Season reports 2022/23

Men’s Blues - written by Samuel Greenrod

Michaelmas term

The Queen’s Club

The first friendly fixture of the year was against the Queen’s club, resulting in a strong 4-1 win for the Oxford Men’s side. Particularly strong performances were seen by Trajan Halvorsen at no. 5 seed who, despite a close first two games, achieved the coveted bagel (11-0) in the final game. 3-0 wins were also achieved by Sam Greenrod and Kieran Tan at no. 4 and no. 3, while Eliot Heywood at no. 2 put on a great show defeating his opponent in straight games, with another bagel to finish off the match. At no. 1, Ben Harrison had tough game against Oxford alumnus Alex Portz losing in three.

The Jesters Club

The annual Jester’s fixture saw the Oxford Men’s team facing off against club alumni, including familiar faces such as Joe Sibley and Tim Delport (Oxford Blues, 2021-2022). Despite strong wins by our top 3 players, the Oxford (current) team lost 4-7. Congratulatory (and commiseratory!) dinner and drinks were held afterwards at Wadham College, with the mood lifted further by a cracking impromptu Chemistry-themed joke by the team’s youngest player, Eliot Heywood.

UK Armed Forces

26th November saw the annual fixture against the UK armed forces, the opposition’s team comprising players from all military branches including Army, Navy, and RAF. The Oxford Men’s 1st team achieved a convincing 6-0 win, with an 18-3 game split, despite a valiant effort from the UKAF side. Trajan Halvorsen had a particularly exciting match with a nail-biting 5-game thriller, winning 11-9 in the 5th. The fixture ended with a round of friendly doubles.

GB Vets

On 21st January, the Men’s team had their first match back after the Christmas break against the GB Vets. In the top 5 seeds, a strong GB Vets side saw a 3-2 win with only the top two OUSRC players, Eliot Heywood and James McCouat, achieving wins for the home side. Yet, with a series of strong performances by lower seeded players, the match concluded with a 6-6 draw. During the meal and drinks that followed, it was clear that a rematch is the only course of action going forward. We are excited to have them back next year to settle the score!

Hilary term

Escorts report

On Saturday 4th February, OUSRC played the Escorts club and saw our current Men’s Blues team play against numerous OUSRC alumni from previous years. Close matches in the top order saw 3-2 wins for the Men’s Blues at no. 3 seed (James McCouat) and no. 1 seed (Ben Harrison), with Ben putting in an especially valiant effort against the women’s world no. 53 Millie Tomlinson. However, the Escorts showed a strong team depth closing out the fixture with an overall 7-4 win. As ever, the Escorts were magnanimous in victory and ensured the home side were well looked after with a fantastic post-match feast followed by a cracking night out.

RAC

In preparation for the upcoming Varsity match, the 6th February saw an away match against the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in London. While the lads put up a valiant effort winning games in each match, the RAC side proved too strong with the final score being a 2-3 loss. A strong performance by James McCouat saw him take the only OUSRC win. The no. 4 seed looked to be an even contest although the RAC player had to withdraw due to injury. Remarkably, a generous offer for an extra match by the RAC no. 5 seed also resulted in a concession due to injury in the 5th game (of course it wasn’t intentional!). Nonetheless, the RAC kindly hosted us for food and drinks afterwards and it was a great match.

Overall BUCS report

The Men’s Blues faced tough opposition in the BUCS league this year as part of Midlands Division 1 alongside teams from Birmingham, Nottingham, and Loughborough. Yet, the team pulled out some important wins against Birmingham 3s and Nottingham 2s, securing our place in the division for the following season. Big shout outs go to Trajan Halvorsen for being the team chauffeur this year and to Ben Harrison for consistent strong performances across the season.

Women’s Blues - written by Mei Whattam

Michaelmas term

Despite some tough private fixtures, the Women’s Blues have performed well so far this season, especially in BUCS fixtures. They are yet to drop a single game against the likes of Warwick 2’s and Birmingham 3’s, boding well for promotion in the league at the end of the season, hopefully maintaining their impressive unbeaten record.

The first major challenge for the Women’s Blues came in the form of friendly Queen’s fixture, resulting in an unfortunate 4-1 loss for the squad. Despite the disappointing overall result, the girls played well with some very close games and game balls in their favour that could have gone either way. Highlights were Natalie Shah’s quick chop of her opponent in stellar form, alongside Ruby Wood’s tight first game against ex-Harvard player Annika Engstrom. Overall, a lovely fixture with brilliant hospitality: as ever, the girls remain impressed by the quality of the changing rooms, good food and flowing finance chat over dinner!

For those in the squad that didn’t manage to travel to London for the Queen’s match came the Jesters fixture. This saw the Women’s Blues face off against alumni, including recent grads Laura Neill and Georgie Willis. Whilst the girls put up a good fight and got some useful English practice in advance of the Varsity match, the team unfortunately took a loss. Those that went for the classic bagel were quickly revealed at the post-match dinner and drinks at Wadham College, with the night ending with a nostalgic trip to the Varsity Club and captain Mei Whattam leaving with half a tooth less than she came with…

The final private fixture of the term was against the UK Armed forces, with the opposition’s team comprising players from all military branches including Army, Navy, and RAF. This match saw the mighty return of Women’s Blues legend and resident golden oldie Alethea Lee, although even with her sage wisdom the Women’s 1’s were unable to take the win. Shoutout to fresher Aria Appoo who played some very convincing, level-headed squash against a strong opponent.

Certainly room for improvement, although considering their BUCS success, it has been a good term for the Women’s Blues. The training efforts have only been ramped up this term in advance of the Varsity match, with great anticipation for what the second half of the season has to come.