On Sunday the 28th of February Oxford hosted the 73rd annual Varsity match against Cambridge at Iffley Road. Oxford was determined to break Cambridge’s 12-year winning streak, including five consecutive 10-0 losses between 2010 and 2014. Some of Cambridge’s top players from last year had left the club, whereas Oxford felt it could field a stronger team than in recent years.
In the Women’s 1st match the traditional difference in strength unfortunately still remains. Oxford fought hard and won more sets than last year, with Sue being very close to taking a decisive lead in the third, but this was not to be. Cambridge has an extremely strong Women’s team and confirmed this with a 10-0 win.
The Men’s 2nd team had drawn last year, giving away a victory in the doubles after taking a 5-3 lead in the singles games. Sai Ma gave his team a good start with a solid 3-0 victory over his first opponent, but in the subsequent games Oxford were unable to back this up. The Cambridge team was very consistent and won 9-1.
After these defeats the pressure was on the Men’s 1st to give Oxford some good news. It soon became clear that the teams were more balanced than in recent years. Michael was not yet at his best during his first match, but took revenge by beating Cambridge’s top player later on. Joost produced two efficient 3-0 victories and Jens fought himself to a 3-2 victory at his Varsity debut, helped by loud home support.
Varsity veteran Kristofer came very close, but was desperately unlucky to lose both his matches 3-2.
Because of the 4-4 score, the doubles proved to be decisive this year.
After a short break, Oxford took a 5-4 lead through a comfortable victory from Jens and Joost, raising the possibility of an overall victory. Kristofer and Michael had to perform under high pressure in a tight game that ultimately went to the Cambridge side, resulting in a total score of 5-5 and only the fifth draw in history.
Even though more had been possible, this result means that Cambridge’s winning streak (since 2004) has finally been broken. Oxford has continued the upward trend and we have now arrived at a point where a draw was more celebrated by Cambridge than by Oxford. This is a very positive development that bodes well for the future.