Splashdown For Blues
The 100th annual swimming Varsity Match was held in Reading on Saturday, with Oxford going in as the underdogs hoping to snatch back the titles from Cambridge, victorious in both the men's and women's competitions for the last two years. Unfortunately 2002 was not to prove our year, but the match saw hotly contested races and fast times from both teams.
In the women's competition, Oxford were looking to topple a Tab team which had scarcely changed since last year's overwhelming defeat.
The first race, the 200m individual medley, however, went well. Amy Davies (St Catz) and Rakhi Mehra (LMH) both swam their fastest times of the season, with Davies pushing Cambridge's Gemma Hindson, a Youth Olympic medallist, all the way. Mehra was close behind and finished third.
The 100m backstroke was equally close for first place, with Sarah Boyd (LMH) just losing out against Cambridge captain Anja Slim on the last length for a fast 1.06.92, the time considerably quicker than last week's town v gown match.
The 200m freestyle saw Davies up against Hindson again, winning another second place in 2.11.87, with vice-captain Tina Agnew (Exeter) swimming strongly for fourth.
In the 100m butterfly, Oxford's captain Joanne Harris (ChCh) and Ruth Jones (St Catz) found themselves outclassed by Cambridge but nevertheless were pleased with their times.
The 100m breaststroke saw two personal best times for Victoria McDonald (Catz) and Steph Bullock (BNC), a good end to a season's swimming.
The final individual event, the 100m free, was bravely fought by Boyd who touched out Cambridge's second swimmer for an excellent second place behind Cambridge president Lindsey McFarlane, with Lizzie Goddard (ChCh) fourth.
Going into the relays, the Oxford team knew winning was impossible, but nevertheless showed extraordinary enthusiasm and guts in pushing the Tabs every inch of the way; the freestyle relay being especially close.
The men's competition saw equally impressive swimming. Mark Heath (St Hugh's) and captain Jaka Lednik (St Anne's) led off in the 200m IM, with Heath's freestyle bringing him home second.
The 100m backstroke was the closest race of the day, with just over a second separating the four swimmers. James Etherington (LMH) and Karl Wood (Oriel) fought hard but were just touched out by the Cambridge swimmers on the finish.
In the 200m freestyle, Rob Spurr (BNC) and president Ben Herbert (Merton) were both comfortably clear of Cambridge's second swimmer, though unfortunately the same could not be said for Spurr's brother Matt (SEH) and Wood in the 100m fly.
Herbert and Etherington were again in action in the 400m free, where Cambridge captain Mike Scott swam a new Tab record to win, with the Oxford swimmers in second and third places.
Another close race was swum in the breaststroke, as the four men were neck and neck for 75m. In the event, Lednik touched third in a new best time, with Andrew Roberts (ChCh) just behind in fourth.
The men's freestyle, always an exciting event, proved just as close as Heath lost out on the finish, recording a very fast 54.01.
As with the women, the men knew that winning was impossible but despite this, succeeded in beating the Tabs in the very last event of the day. The 4 x 100m free team of Rob Spurr, Herbert, Etherington and Heath led from the second 100m and never looked back, bringing a thrilling competition to a close.
The scores for the match belie the closeness of many of the races. Cambridge had the stronger team again, with the advantage of better training facilities. It is to be hoped that when the university pool is finally built Oxford will regain an equal footing.
Until then, the Dark Blue swimmers will continue with the comfort that we are swimming fast, and that we pulled together on the day.
21st Feb 2002