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BUCS Roundup 2017-18

We’ve produced a short snapshot of how each club has performed in the league this season, but want to take the chance to congratulate all the clubs on their hard work and dedication to their sport, and say thank you for being a pleasure to work with.

As the regular league season draws to a close, for many teams their participation in BUCS competition this year is over, but for a few, their most important fixtures of the season are yet to come.

In the BUCS Events programme, there are a number of events left to take place. Cruising, Yachting, Cycling, Athletic, Triathlon, Rifle, Canoe and Trampoline Clubs all have a number of events coming up over the next two months.

The BUCS Trampolining Championships will be held at the University of Cambridge Sports Centre on the 14th and 15th April, while the BUCS 10 Mile TT is taking place locally in Bottisham on Saturday 7th April – also the venue for Cambridge University Cycling Club’s successful Cuppers event earlier this month – so both clubs will be hoping for strong results at familiar home venues.

Further afield, the Sailors will be in Glasgow from the 2nd-4th April, competing in the Team Racing Championship Finals – all three boats having placed in the top five at the regional qualifiers. They will also be travelling to the south coast twice, to compete in the Match Racing and Yachting Championships – a busy few weeks ahead!

Cambridge University Pythons American Football

It was a difficult season for American Football, as they struggled in Tier 1 and were relegated to Tier 2. Having had to introduce a large number of new players this season, they’ll be hoping the experience this year can turn them into title challengers in 2018/19.

Cambridge University Association Football Club

An excellent year for all three teams saw the Men’s Blues win Midlands 1A – though admittedly unexpectedly, with their pre-season ambition having been to avoid relegation – the win to seal the title was made even sweeter, by coming against old rivals Oxford. The Blues clearly underestimated themselves, and now await the playoff draw for promotion to Premier South, where they will face Chichester, Exeter or Reading.

After winning promotion to Tier 1 in 2016/17, the Women’s Blues knew they would be in for a tough season, but performed well above expectations, picking up fantastic results throughout the season, with the best victory perhaps being a Last 16 4-3 Trophy victory against an unbeaten Exeter side.

The Men’s 2nd team performed excellently in their season at Tier 3, showing themselves to be promotion contenders and only narrowly missing out to a Warwick side who they had beaten early in the season. The experience at this level will surely serve them well, and they’ll be hoping to go one better next year.

Cambridge University Badminton Club

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams had a tough season after promotions to Tier 1 in 2016/17. The standard was extremely high and both teams were relegated back to Tier 2. However, both improved significantly throughout the year, competing admirably and coming up against performance athletes each week from other Universities. They also both enjoyed superb cup victories, with the men’s team reaching the Last 16 and the women’s team finding themselves unfortunate to get knocked out in the Quarter Finals.  They will be much stronger players having spent a season at Tier 1, and will be looking to bounce back with promotion next season.

Cambridge University Men’s Basketball Club

An excellent season for the Blues, in which they have picked up four league victories so far, and had a cup run to remember. With one league game remaining, they’ll be hoping to finish on a high. A tough defeat in the cup saw them knocked out at the quarter final stage, to eventual finalists and South East 1A winners Middlesex.

The Lions remain in Tier 3, finishing the season strongly and winning their final 2 matches against Loughborough and Oxford, and could have finished higher had they been on the right side of three close losses earlier in the season.

Cambridge University Women’s Basketball Club

The Blues held their own in a competitive Tier 1, comfortably avoiding automatic relegation with two victories against Warwick. A frustrating BUCS rule leaves the Blues in a vulnerable position, as the result of Premier playoffs could relegate them to Tier 2, as the 4th placed team in Tier 1 - a scenario also faced by Men’s Basketball Blues and Women’s Football.

In only their second BUCS season, the Panthers showed how important home advantage is in BUCS competition, winning two home games comfortably and losing out to the 1st and 2nd placed teams at Tier 3 by only a couple of points.

Cambridge University Fencing Club

Away trips to Durham and Edinburgh for the Men’s firsts and Women’s firsts in the BUCS Championship saw them unable to reach the final at BUCS Big Wednesday this season, but they will both be pleased at having got to that stage of the competition, and unfortunate to have been drawn difficult away fixtures early on.

The Men’s seconds performed superbly in round robins, and finished 3rd in Tier 1, making them one of the strongest 2nd teams in the country. The BUCS individuals in February also saw B. Delarue-Bizzini awarded a bronze medal for finishing 3rd in the Men’s Epee!

Cambridge University Hockey Club

It was a disappointing league season for the Women’s Blues, finding themselves on the wrong side of narrow losses too many times and having to face a relegation playoff next month against Oxford Brookes. A show of home support will go a long way to helping the team retain their place in South A! The Nomads (2nd) should be very pleased with their efforts this year, finishing in third behind strong Nottingham and Loughborough sides.  

The Men’s Blues had their best BUCS season to date, reaching the Trophy quarter finals and finishing 2nd in South B. Their aim next season will be to top the league and aim for promotion to South A. The Wanderers (2nd) only seem interested in winning leagues, and won Tier 3 comfortably, but they’ll face a much sterner test next season when they aim for their 4th consecutive title.

Cambridge University Men’s Lacrosse Club

A great season for CULC saw them finish 2nd in Tier 1 and reach the semi-final of the Trophy. To lose at that stage is a huge shame, but to get to that stage at all shows the strength of the team, especially after a comprehensive 20-2 away victory over UCL in the quarter-finals. Next year they’ll be looking to get the better of title rivals Birmingham once more.

Cambridge University Women’s Lacrosse Club

A fantastic season for CUWLC, to rival any amongst Cambridge clubs. The Kingies celebrated a first league title since 2015, showing their determination to win with three decisive home victories against Birmingham (9-8), Oxford (8-7) and Nottingham (7-4). The Blues reached the final of the Championship, played against Durham at BUCS Big Wednesday in Nottingham. An unbeaten BUCS season saw them sweep all opposition aside, beating Oxford to the title and overcoming Edinburgh and Nottingham in the earlier Championship rounds. In their final match of the season, Durham proved too strong, but to end the season as the second best team in country with silver medals should be a source of great pride.

Cambridge University Netball Club

With the Blues playing at Tier 1, and the Jays at Tier 2, both face tricky opposition every week. The Blues won all but their two league games against title winners Nottingham, finishing 2nd in the league and having a number of superb victories along the way – perhaps the best being their 35-34 victory against Nottingham Trent, with the winning goal coming in the last 10 seconds. The Jays found themselves on the wrong side of close losses a few times this season, but finished on a high, winning 81-20 in their final match.

Cambridge University Riding Club

An excellent BUCS season for the Riding Club has seen the 1st team place first in all matches so far to progress to the Championship regionals. The 2nd and 3rd team have also performed very well, and will also be hoping their results were enough to progress to Trophy regionals next month!

Cambridge University Rugby League

A fantastic season for Rugby League was capped with promotion to Tier 1, pipping Oxford 2nd to the promotion spot. What a turnaround it has been for the team who, in 2016/17, conceded four matches and finished on -8 points, to gain promotion in 2017/18 and win five of six league matches - a testament to the commitment of their Captain and dedication of the team. Next season will prove a stern test, against well-established teams, and the first BUCS fixtures against Oxford 1st since 2008.

Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club

A perfect league season saw the Women’s Rugby teams go from strength to strength, especially following the superb Varsity victory. 10 matches, 10 wins, 10 bonus points, and a record BUCS goal difference of +637. In the playoffs next month, they could face Gloucestershire of the Premier South, Canterbury Christ Church of South East 1A, or cup rivals Swansea of Western 1A – after this outstanding league performance, they should go into any match with confidence!

Cambridge University Table Tennis Club

The Women’s season was cut short by 4 teams withdrawing from the league at a late stage, meaning only 5 fixtures were completed. The team performed well, winning three and narrowly missing out on promotion to Tier 1.

The Men’s team had a solid season in Tier 2, finishing 4th and picking up excellent victories throughout. To further prove the home advantage in BUCS, the men’s team won all but one match at home, including a superb victory over an otherwise unbeaten Oxford team, but lost all but one match away from home.

Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club

A season to remember for the Men’s Blues, who have their most important fixtures left to play. After winning all 10 league matches and narrowly missing out on progressing to the Trophy semi-final, the Blues should have confidence ahead of playoffs for promotion to South A. The Men’s seconds struggled in their first season in Tier 1 following promotion, getting relegated to Tier 2, but they’ll be very confident about their chances of a title win next season.

The Women’s Blues had a strong season in Tier 1, finishing behind two Nottingham teams in 3rd place. With Nottingham 2nd gaining promotion, they will have a good chance for a title challenge next season. The Women’s seconds finished 3rd in Tier 2 for the fifth successive season, an impressive showing in a challenging division, and they’ll be looking to challenge for the title next year.

Cambridge University Volleyball Club

The Women’s Blues managed to avoid finishing in the relegation playoff place by virtue of a one set difference between them and Bristol. In a league where half of the teams have teams consisting largely of national and international athletes, they did extremely well to stay up!

The Men’s Blues should be very pleased with how their season panned out. After relegation from the Premier South in 2016/17, consolidation was key, and the team managed to finish 2nd in a tight league, beating title rivals Loughborough away and local rivals East Anglia at home. Things could have been different had they won away to Birmingham and Derby, but they have an excellent platform on which to progress next season.

In Tier 2, the UCC Women gained a couple of important victories to avoid relegation and progress to the 2nd round of the Conference Cup, and in only their second BUCS season, and first at Tier 2, the UCC Men did well to avoid relegation in a competitive league.

Cambridge University Water Polo Club

Although it took the Women’s Blues until February to achieve their first win of the season, they were competitive in a number of matches before that, and showed great resilience to win two matches in a row and avoid the relegation playoff. A tough draw in the Championship saw them travel to a strong Newcastle side, but they should be proud of their season.

By contrast, the Men’s Blues started the season excellently, and didn’t lose until they played title rivals Nottingham in March. They finished the season in third place after being relegated from Premier South in 2016/17, and will hoping to challenge for the title again in 2018/19.

The Men’s seconds struggled in their league, but showed promise by beating title winners Nottingham, and also progressed to the final of the Conference Cup – they take on league rivals Nottingham in April!

Cambridge University Ultimate Frisbee

An unbeaten season for Men’s Ultimate so far, winning Midlands 2A and progressing to the final of the Conference Cup, which doubles up as the Outdoor Championships Finals. The Women’s team will be competing at the Outdoor Championships Finals next month too, after qualifying at regionals. A superb season so far and they’ll be confident ahead of the Outdoor Champs.

BUCS Indivduals

In individual events, the Modern Pentathlon Club achieved podium places this month in Pentathlon at the Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Championships in Oxford, while several Bowmen had success at regionals and progressed to the finals in Bristol.

75 individuals from Cambridge competed in the Cross Country Championships at Brunel on a rainy day in February, with the Men’s team producing an outstanding display to achieve Silver. Early on in the season, the Cycling Club travelled to Sheffield and achieved Silver at the BUCS Hill Climb event. They have set the bar high with a number of events coming up, including the 10 Mile TT, 25 Mile TT and 3-up TTT.

 

Wishing every team and individual with competitions and matches remaining the best of luck for the rest of the season!

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