Guys dig big BUCS (British Universities & College Sports), you know.

Results

Football first as usual. The Blues went down in an unfortunate 5-3 defeat to relegation rivals Worcester, and now find themselves second-from-bottom in the Midlands 1A division with just 4 points from their first 5 games.

The Centaurs on the other hand came up with a statement win against opposition all the way from Buxton, with a 9-0 mauling punctuated by a hat-trick from Edward Mole in his first starting appearance for the side.

We’ve checked, and yes, it’s still a hat-trick even if the keeper is this crap.

For the girls, the Womens’ Blues lost 2-1 to Wolverhampton, and the Furies, fresh off their historic win last week, were back to their worst as Loughborough 3rds destroyed them 8-0.

In hockey, the mens’ 3rds kept their streak alive with a 4-1 win over Harper Adams, but it was a difficult week elsewhere; the womens’ 2nds got a 4-0 victory over Coventry, but the other four teams all lost, including a 3-1 mens’ 1sts defeat to Bath that springs the title race right open.

So much determination, though…

Elsewhere, lacrosse were clean-swept, going 0-for-3 on the day including an 11-6 loss for the womens’ 1sts against the Tabs.

All netball, volleyball and rugby teams lost, though basketball was a bright spot – the mens’ 1sts took down Middlesex 93-71 while the 2nds beat Cranfield 69-53.

This week also marked the season opener for water polo, with the womens’ 1sts drawing 3-3 with Bath at Rosenblatt Pool.

Imperial College London fencing: superior on the day, just probably not in life.

It was a very active week for fencing – a Wednesday fixture for the mens’ 2nds against Staffordshire was won 133-85, but it was then followed up by two ultra-close fixtures for the 1sts on Saturday (a 121-120 win over UCL and a 106-105 loss to Imperial) and then ANOTHER two on Tuesday (117-106 over the Tabs, 133-116 over Bristol).

The squash womens’ 1sts played some sort of playoff game in some convoluted system we at the Tab aren’t even going to try to decode (they lost 5-0 to Leeds in any case).

If any squash-enthusiast readers would like to inform us what a “Prem Playoff 2nd N v 3rd S” is and whether it is permitted to breed, please write in and inform us.

Preview

For the first time this term, all four football teams are at home. The Blues take on Birmingham 1sts at Iffley, the Centaurs face Worcester 3rds at University Parks, and the Womens’ Blues and Furies have Warwick 1sts and Coventry 2nds respectively at Marston Sports Ground.

University Parks: the home of quality football.

Hockey mens’ 3rds-watch continues – but for how long? Last-placed Bedfordshire Luton 2nds should offer an easy opportunity for another win, but this might be it after this week – their opening cup game is against Warwick, currently 2nd in a division two tiers up from the 3rds’ beloved Division 4A.

Elsewhere, the mens’ 1sts have another big game as they face Cardiff Met – currently tied for 2nd with Oxford in the division – and the womens’ 1sts will be aiming to beat Bath.

The womens’ 1sts basketball will be looking to take nothing for granted against Exeter – they were destroyed 109-29 last week, but if they can manage the upset it may seriously leave the women looking down the barrel of relegation.

The mens’ 1sts meanwhile will be setting their sights on Brunel.

That is just an absolute thrashing.

In lacrosse, the womens’ 2nds will want to rebound from a devastating 10-0 defeat with a strong performance at Brookes, while for the senior teams, the mens’ 1sts and womens’ 1sts both host their Exeter counterparts at Uni Parks.

The great American football team quest against futility picks up again this week with a trip to first-year Sussex, while in volleyball , the mens’ 1sts find themselves bottom of the league with losses in their last 6 contested games dating back to last January – they’ll want to snap that streak.