in a particularly strong performance at 2 to crush his opponent. Sadly, this is almost certainly the last time an Oxford team will play at Lambs - after a particularly suspect planning decision the club is to be replaced by high-rise flats. Cheers.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Jenny Brown, Sarah Clarke, Anna Steynor, Alex Barry
After a slight confusion in location we managed to make it safely to the squash club and secure a win. A stronger team in the league gave us closer matches and with some good performances we managed a 4-1 win.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Jess Watson
Despite our top 4 players being more than a little tired after playing in Birmingham all weekend, we managed to secure a 5-0 win with all players winning 3-0
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Jess Watson, Anna Steynor
Another good win for us in the league with 3-0 wins for players 1,2,3 and 5. Jess had a battle against a strong 4 but despite a good performance just missed out on a win
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Tom Bilyard, Sharif Ismail
Oxford's reduced, 3-man team travelled to London for our annual match-up against the Cumberland Club, and a re-acquaintance with some very tricky courts... A win and a loss at 3 and 2 left Will to settle the matter at 1, and despite some great squash at times, he was unable to overcome a strong opponent, at one time ranked in the top 8 in the world.
Oxford team: Sharif Ismail, Ollie Rider, Ian Gibson, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate
A second BUSA defeat for the 1sts, though this time we were fortunate to be able to rely on Tom C-B to save our blushes - a storming performance brought a 3-0 win at no. 5.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Jenny Brown, Sarah Clarke, Anna Steynor
A repeat of the match on monday which unfortunately resulted in a 2-3 loss. A solid 3-1 win by Anna at string 5 started us off well and Alex won her match comfortably 3-0. There were close games at the 3rd and 4th strings both unfortunately resulting in 3-1 losses and Sarah was seen off court in a 3-0 loss against a particularly strong opponent.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Jenny Brown, Jess Watson, Alex Barry
It was a good win for us against the current league leaders which will aid us in our bid for promotion. Close matches at strings 4 and 5 resulted in 3-1 losses in both instances but both matches were well fought. 3-0 wins for strings 1, 2 and 3 secured us victory 3-2. Hoping for a repeat performance on wednesday when we play them again.
Oxford team: Will Broadbent, Tom Bilyard, Ollie Rider, Ian Gibson, Sharif Ismail, Pete Glenday, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall
Some great squash from the middle order players in the first men's fixture of the season, with a particularly fine win for Ian against a strong Oxfordshire League opponent. Sadly, this was not enough to prevent the customary thumping (2-6) by our 'Town' opposition.
Oxford team: Sharif Ismail, Ollie Rider, Ian Gibson, Tom Coode-Bate, Matt Hall
A comprehensive defeat overall for the BUSA 1st team against perhaps the strongest side in the division. Tom and Matt put in spirited performances, with Tom in particular very unlucky to lose 2-3.
Oxford team: Alex Iltchev, Tim Belcher, Brett Shaheen, James Machin, Henry Tayler
lost 3-2. Tim Belcher came up against very strong opposition at number 2, as did Henry and Brett (who looked a little bit tired from the previous night!!!) James put up a spirited fight to win 3-2 and Alex kicked some serious butt to win 3-1
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Alex Hollington, Bryony Theaker, Sarah Clarke, Jess Watson
Another good match at the start of the season with 3-0 wins for all of the players. Hopefully this will continue into next week's matches
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jenny Brown, Alex Barry, Beth Seaman
It was a great start to the season with our first match and despite coming straight from training and the taxi turning up late, everyone won their matches 3-0. Hopefully the success will continue...
Oxford team: Bryony Theaker, Jess Watson, Beth Seaman, Lucy Witter, Amy Beaumont
With a depleted team Oxford struggled against a strong Wallingford side. We suffered 3-0 losses in the four bottom strings and our only point of the night was gained in the first string, where Bryony was able to take a game.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Helen Turnbull, Jess Watson
In our knockout match against Nottingham Jess started Oxford off well, gaining a 3-0 win over her opponent. Despite having to borrow Sarah's shoes (after bringing one tennis shoe and one squash shoe to the match!) Helen decimated her opponent 9-0, 9-0, 9-0. 3-0 wins also followed in the 2nd and 3rd strings, but Sarah, even with her pre-warmed shoes, lost 3-0 in a close match. The 4-1 win over Nottingham puts Oxford into the premier BUSA division next year!
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jess Watson, Ann Harvey, Beth Seaman
Oxford were just able to clinch a narrow victory against Thame, in a close fixture, where every game but one went to 3-2. Beth started well with a win over the Thame no. 5. Unfortunately, Ann, still suffering from bronchitus, went down 3-0, levelling the scores. Jess was also narrowly defeated, however, 3-2 wins at no. 1 and no. 2 gave ua the overall victory.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Beth Seaman, Lucy Witter
A strengthened Oxford team was able to gain revenge in the return fixture against Witney, who were lacking some of their best players. Lucy and Beth started us off well, with 3-0 and 3-1 wins respectively. Leah and Bryony also won 3-0, leaving it to Sarah to see if we could gain maximum points for the fixture. Unfortunately Sarah went down 3-2 in an epic match against a strong opponent, giving us a 4-1 win overall.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Jess Watson, Lucy Witter, Alex Barry, Louise Eggett
Oxford suffered a heavy loss to the so far unbeaten Witney team. Louise was able to get a game off her opponent, giving us our only point in the match.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Alex Barry, Emily Pimm
Only Sarah faced the same opponent in the return fixture against Banbury and was able to avenge Monday's defeat. 3-0 wins at no.1 and no.3, and our failure to pick up any points in the other strings gave us yet another 3-2 loss. The real fun, however, started after the match, when a transport delay allowed the team an hour and a half of pre-varsity bonding on a freezing street corner in deepest Adderbury.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Lucy Witter, Emily Pimm
Banbury started well, with a 3-0 win at no. 5, however, their 4th string player was forced to retire with a leg injury at 1-1. Leah had a very close game at no.3, losing on a stroke at 10-9 in the 5th game! A 3-0 win at no.2 brought the scores level again, but Sarah was unable to take the final match and lost 3-1, giving Banbury a 3-2 victory.
Oxford team: Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Ann Harvey, Lucy Witter
In the return fixture against Esporta, we felt the loss of our usual no. 1, whilst Esporta enjoyed a strengthened team. The 2nd and 4th strings salvaged the only points of the day, with a 3-1 win for Leah, and Ann managing to take one game from her experienced opponent.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Beth Seaman
Oxford got off to a good start with a close 3-2 win for Beth in the 5th string. Jess stormed to a 3-0 victory, whilst Leah had to contend with many marking disputes before gaining her 3-0 win. Bryony also took the match 3-0, without drawing blood this time! Unfortunately, Sarah wasn't feeling quite herself and struggled against the strong Esporta no. 1, leaving Oxford with a 4-1 win overall.
Oxford team: Jason Martin, Paavo Piik, Oli Jefferies, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Miles Jackson
Depleted by losing Dan and Tom to illness and injury, the blues recruited their coach to keep the numbers even, and saw an easy 3-0 by Jason. Paavo won a fantastic match v Ross Gore 3-2 on fitness and determination, it lasting so long we rang out of video film. Oli's match saw another 3-2 against Iain Donald, but sadly against the blues. Sharif too went down 3-2 to Robin Sparks whilst Ian never really got going and lost 3-0 to Mark Webster. Miles squandered a 2-0 lead, but finished off a 3-2 win over Simon Pick 10-8 in the final game.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Lucy Witter
Delighted with our victory over the Tabs, we continued straight from Cambridge to a local league match in Thame (well, almost straight- we did attempt to return to Cambridge at one point after a poorly signed roundabout!) Though struggling with back pain, Sarah managed a 3-0 win over a strong opponent. Leah also emerged victorious, with the loss of only 3 points! Unfortunately the rest of the team couldn't manage two wins in a day, giving Thame a 3-2 win.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Lucy Witter
Having spent over an hour circling the Cambridge ring-road finally we managed to find Christ's College! The bottom four enjoyed fairly straightforward wins over a weakened Cambridge team, ensuring that we will finish top of our BUSA division.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Helen Turnbull, Beth Seaman
After hard fought victories in the fourth and fifth strings Oxford took the lead against one of the strongest teams in our division. Unfortunately the top three were unable to match their successes, giving Wallingford a 3-2 win.
Oxford team: Paavo Piik, Dan Harrison, Oli Jefferies, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson
A relatively comfortable 3-0 for Oli and a comeback from 2-0 down for Paavo saw the blues take and early lead. Ian and Sharif lost 3-0 and 3-1 respectively and struggled initially to adjust to the hot bouncy courts. The match tied at 2-2, Dan took on old blue Malcolm Levy, but could not hang on in the final game and lost 3-2.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Jess Watson, Ann Harvey, Lucy Witter
Eager to avenge the men's defeats, the girls beat Birmingham 5-0 with very easy 3-0 wins in each string.
Oxford team: Dan Harrison, Paavo Piik, Oli Jefferies, Sharif Ismail, Miles Jackson
A tough fixture against the unbeaten division leaders saw an impressive effort. Dan came back from 1-0 down to beat his opponent 3-1, whilst Paavo beat his opponent in a tight 3-0, both players having lost the away fixture. Oli couldn’t hold on in the crucial match at third seed, and lost 3-1 despite playing well. Sharif – let’s just not go there! Miles lost 3-1 and wasn’t helped by the killer match he’d had the night before.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Beth Seaman
Wins for the top three gave Oxford their first victory this term.
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Lucy Witter
Despite valiant efforts in the 3rd and 5th strings, the lobs of the Hithercroft women proved too much for the rest of the Oxford team to cope with and we recorded a 3-2 loss in our first match in the top Oxfordshire League division.
Oxford team: Paavo Piik, Oli Jefferies, Sharif Ismail, Ian Gibson, Russell Butland
The first BUSA match of the year before even the start of term saw a weakened blues side go down 4-1. Russell and Ian were perhaps lacking a little match practice and both lost 3-0. Sharif had 'one of those days' and despite his impressive performances the weekend before also lost 3-0 to a hardhitting opponent. Paavo playing his first game in 4 weeks having only just returned from Estonia put up a good performance at 1, but was also beated 3-0 by a very strong and fit player. Oli saved pride at 2 with a good 3-1 win, which should have been 3-0 had he not thrown away a 7-0 lead in the third game.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Paul Gelder, Sharif Ismail, Oli Jefferies, Russell Butland
Our third and final match of the Quadrangular, which was played immediately after the second match earlier that morning. Tom and Sharif couldnÂ’t continue their good runs and lost 3-0 and 3-1 to some strong opposition. Russell won 3-2, and Oli finally learnt how to play squash, and came back from 2-0 down. The match tied at 2-2, it came down to Paul, who unfortunately lost 3-0 in a very tight match, with the scoreline not doing justice.
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Paul Gelder, Sharif Ismail, Oli Jefferies, Russell Butland
A 9.30am start wasnÂ’t the best thing after a night out in what one hopes is PortsmouthÂ’s worst club. The side was strengthened by Paul Gelder who was playing for us to bring out contingent up to 5. 3-1 wins for Tom, Sharif and Russell saw us win the match 3-2, Paul losing 3-0 and Oli 3-2
Oxford team: Tom Bilyard, Sharif Ismail, Oli Jefferies, Russell Butland
A tough first fixture in the Royal Navy Quadrangular tournament played in Portsmouth. Tom and Sharif completed two good 3-0 victories, showing that playing over the holidays has benefits in your first match back, whilst Oli and Rus lost 3-1 and 3-0 respectively, and were perhaps a bit lacking in both fitness and racket skills!
Oxford team: Sarah Blakey, Bryony Theaker, Leah Bassel, Jess Watson, Alex Barry
Straightforward wins at the top of the order and very narrow 3-2 losses in the 4th and 5th strings gave Oxford 17 points in a crucial victory over Banbury, who are currently top of the division.