The Oxford Student - Official Student Newspaper

Tabs run away with freshers victory

By Alex Jezeph

Athletics Freshers Varsity

Oxford Men...............85

Oxford Women.........92

Cambridge Men.........96

Cambridge Women...98

A strong and determined Oxford team met their Cambridge athletics opposition on Sunday to compete in the annual freshers’ varsity match. Not even the appalling weather conditions, quite possibly a massive factor in the eventual outcome of the meeting, could dampen Oxford’s spirit as the team put up a formidable fight against their old and embittered rivals.

The Dark Blues had high hopes of beating the lighter shade of blue on home ground at the Iffley Road track after their heartbreaking defeat at Cambridge last year, but once again that desperately longedfor victory eluded both the men and the women’s teams by frustratingly narrow margins. The freshers’ varsity match launched into action once again with the field and jump events and all competitors performed well given the desperately sodden pitch and soaking conditions.

Events such as the discus and the javelin even became quite perilous in the torrential rain, but despite this, representatives from both the two teams delivered some more than impressive master classes in their chosen disciplines. It was Cambridge who gained the upper hand in the inaugural event of the day, securing first and second places in the men’s hammer event.

The Oxford men remained undeterred, matching Cambridge’s initial success with their own, Mason Growler and Mathew Bullimore achieving first and second positions in the pole vault. This exciting pattern of vigorous to-and-fro competition set the trend for the entire match, with the Tabs just about breaking through to take the lead only to find the Dark Blue’s ever hot on their heels. Ultimately, the Oxford men could not match Cambridge and lost by ten points in the field and jump events.

Nevertheless the Dark Blue supporters were entertained and impressed by some outstanding individual performances. Mark Ponsford and Aneurin Elis-Evans showed strength in the high jump and Nathan Fleming won the discus for Oxford before topping the blues standard in the javelin by an awesome 14cm in his impressive 55.14m throw.

The Oxford women performed admirably in the jump events with a spirited effort from Frances Smithson, who secured a double win in the triple jump and high jump, and additionally coming second behind Stephanie Madgett in the long jump. Oxford maintained the pressure on Cambridge for the duration of the match, with Ellen Bettaney winning the final field event of the day with her 29.29m throw in the javelin.

On the track, Frances Smithson, having just gained Oxford valuable points in the jump events, went on to win the 100m sprint in 14.2 seconds. Natalie McManus also ran well, coming second in the same event, then bettering this by winning the 200m in 27.7 seconds. In the distance events, Rachel Ward showed immense stamina with her double win in the 1500 and 3000m races, twice pushing her Cambridge rival Charlotte Forbes into second place.

The 1500m race was won by a clear margin, completing the event in 04:58.90, with a 12 second lead over her fatigued and wellbeaten Cambridge contender. The Oxford team spirit could never be doubted, with athletes willingly stepping in to replace their fallen team-mates, injured in the build-up to this highlight in the athletics calendar. Caitlin Hanley ran the 400m hurdles, later admitting it was the first time she had even attempted the event.

Her efforts scored Oxford an additional point, although she may have been that bit more pleased with her victory in the 400m, which she completed in an outstanding 01:03.90 In the men’s track events, Oxford faired better against Cambridge than they did in the field, scoring 52 points compared to Cambridge’s minutely superior score of 53.

The 800m race was closely fought, with Oxford runners David Woods and Ian Kimpton breaking away on the home straight to secure valuable first and second places in 2:03.1 and 2:04.0 seconds respectively. Ian Kimpton maintained this high performance, winning the 1500 with a driving sprint finish, while Richard Franzese completed the 3000m distance race in 09:11.30, nearly 48 seconds ahead of the Cambridge A-string runner.

The Oxford men kept their rivals on their toes and the spectators on the edge of their seats during a scintillating performance in the 400m relay. The athletes pushed themselves to the limit in a last concerted effort for Oxford in the final event of the day; Danny Eckersley putting in a tremendous effort to close the gap in the final leg of the race.

Both Oxford and Cambridge presented a strong and determined display, but ultimately for Oxford it was not quite enough and Cambridge won the race and the day. The final score was 85-96 to Cambridge in the men’s competition and a marginal 92-98 to Cambridge in the women’s events. Nevertheless, as President Nick Radford commented, ‘Even though we didn’t achieve victory, the team came together better than I think I’ve ever seen at a Freshers fixture.

Women’s captain Martine Bomb was encouraged by the ‘exceptional performances of several athletes’, particularly in light of the abysmal weather. Oxford lost by a slim margin in both matches, the men by a mere 11 points and the women by just 6. This, when compared to losses by 15 and 39 points respectively in last year’s match, marks more than just a considerable improvement.

Oxford University Athletics Club have been seeking to close the gap on their Cambridge rivals and Radford remains optimistic that OUAC can ‘clinch back the glory from the Tabs’. The result can only boost the Dark Blue team’s confidence and without doubt bodes well for Varsity victory at the highest level in the summer season.

10th Nov 2005