Varsity Rackets 2017
Sponsored by Pol Roger
Toni Morales; Ed Kay; James Simpson; Jamie Giddins: Matt Shaw
The Varsity Rackets match was held at the Queens club on 1st February.
In the first match, Cambridge captain Kay used all his experience to take the first match 15/4 15/4 15/2 against varsity debutant James Baker. Baker’s black eye meant visibility was below par and so he struggled to pick out the half track pies that Ed was throwing up on the Backhand serve.
Next up was Matt Shaw having been knocked down a position to seed 3 he took down Mark Fischel (‘Le poisson’) in 3 sets (15/7 15/2 15/5). The former Queen’s Club assistant showed his knowledge of his home court to outmanoeuvre the Fish and take Cambridge to a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Toni Morales stepped in as Seed 2 to play against Oxford’s George Peel. Fresh from his Gap Year where he went through a period of self reflectance on the sport, Morales showed his power and experience to beat his opponent 15/7 15/4 15/7.
With Cambridge 3-0 up, superstar player, Hawks president and general legend Jamie Giddins took on Oxford’s captain Dan Escott. Escott played some great rackets, but couldn’t get past ice-man Giddins who took the match 15/1 15/6 15/3.
In the doubles Kay and Shaw teamed up to defeat Baker & Fischel 15/0 15/3 15/3, while Giddins and Morales secured Cambridge’s 6-0 win by winning the first pair’s match 15/6 15/6 15/5.
This means that the current team is the first Cambridge side to win 4 varsity matches in a row since 1914. Oxford will return stronger next year in what should be a great fixture.
2017 was also host to the first ladies rackets varsity match. Oxford brought a very strong team with Georgie Willis and Eve Shenkman defeating Cambridge’s Georgia Billings and Katherine Phillips 15/0 15/4 15/5. Cambridge’s team are already in training to reverse this score next year and we hope this match will be the first of many.
The Cambridge team would like to thank Simon Kverndal and Peter Raby for their continued support. Both teams would like to thank the T&RA for their help in organising this event, and Pol Roger for their generous sponsorship.
Eve Shenkman: James Simpson; Georgie Willis
Cambridge won the men’s match 6-0
- 4th string Ed Kay bt James Baker 15/4 15/4 15/2
- 3rd string Matt Shaw bt Mark Fishel 17/7 15/2 15/5
- 2nd string Toni Morales bt George Peel 15/7 15/4 15/7
- 1st string Jamie Giddins bt Dan Escott 15/1 15/6 15/3
- 2nd Doubles Kay & Shaw bt Baker & Fishel 15/0 15/3 15/3
- 1st Doubles Giddins & Morales bt Escott & Peel 15/6 15/6 15/5
Oxford won the ladies match
- Georgie Willis & Eve Shenkman bt Georgia Billings & Katherine Phillips