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.
Football
The women’s football team representing St Catharine’s, Gonville & Caius and Hughes Hall had their first match in this year’s Cuppers competition, after making last year’s final. The team was in a positive mood following a streak of three wins in the intercollegiate league and promptly scored three goals, with their opponents from Peterhouse, Clare and Clare Hall yet to score by the half-time whistle. Spurred on by support from the men’s team on the side-lines, the team managed to find the goal again in the second half, finishing the game 4-0. Congratulations to Catz goal scorers Tia Whitmore (a first-year Law undergraduate; scored twice), Caitlin Davenport (a third-year History undergraduate) and Kiara Kok (a Biological Sciences MPhil student), and to Lauren Stewart (a third-year Veterinary Sciences undergraduate) for woman of the match. (The Kittbag)
Basketball
The men’s basketball team returned to winning form with a closely fought comeback victory over Downing, which finished 30-28. Barney Blackburn said:
“The opposition's attack was completely shut down in the second half, as the Catz players worked their way through a shooting slump to secure a vital win. It was a fantastic effort from the team, as we chipped away at Downing's lead, combining stifling defence with impressive offensive drive. The squad look forward to their next game, ready to improve in training during the week and dominate come the weekend.”
Basketball team.
Rowing
The Winter Head on 9 November saw our rowers compete in a 2500m timed race against entries from many colleges, and the first chance to race in eights of the year.
Men's captain John Hayton (2018, Natural Sciences; now back for a Chemistry PhD) reported:
"Our men set a strong rhythm and held a 1:40 split for the majority of the course. Excellent calls from our cox, Romy Copley (a third-year Natural Sciences undergraduate), took us up to a strong finish, crossing the finish line to the sound of powerful strokes and laboured breaths. Once the dust had settled, we discovered that we had rowed the course in 8:30.6, unfortunately 2.2 seconds slower than the University of East Anglia, the winners in our division. Nevertheless, a result of fifth overall, and 9 seconds clear of the next fastest college crew. This is another huge step for the men’s side, as we now show that we are a crew to be feared in the eight as well as the four!”
Women's captain Meg Brougham (a fifth-year Veterinary Medicine student), added:
"The women's boat demonstrated a very strong rhythm and a clear race plan, executed with gorgeous racing lines and inspiring calls from our cox Anna Dowd (a Biological Sciences PhD student). We started off strong and maintained a respectable speed down the rest of the course, gaining significantly on Churchill the boat in front of us. We finished sixth out of all the student first boats with a time of 10:06.7 and within touching distance of First & Third, Homerton and Clare. Fuelled by this race we look forward to gaining more speed and rolling onto Fairbairns!"
Queens’ Ergs (QErgs) is one of the largest indoor rowing competitions in the UK. Taking place in Michaelmas Term every year, it enables novice and senior rowers from across the Cambridge Colleges to compete in a relay race.
Our mixed seniors finished eighth in their division.
Novice men (NM1) finished seventh in their division.
Novice women (NW1) placed ninth in their division.
NW1 (credit: Nordin Ćatić)
NM1 (credit: Nordin Ćatić)
Seniors
Netball
The ladies’ netball team started November with their first league win of the term: a 12-0 win over Caius, with player of the match going to Cassia Deakins (a second-year Geography undergraduate). A week later, they claimed another win – this time 14-11 against Pembroke, who they dominated in every quarter of the match. (The Kittbag)
The mixed netball team faced off against Selwyn for their fourth match of the season. St Catharine’s was only trailing by one goal in the first quarter, but Selwyn pulling away in the next two quarters and even drawing the final quarter wasn’t enough. The scoreline was a 22-17 loss by the final whistle. (The Kittbag)
Lacrosse
After the first loss of the season at the start of November, Catz were ready to bounce back against Emmanuel College, and walked away with a well-earned 2-2 draw. They go again in Division 1 this weekend against Girton, who have yet to win a game this season. (The Kittbag)
Hockey
For the sixth league match of the season, the St Catharine’s team was pitted against the combined might of St John’s and Newnham Colleges (currently at the top of Division 1). After unfortunately conceding two poor goals early in the game, the team rallied with “some obscenely liquid hockey” and equalised by half time. The teams were tightly matched in the second half but, as St Catharine’s pushed for a winner, there was a counterattack in the dying seconds of the game, which left the final score as a hard-fought 4-3 loss. (The Kittbag)
