The annual Varsity match between the dark blues of Oxford and the light blues of Cambridge was held on the 8th March this year, with Oxford putting in an exceptional showing against what was, as ever, an extremely strong Cambridge 
squad.
Particularly worthy of mention are the Oxford Womens’ team, having, on the whole, much less experience of such a tough environment in comparison with the skillful, well drilled and extremely competitive light blue team. They rallied around each other, never gave up and did themselves proud in spite of the clear gap in level between the two teams. Kritica Dwivedi of Exeter college provoked a moment of panic in the Cambridge camp after a fantastic 2nd set in her last game, however, the light blues were ultimately too strong; overcoming the dark blues 10-0.
The Mens’ 2nds went in to the two remaining doubles matches needing only to win one of them to win the match outright (seeing as they led 5-3 at the time). Our partnership of Joost van Deutekom and Hrishikesh Paranjape were defeated in three sets, leaving us with only one remaining chance to win the match. The last doubles went all the way to 13-13 in the 5th set, with neither side holding a clear advantage. In the end, the consistency of the Cambridge pair made the difference, as the light blues clawed back a draw from the jaws of an Oxford victory, with the match ending 5-5.
For the first time since 2010, the Oxford Mens’ 1sts recorded individual victories against Cambridge. Kris Hammerback and Dai Xi were 
unlucky not to record two wins, with both taking one of their opposing players to 5 sets. In many ways, the doubles proved decisive again, with the situation reversed from the previous case- Oxford needed to win both in order to achieve a draw. Unfortunately, preparation on the part of the light blues paid off, with the final score a 7-3 victory to Cambridge.