Varsity 2022 at the RAC

Cambridge took both the men's and women's matches at this year's Varsity Match although it was a relief to get the match played after the Covid-related difficulties of 2021.   Many thanks to the significant number of Alumni that turned out to support the teams.

The women were well beaten by a very strong Cambridge team and, in spite of their best efforts, failed to register a single string.  The men's match however turned out to be a classic.  It was very unfortunate that the originally selected men's No.5 tested positive for Covid the day before the match and was replaced by the original No.6, Trajan Halverson - the Squirrel's Captain.  Jeffrey Peo, the replacement at No.6, turned in a fine performance to get the match off to a winning start but Trajan, fighting hard throughout, went down 0-3.  Past-President Tim Delport at No.4, having missed out on a first Blue last year, played a very solid game to win 3-1 and even up the match.  Another past-President, Tom Paine, looking a little rusty, went down at 3 before the Captain (and present Club President!) James McCouat took the match back to all-square with a good win at No.2.  So the scene was set for the deciding match at No.1 with Joe Sibley - now returning as a Graduate and having won his previous three Blues' matches in 2018, 2019 and 2020 - playing a Fresher, Ben Adams.  The two evenly matched, and very fit, players presented a lengthy RAC spectacle with many 20+ shot rallies.  Having lost the first game, Joe re-established himself to go 2-1 up.  Having broken two strings and by now playing with a borrowed racket, Joe still managed to engineer a match (and Varsity) point in the 4th but could not drive it home and ultimately lost in the fifth.