15/03/2024
Mens matches this week🎾
A match day which began with me stranded at Banbury Station at 1.30 AM, due to Arsenal’s inability to win an important football match without drama, turned into the most improbable of successes for all three of our BUCS sides. The 2s kicked the day off at our beloved home of tennis in Westwood and, despite my 5 hours of sleep and Ben Voss’ tardiness (he showed up 2 minutes before KO), the two of us swept through our singles matches, dropping only 2 games each in the process. Life was a tad tougher on courts 3&4, but we were buoyed by the youthful exuberance of Toby Jackson, who pulled off a late ‘match of the season’ contender, saving 6 match points on his way to a 17-15 final set tiebreak win. A 3-1 lead in rubbers confirmed our safety in division two for next year, however the boys were determined to finish the season with a flourish. Nikolaj and Toby cruised to a straight sets victory in the dubs, whilst Voss and I took the long way round; recovering from a set down to win with, I must say, some inspired tennis from myself. That concluded a comprehensive 5-1 win for the team, and a perfect way for us to wrap up a topsy-turvy BUCS season. In the end, the real promotion was the friends we made along the way.
We move onto the 3s, where a heavily rotated team saw Luis lead three BUCS debutants into battle, one of whom was our new pres Sami who had the honour of writing this match report. With the title already wrapped up, the open top bus parade (the uber I had to order) made its way to Nottingham for one last dance this season. We made a fast start going 3-1 up in the singles, but in the doubles despite Conor’s fist bumps and deafening “come ons” he and Luis came up short. So it came down to Sami and Jack, and after a strong display in the first set followed by a wobble, it came down to a match tiebreak. 6-0 down, then 8-2 down, Jack then turned up the heat with a series of scorching returns as we went on a rampage winning 8 points in a row to secure a 10-8 dub. All in all a good day out as we secured a 4-2 win. Safe to say the future of the club’s in good hands [continues in the comments]
