#BUCSWednesday Notepad: Week 15
A decidedly mixed afternoon of BUCS with Varsity looming large saw the Boar Sport team tackle football, table-tennis and tennis. Although not exactly lucky charms, at least the Boar curse was finally broken, thanks to a marvellous display of grit at Cryfield.
Results at a glance:
12 wins, 4 draws, 11 losses
Top three wins:
University of Warwick Women’s Tennis 1s 12-0 Oxford University Women’s Tennis 2s
University of Warwick Men’s Fencing 1s 135-69 King’s College London Men’s Fencing 1s
University of Warwick Women’s Basketball 1s 74-33 University of Leicester’s Women’s Basketball 1s
Football: Warwick Men’s 1s 2-0 Oxford Men’s 1s
It was a dreary and cold day at Cryfield as I trudged through mud to the side-line of the Men’s 1s game against high-flying Oxford 1s. A decent crowd were assembled despite this, and they were serenaded by the uniquely amusing tune of plumb Home Counties accents wafting from the visitors all in navy, protesting all game with the unbridled ferociousness of a Waitrose ultra. If the weather was frosty, the atmosphere on the pitch was certainly hot.
Warwick started the better of the two, and applied pressure consistently down the right hand side, with Oxford struggling to get out of their own half. That pressure told, after Dwyer-Ifill was sent through on goal, kept his composure and fired in at the second attempt after his first shot was well parried by the surprisingly diminutive Oxford ‘keeper.
The goal sent the away side further into the lurch, and they struggled to keep a recognisable shape. Warwick’s deep-lying playmaker Furber took hold of the game excellently, with a lovely range of passing and array of tricks on display. Dwyer-Ifill, buoyed by the goal, showed strength and pace to leave his marker for dead on the edge of the box, and nearly bagged a second. Half time came without cause for concern.
Warwick were slow out of the blocks in the second. A calamitous error from Banks in goal really should have led to an equaliser, as his sliced clearance fell straight to an opponent barely outside the box. Eventually, controversy struck as Oxford appealed despairingly for a handball on the line. With the linesman furthest away from the Warwick goal claiming to have seen it, but the referee and nearer assistant not, a goal was not given – provoking a hail of abuse from player and coach alike to the man in the middle.
Out of frustration, Oxford started tackling dirtily, which provoked an overreaction from one Warwick player swiftly subbed off and a ‘friendly’ tête-a-tête with the culprit. Warwick regained some control over the match, coming close to a second, and having one disallowed for offside.
The visitors desperately tried to claw their way back into the game, but Banks redeemed himself with two superb saves. Suddenly, as the final whistle approached, a Warwick counter was on with winger Hancock igniting the burners. After amazing work from him, the finishing touch was applied by substitute Adejokun – sending the Warwick team into a frenzy. A bad-tempered, but tremendous match of football.
Man of the match: Too difficult to pick an individual in what was a fine team performance. A word in particular for Warwick’s back four, which has struggled at times this season, but was a wall all game, the captain leading by example.
Table Tennis: Warwick Men’s 2s 5-12 Coventry Men’s 1s
It was Varsity-lite in the sports centre activity room as the men’s table tennis 2s took on Coventry 1s in the BUCS Trophy Quarter Final. With the 1s playing away in Aberdeen – a fixture they travelled to by plane – the four-strong team included three freshers. On paper it was a tough ask, and so it proved.
A cordial atmosphere provided the backdrop to the tie, with some of the watching older players on first name terms with their Coventry counterparts. I was told to watch out for the opposition’s Cossian Stefan, a player so good that during one match he knocked back an errant ball from another table mid-rally. He then proceeded to win the point.
The Warwick team nonetheless faced up to the challenge and nobody was handed a thrashing. Fresher Elliot Platt impressed onlookers with his composure and determination by bouncing back from defeat in his first match to win the second. He stuck to his task against the formidable Stefan, but the Coventry man’s unorthodox technique of striking the ball with the bumpy side of the racket was unplayable at times.
Jonathan Goh, another fresher, was a bundle of energy and greeted every won or lost point with an array of actions and exclamations. He picked up a win himself but appeared resigned to his fate when up against Stefan.
Masters student Tobias Eichenlauss quietly went about his work and was only narrowly beaten by Coventry’s second seed, a man who stood so far back from the table he was practically in Cannon Park. He was the third of four to pick up just one singles game and almost won a second, were it not for events that rather summed up Warwick’s day: at 8-8 in a crucial game, Eichenlauss saw consecutive shots hit a light (the ball would otherwise have come down to bounce on his opponent’s side) and a dodgy let cord go against him.
Last but not least was the final fresher, Reuben Cox. Cox acquitted himself and hung in doggedly against every opponent, while occasionally pulling off a moment of magic. The experience of playing against such quality opposition will serve him well.
The doubles was academic but offered a chance for Warwick to get one more point on the board. Secret signs under the table from the Coventry players were ineffective, with Goh and Cox in solid form. Their greatest worry came when match point at 10-5 became 10-9, before an errant shot from Cassian, of all people, meant Warwick finished on a high.
Tennis: Warwick Men’s 1s 2 – 10 Loughborough Men’s 2s
Promotion dreams are rarely straightforward and often cruel. The stakes are raised; hope gives way to expectation, doubt sharpens defeat. Look to the Midlands 1A and the stakes are raised further, promotion a golden ticket to the crème de la crème of university sport – the national division.
It’s a prize both the Warwick men’s tennis 1s and Loughborough 2s have been battling for since October, with just a point separating the teams at the top of the table. With the two universities possessing no less than four teams in the Midlands 1A, both sets of players were well-accustomed to the qualities of their opponent. All was set for a title crunch thriller.
Warwick’s form at Fortress Westwood has laid the foundations for their promotion push, with three wins from three going into this title decider. Yet Loughborough had the air of conquistadors, brimming with confidence as every shot hit their mark, threatening a breach in what had been touted unbreachable.
Dents gave way to cracks as Loughborough steamrolled the doubles, clinching the first set on the tie-break and never looking back. Meanwhile, the pressure told as Warwick’s first-serve deserted them, offering Loughborough the chance to press their advantage – they didn’t need to be asked twice.
On the day, Warwick just weren’t good enough – a 10-2 loss marking a significant dent to title aspirations. Yet both teams should be applauded for some brilliant tennis. For Warwick, dreams of promotion have surely dimmed, but are not quite extinguished.
#ClubSpotlight Week 15: Warwick Yoga
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