Submitted by Megan Harrington on Mon, 19/12/2022 - 13:37
The BUCS season is well underway for Cambridge, and we’ve seen huge successes for the Light Blues already this year.
Forty-six teams have been entered into the BUCS League and Knockout competitions this season, with one new entry compared to 2021-22 for Men’s Squash – who are looking to gain promotion at the first attempt as they top their league without having lost a game!
Also proving to be formidable so far this season are Fencing M2, Netball 3, Rugby League, Tennis M2, and Water Polo M1, who are all unbeaten in the league, while Lacrosse W1 are top of Premier South.
In knockout competitions, Cambridge were dealt tough first round draws overall, but five teams have done incredibly well to reach the latter stages: Basketball M1, Football W1, Hockey M2, Rugby Union W2, and Water Polo M1.
We also look ahead to the Championship knockout competition in Easter term for nine teams competing in the BUCS Premier Division: Fencing M1/W1, Hockey M1/W1, Lacrosse W1, Rugby Union W1, Tennis W1, Volleyball W1, Water Polo W1. With only a couple of matches left to play in these divisions, we’ll soon know who they’ll face in the Championship at the end of February. Check out the league tables, fixtures and results for Cambridge teams.
Pictured: Rugby League unbeaten in 2022-23.
In individual events, Cambridge have secured gold medals in the BUCS Sailing Fleet Racing Championships - Tim Hire (Selwyn) won gold in the BUCS Sailing Fleet Racing Championships, while Phoebe Barker (Robinson) and Sannah Zamman (Homerton) triumphed in the BUCS Cycling Hill Climb Championships, securing gold for the Women’s Team. The Hill Climb Championships also saw silver and bronze medals individually for UCAPP athletes Phoebe and Sannah respectively, as well as bronze medals for the Men’s Team: Joe Adlam-Cook (Magdalene), Theo Weinberger (St. John’s), and Tom Hale (Fitzwilliam).
An outstanding term for Phoebe Barker also saw her win gold in the BUCS Duathlon with CU Triathlon at Castle Combe!
Off the bike and out of the water, CU Table Tennis Women’s Captain and UCAPP athlete Charlotte Bardsley (Sidney Sussex) reached the final of the BUCS Table Tennis Individual Championships, winning the silver medal. Earlier this year, Charlotte competed for England at the Commonwealth Games!
To round off a successful term, CU Taekwondo picked up five medals at the first round of the BUCS Taekwondo Championships, and CU Clay Pigeon Shooting sent the largest team of any UK University to the BUCS Clay Pigeon Shooting Championships event, securing bronze medals in the Women’s and Men’s Team events. The termly medal haul puts Cambridge at 14th in the BUCS Medal Table!
Pictured: Phoebe being encouraged to victory by 2021-22 CUCC President George.
During Michaelmas Cambridge entered 15 different BUCS events, ranging from the BUCS Swimming Short Course Championships to the BUCS Rifle Short Range Championships, as well as Indoor Ultimate, Touch Rugby and Korfball. The final event of 2022 was the BUCS Squash Individual Championships, where Cambridge secured a winner's trophy in the Women’s B Grade Plate and Men’s H Grade Plate for Ellie White (Queens’) and Joe Betts (Selwyn).
Outside of BUCS, the Varsity highlight of the term proved to be five wins out of five for CU Hare and Hounds in their Varsity Match against Oxford (M1, W1, M2, W2, M3). This historic result was the first time Cambridge had ever won five out of five races since the W2 event was introduced in 1983.
In the Women’s Blues race, UCAPP athlete Niamh Bridson Hubbard (Magdalene) secured 1st place, with fellow UCAPP athletes Phoebe Barker, Nancy Scott (Newnham), and Louise Shanahan (Trinity) also finishing in the top five!
Over in the Men’s Blues race, UCAPP athlete Jeremy Dempsey (Girton) secured victory, with every team member playing their part in what was the closest margin of victory in the race since 1982.
Niamh’s fantastic progress this year led to a well-deserved national call-up for England, while there have been numerous other reasons to celebrate an outstanding cohort of students on the University of Cambridge Athlete Performance Programme - this year Cambridge are supporting the largest cohort of UCAPP athletes since the programme began, showing the strength of sporting talent at the University.
- Fencer Dan Twine (St. Catharine’s) has gone from strength to strength and has been on international duty at the Sabre Grand Prix in France with British Fencing, competing against some of the world’s top sabre fencers.
- Brandon Teh (Magdalene) headed to Istanbul for the World University Powerlifting Championships, posting an incredible 607.5kg total for his three lifts in the –74kg weight category. Now that Powerlifting is a BUCS sport, Brandon will be looking for a BUCS podium place in 2023.
- Cross Country runner Beatrice Wood (Lucy Cavendish) was selected for England for the European Cross Country Championships in Turin.
- Anna Saunter (Murray Edwards) was selected for England Lacrosse for the Canada Super Series, managing to squeeze in a successful tournament over the water during term, and leading the Cambridge Women’s Blues Lacrosse team to 1st place in BUCS Premier South at Christmas.
- Jan Helmich (Trinity Hall) and team won the German Para Team of the Year award for their Para Rowing successes this year. Highlights in a stunning season for Jan included gold in the PR3 Mix4+ category at the World Cup, and silver at the World Championships!
- Orienteer Peter Molloy (Trinity) represented GB in Portugal in November across middle distance, long distance and relay. In the relay, Peter returned in 1st place on the 1st leg to leave GB leading the race – an outstanding performance for GB, who are typically not one of the stronger nations for orienteering, with commentary remarking on a brilliant effort from Peter.
Pictured: Niamh on the track - Congrats on the international call-up!
At Christmas, the BUCS results leave Cambridge in 27th in the overall BUCS Points table, and a fantastic 18th in the women’s standings. After Christmas, we look forward to many more big events, including BUCS Nationals (Badminton, Climbing, Indoor Athletics, Swimming), and BUCS Rowing Regatta.
As we build towards a celebration of Cambridge Sport at the annual Sports Awards event in June, take another look at the winners from Sports Awards 2022!
Here’s to another fantastic term in Lent!
Merry Christmas, and best wishes for 2023. For the latest sports news & updates, follow @camunisport on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
