Sports highlights: Weeks 3 & 4

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

The St Catharine’s College Boat Club (SCCBC) entered both a men’s crew and a women’s crew in the University IVs Regatta (28 October–1 November), a knock-out competition on the Cam.

The men entered with two months of training (and 21 total years of rowing at Catz) behind them and confidence that they had a real chance of winning. Sure enough, they beat Queens’, the Lady Margaret Boat Club, Christ’s and Clare on the way to their overall victory, and recorded the first, second, third and fifth fastest times this year, with an average winning margin of 26 seconds! (SCCBC)

In an array of pink leopard-print and wheel-based stash, the women were victorious over boats from Fitzwilliam, Peterhouse and Queens’ Colleges in the first three rounds. Cheered on by supporters on the riverbank, they gave the final everything they had and lost to the First and Third Boat Club by only two seconds. (SCCBC)   

John Hayton (2018, Natural Sciences; now back for a Chemistry PhD), men's captain and part of the victorious men's boat, reflected:

“This represents a huge victory for Catz, tempered only by the women losing in the final by the finest margins, and us falling short of the overall course record by 5 seconds.”

Meg Brougham (a fifth-year Veterinary Medicine student), women's captain and part of the women's boat, added:

"We were very excited for our first race of the season to see what we could achieve. We scrambled a few promising outings together in the couple of weeks before the races - we knew we had a lot of potential and were ready to show it! We finished our first-round race with the fastest time of the day and our second-round display was even more dominant. The final day of races started with our semi-final, which required us to dig a little deeper, but we stayed calm and won by 8 seconds. As we sat marshalling for the final, we watched First and Third gently paddling to their place in the final (their competitors' rudder having broken) - their semi-final ended up a minute slower than ours. We definitely left it all on the course in the final and we are ready to show more Catz dominance throughout the rest of the year! For the Wheel!"

Men’s football

St Catharine’s football players are reigning champions in both the Cuppers and Shield knock-out competitions, and hopes for this year were high following early wins in inter-collegiate league campaigns: the first team beat King’s 3-1 in Division 2 and the second team beat Emmanuel 5-2 in Division 3! (The FA)

The first team faced stiff opposition from Girton at home on the St Catharine’s pitches for their first-round Cuppers match and couldn’t quite replicate last year’s success, with the match ending 2-1 to Girton. Captain-turned-manager Daniel Sanchez (a final-year Engineering undergraduate) recalled:

"In spite of injuries, the Catz boys showed how ready they were for the the game with a very impressive squad turnout. The first half was a complete domination by us, with many great chances that should have seen the team comfortably up by three or four goals by halftime. However a failure to convert these chances meant the score was 0-0 at halftime. 

"The second half saw a change of dynamics, with Girton getting an early lead after scoring a direct free kick and then a second goal after a failure to clear the ball from our box led to a nice finish from Girton’s striker. A very comfortable game had now turned into mission impossible, but the team didn’t drop their heads and their reaction was immediate. Current captain Harry Benton (a third-year Economics undergraduate) managed to cut the lead down to one goal and the team never stopped trying to get the equaliser in the face of Girton's strong defence. When the referee blew the whistle, the realisation sunk in that Catz would not be able to repeat our Cuppers success this year. Nevertheless, the team is now in the plate tournament, and having last won it in 2018, I am sure we will be able to bring more silverware to Catz this year."

The second team had a bye in the first round of the Shield competition and is set to face Queens’ in the second round (kick off 2pm on 23 November at the St Catharine’s sports ground for any supporters who want to cheer them on).

Netball

The mixed netball team started off their Division 2 matches against Trinity Hall in a tightly fought match of 5-a-side (after fewer opponents turned up than necessary). They were only one goal ahead at half time and managed to maintain the lead through to the final whistle. The final score was a 16-15 win. (The Kittbag)

Unfortunately this early success couldn’t be replicated against Jesus College: while St Catharine’s was again ahead by a goal at half time, our opponents benefited from substitutions and managed to put 8 goals past us in the second half to win 14-7. (The Kittbag)

The St Catharine’s ladies netball team enjoyed a similar start to the new season: their Division 3 matches saw them pitted against Newnham (which finished as a 7-11 loss) and Gonville & Caius (an impressive 12-0 victory). (University of Cambridge Sport)

Mixed Lacrosse

The team’s second match of the new season was against Robinson College, who they overwhelmed to end the match 3-0 ahead, with two goals scored by Freshers. (The Kittbag)

Despite keeping clean sheets in their first two matches, the team were unable to continue this trend against a combined team representing Homerton and Clare Colleges. The game was tight, finishing 2-1 to our opponents who are now top of Division 1 (though hopefully not for long). (University of Cambridge Sport)