2000 Universities Tournament
James Toop reports:
The first year of the new British Universities Eton Fives Championships saw ten pairs from four different universities, Cambridge, Loughborough, Oxford and Warwick, compete at King Edward's School, Birmingham on Saturday 18th November. The entry would have been larger had Nottingham, Durham, Bristol UWE and London not had to withdraw the week before, through injury.
Group Stages
The group stages in the morning saw the top two seeds Warwick from Group A and Cambridge 1 from Group B, emerge as clear favourites for the title. They both won all their matches comfortably losing no more than two points in each game. Second place in Group A was a battle between Oxford 2 and Cambridge 2, which the latter won 15-7. The Cambridge 2nd pair were a mix of the Eton Fives force of James Birch and Rugby Fives player Simon Maskell, so all credit is due to Simon for converting so successfully. They partner each other in Rugby Fives as well. Group B saw Oxford 1 emerge in second place, despite being hard pushed by Oxford 3.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were the best of three games and saw Warwick pitted against Oxford 1, and Cambridge 1 playing Cambridge 2. Warwick through the Olavian pairing of Seb Cooley and Stuart White, the Warwick Fives Club President, were too strong for the Oxford pair, who never got a chance to get into the game. The other semi-final went true to form, with first pair defeating second. Nick Shaw, partnered by Cambridge Captain, Paul Thompson proved their worth with a convincing win over a pair, no doubt with eyes on the BUSA Rugby Fives Championships the following week. The losing semi-finalists contested a third-place play-off, which was the most competitive and hard fought game of the tournament. Pride was at stake and despite losing the first game 12-5, freshers Ewan Thompson and Patrick Hennessey showed great determination to take the next two games 12-9,12-8 to finish in third place.
Final
The final boasted two National Schools' Open Champions, both partnered by their respective university club captains, so the spectators were set for a high quality final. Despite not having any Eton Fives courts at their university, the Warwick pair quickly got into their stride over the day and were by now playing steady, aggressive Fives. The lightning-fast volleying of Cooley dominating on the top step was complemented by the steadiness of White at the back and Warwick took the first game comfortably 12-5. They got off to a good start in the second, but to their credit, the Cambridge pair brought things back their way and the match was delicately poised at the end of the second game with Shaw and Thompson now forcing mistakes from Warwick. However Warwick steadied themselves to finish off a close second game and the match 12-9. Congratulations to the Warwick Fives Club and Seb and Stuart on winning the inaugural Championships!
The Plate
A Plate took place in the afternoon for the first round losers and was well won by Cambridge 4 who won all their games. They were pushed hard by Oxford 2, but they won the decisive match 15-10, to finish top of the round robin group. One pleasing sight was the appearance of the former National Schools Girls Champions, Kerry White and Erica Tadman, from Loughborough deservedly defeating Oxford 3, 15-13.
Appreciations
I would like to thank King Edward's School for the use of their facilities, especially Stuart Birch and George Worthington for their help arranging the competition. Also thanks to Mike Fenn for his help recruiting players and information regarding recent school leavers. If you would like to play Eton Fives or know anyone who might, then please give your details to Mike or myself, as I am certain that there are players of whom we are unaware.
This is hopefully the first of many University Championships, and it gives, along with the Under 25 Championships, a valuable stepping stone between schoolboy and adult Fives. The Warwick Fives Club play every week on the squash courts at university, something, which proves that it is possible to keep playing even without any Eton Fives courts. I hope that we can also become a recognised BUSA competition in the next few years as this guarantees sponsorship and much more prestige. The date for next year's championships is likely to be in November 2001.
Results
Semi-finals
Warwick 1 (S.White & S.Cooley) beat Oxford 1 (P.Hennessey & E.Thompson) 2-0 (12-2, 12-3)
Cambridge 1 (N.Shaw & P.Thompson) beat Cambridge 2 (J.Birch & S.Maskell) 2-0 (12-5, 12-4)
Final
Warwick 1 beat Cambridge 1 2-0 (12-5, 12-9)