Varsity Tennis: victory for UCL
Photography by Daria Mosolova
UCL 6 - 1 KCL. Daria Mosolova reports on the Varsity tennis competition.
On Saturday 7th of March UCL competed against King’s College London in the annual London Varsity playoff, gaining their second consecutive annual victory. As the teams competed from 1pm to 9pm in Lee Valley Tennis Centre, the day saw seven matches, only one of which was lost by UCL.
Founded in 2004 by Adam Sommerfeld, Varsity was originally envisaged as an annual rugby union match between UCL and KCL, but the franchise was extended in 2014 to comprise fixtures in other disciplines, including tennis, which was added 2015. Traditionally known as the "Jeremy George Cup" referring to figures associated with the respective establishments (Jeremy Bentham and King George IV), the tournament fuels the universities’ two-centuries-long rivalry.
The first six playoffs were successively won by UCL, split evenly between the women’s and men’s teams. The former displayed an exceptionally strong performance, with one of the singles matches being won by Veronica Hughes with a 6-0 score in both sets. While all other games saw stronger competition, UCL still lead by a wide margin throughout, so that by the last match their overall victory was predetermined.
Nonetheless, as the last match saw a standoff between mixed men’s and women’s doubles, KCL — having virtually lost the tournament — showed unprecedented resilience, winning two sets out of three, thus securing one victory and breaking UCL’s perfect record of the day.
This year UCL presented a team composed of accomplished players. One of these was Ioana Buzlean; having participated in Varsity for the past five years, Buzlean remains an undefeated singles player throughout. Similarly, Prompt Udomdech, who has only lost one league match in two years, acquiring the nickname “the machine” due to his strong performances despite multiple injuries sustained over the years.
Together with Nikita Jesaibegjans — President of UCL Tennis Society — the three players entered London Varsity Series for the last time. “Nikita and Ioana’s mixed doubles was almost poetic, in the sense that they played their last match together,” remarked Ana Mikheeva, BUCS Women’s Team Capitan.
The tournament also saw new faces, such as Johanna Meier and Savannah Simons, who performed together in a doubles match, winning with a score 6-7, 6-0. The success of the UCL team is a testimony to the laborious training students undertake throughout the year.
Combining practice hours with a university workload proves tricky; Ana tells Pi that the athletes sometimes began training sessions as early as 5am, but the outcome shows the benefit. “There is huge love and support between all the players for the UCL Varsity squad and winning with your friends just makes the win that extra bit sweeter,” concluded Ana.
As the court filled with both fresh and familiar faces, joined by UCL alumni holding up banners, support for UCL victory was strong — although, admittedly, not as loud as the one for KCL, and without a musical accompaniment. While the opposing team chanted slogans like “UCL is terrified, because Kings is on fire,” UCL players were humble about the win, encouraging each other both at the time of victory and in the face of occasional loss.