Sports highlights: End of term

The following highlights from various sports clubs and teams were compiled from recent reports. If any captains or team members have a result that you'd like to feature in the next round-up, please contact comms@caths.cam.ac.uk.

Rowing

St Catharine's novice rowers got their first racing experience at Clare Novice Regatta (CNR) on 30 November. Anticipation was high, especially after the cancellation of Emma Sprints the week before due to stormy weather. 

Ada Kirczenow, a third-year Natural Sciences undergraduate and head lower boats captain, reported on results from the women (NW1), men (NM1) and mixed crew (NX2):

"NX2 and NW1 both put in a strong shift and forced their opponents to work hard but ultimately were knocked out in the first round. NM1 blew Queens' NM1 and Clare NM1 out of the water, making it to the quarter final before being defeated - the best result for a Catz crew at CNR in my memory! I was so impressed watching each crew race as they’ve made so much progress in such a short time."

St Catharine's rowers are celebrating securing the College's best ever set of results in the Fairbairn Cup. The Fairbairn Cup (affectionately known as Fairbairns) is the final race of Michaelmas Term and the longest race on the Cam. Doing well comes with a lot of prestige: it is an opportunity to rank all the clubs one third of the way through the year, and so many clubs build their entire Michaelmas Term around it. 

Men's captain John Hayton (2018, Natural Sciences; now back for a Chemistry PhD) reported:

"The senior men went into the competition with a target on our back – we had yet to be beaten by any college crew all term. With a nervy wait followed by a frenetic start, we settled in for the long haul, trusting our fitness and technique to get us to the finish. We made our move in the second third of Fairbairns, looking to win the race between Green Dragon and Ditton. We were gaining on Jesus ahead, and the sight of Clare fading away behind us showed us that we were truly in contention for a win. Moving through the tiers of our final sprint, we crossed the finish line with a final time of 14:06, placing us first place in the college eights, and 12 seconds (1.5 splits) ahead of our closest opposition. The first Fairbairns win for the men's eight from Catz since 1967.

"Five of the crew were back on the water four hours later having decided to try and go for the double and win Fairbairns in the four as well. 400m of 'the worst rowing we’ve ever done' was followed by 1600m of 'the best rowing we’ve ever done' and we were soon closing on our perceived biggest rivals, Lady Margaret. A final sprint meant we clocked a time of 10:45, enough to win this division too, and by a healthy margin of 25 seconds. Winning the four places us with several strong Catz crews of yesteryear including (to our knowledge), including W1 in 2011 and  M1 in 2000. 

"To win not only the eight but also in the four on the same day is a huge achievement, and not one we believe Catz has ever achieved before. For The Wheel!"

Women's captain Meg Brougham (a fifth-year Veterinary Medicine student), reported:

"With fierce winds and a fast stream forecast making it an extremely fast race, the Catz women were ready to prove that we are a force to be reckoned with. Anna Dowd (a Biological Sciences PhD student) coxed us beautifully around all the tight corners to set us up for an excellent start of the race. The race was a superb demonstration of our grit, punchy rhythm and most importantly our determination. Eventually Anna told us that the motorway bridge was coming in 100m and we were spurred on by the distant sound of cars in the background. From there, knowing that the finish was within touching distance, we charged for the line! We finished with a time of 16:05 – the fastest time for a Catz women’s eight on (easily accessible) record! This time put us in fourth place for women’s college eights, a very impressive result which has put us in a beautiful place for Lent Bumps!"

St Catharine's novice crews also had a great Fairbairns:

• NM1 started with a well-executed start, shot off the blocks and steadily settled to their planned race pace. They held this consistently, and slowly but surely gained on the boat ahead. A final push enabled them to cross the line over a minute faster than last year's novices and in 12th position (the best result for NM1 since 2019).
• After a touchy start, NW1 settled into a steady rhythm and held onto it for the entire race. The crew almost overtook the Downing boat ahead and achieved the best time for our NW1 crew in this race since 2016!

It was also great to have a full men's eight and a full women's eight of St Catharine's alumni entered for the Christmas Head (7 December), even if Storm Darragh forced their races to be cancelled. 

Tennis

The mixed tennis team is celebrating winning their division in the intercollegiate league this term. They beat opponents from St John’s, Trinity and Churchill on their way to the top and have secured promotion from Division 3 to Division 2 next term. 

Rugby union

November saw a turnaround in results for the men’s team representing St Catharine’s and Homerton. They recorded their first league wins of the season on 9 November against teams representing Trinity and Christ’s (17-0) and Queens’, Jesus and Magdalene (3-0), followed up on 16 November with a thumping 52-2 victory over the combined talents of Clare, Corpus and King’s. There was a blip in the winning streak on 23 November with a 14-21 loss against St John's, but then a return to form on 30 November with a 34-0 win over the All Greys (the team representing mature and postgraduate Cambridge Colleges). (University of Cambridge Sport) 

Basketball

The men’s team enjoyed a busy weekend finishing off the Michaelmas season, securing a win over Pembroke and conceding a loss to the Clinical School. The 9am tip-off against the latter wasn't the only strange start of the game, as the St Catharine’s players could only score four first-half points against a tough opposition. An improved second half, with plenty of ball movement, composure under pressure and strong zonal defence left the captains with plenty of positives to take away, despite the frustrating loss. The following day, a clearly terrified Pembroke side no-showed, gifting St Catharine’s a 25-0 victory in our final fixture of the season. The team is in a prime position for promotion to Division 2, but this will depend on the scores recorded by other teams in the coming days. 

Football

The group stage of the Cuppers competition saw the women’s football team representing St Catharine’s, Gonville & Caius and Hughes Hall take on the Churchill, Christ’s and Lucy Cavendish triumvirate (who were at that point top of the group stage). It was a cold and rainy day and sadly our goalkeeper was not available, but spirits remained high in the team.

After the first half, the team were 1-0 down, but with plenty of possession and a few shots on goal from Yuchen Han (a first-year Natural Sciences undergraduate) and Tia Whitmore (a first-year Law undergraduate). Sadly, the opposition were able to score three times in the second half, ending the game on 4-0. The team is feeling optimistic to make it out of the group stage and on to the knockout stage of Cuppers if they win against Selwyn/Robinson next term.

Lacrosse

The mixed lacrosse team had a classic 'game of two halves' against Girton. After a rocky first half, a huge turnout from St Catharine's (and no substitutions being available for the opposition) enabled the team to turn the game around during the second half and win with a final score of 6-4. (The Kittbag)

Cross country

Cameron Deverill (a second-year Natural Sciences undergraduate) joined the Men's Blues team from the Hare And Hounds (the University's cross-country running club) for the annual Varsity fixture between Oxford and Cambridge, the second oldest inter-club cross country fixture in the world. This year's race was held on Wimbledon Common on 7 December, with Cameron pleased to finish in 16th place given conditions courtesy of Storm Darragh and illness earlier in the week.