Sets On The Beach

Just getting to the right venue proved hard for the men’s first team, spending two hours driving around Southampton, going to two wrong venues only to arrive at the correct one two hours late. Maybe time to buy a new sat nav?

Having won their previous meeting 12-0, expectations were high and the boys did not disappoint, pulling out a strong 8-4 win against the Southampton first team. Following victories over Cardiff 1s, Bournemouth 2s, Bath 2s and drawing with Exeter 2s, the boys are now in second place in the Western 1A division.

The Men’s seconds overcame early difficulties to beat Cardiff Metropolitan’s third team, only losing one match. Maelor James did lose the first set of his match without getting a game, but cruised through the next two sets.

Credit must also go to the boys for being the only ones to get a team photo. When the girls heard the word ‘photo’, the immediate reaction was to whip out the compact mirrors and thoroughly protest, as hair had not been done and make up had not been put on properly.

Whether or not this was also the real reason as to why the Men’s first team didn’t provide a photo either… well, we’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Men’s 2s showing make-up doesn’t need to be perfect for team photos

Star man was Matthew Fairbairn for not only paying all the boys’ train tickets, but also for triumphing in both his matches and continuing an on-going winning streak that has lasted throughout the season.

Meanwhile, the Women’s firsts arrived in Exeter, facing a difficult match having lost the previous tie at home 10-2. Unfortunately the day had a slow start for the Bristol girls, and the Exeter girls proved too strong, destroying Bristol 10-2.

Hannah Moran (Women’s 1s Captain) in action

Losing the match proved to be the least of the girls’ worries, as the journey home turned out to be rather, shall we say, ‘rural’. Luckily, team member Sara Cameron’s local knowledge of tiny villages that just about scrape the status of ‘civilisation’ guided them home, and despite nearly heading over the Severn, the girls made it back OK.

Following the match against Exeter, the girls finish the league in fourth place in the Premier Division of the BUCS league.