Overall: 115-55 to O*ford
On Saturday 1st March, Parkside Pools was home to the biggest competition in the history of swimming – the annual Varsity Match. First up was the Dolphins v Marlins competition. The sun was shining, and the Cambridge team gathered together, in a sea of light blue, with posters up on the walls, ready to put all of our hard work into practice. Months of staring at the black line on the pool floor was all building up to this day, and there was a real mix of nerves and excitement in the squad. We had had a good year of racing up to this point, with PBs galore at BUCS and other competitions throughout the year.
After a warm up and team parade, with some hearty singing to the national anthem, the racing began!
First up, the women’s 100 Individual Medley, with freshers Pippa Charleson, Chloe Davey and returner Elaine Alexander bringing us a very successful first race. A wonderful victory from Chloe in a storming 1:12.45 really showed Oxford that we were serious competitors this year. Henry Chou, Aidan Reilly and Ben Lione were next on the blocks for a tough men’s competition, and some excellent swims against an impressive Oxford field led to a very close 3rd -4th finish.
Next up, the women’s 50 backstroke saw Rosa Pollard-Smith return to the pool after a year of playing netball. Joined by returners Annabel Mitchison and Jemima Samols, they all took their experience of Varsity Matches and put it to good use, with Rosa clinching a fantastic second place. The men’s backstrokers put up a valiant fight, with fresher Jacob Allderidge and captain James Jennings up against a formidable Oxford team. Two huge PBs were swam, with both Jacob and James taking over a second off their best times.
The formidable 100m freestyle swimmers were up next, with Izzy Chadwick, Hana Tallentire and previous captain Yvonne Winterborn diving in for the women. Hana, despite being unwell, put her absolute all in, with Izzy and her taking a 3rd, 4th place respectively. Impressively, Yvonne swam a huge PB, showing that even as a PhD student, PBs are possible! The men’s duo of Campbell Wolford and Thomas Craig showed Oxford that we were still real contenders, with a 2nd and 3rd finish.
The last events before the break were the women’s and men’s 50m butterfly. Up against some formidable Oxford swimmers, Hattie Emmett, Pippa Charleson and Abbie Lewis put in an excellent fight, with Hattie narrowly pipped to second, with an incredible swim of 31.27. The men’s trio of James Dawson, Natheniel Zehner and James Healy put up a really good race, with some excellent times and PBs.
After the 10 minute break, the points were close, with Oxford in a narrow lead. We reset and were determined to fight until the bitter end. The women’s 200 freestyle saw some incredibly gutsy swims from Sally Rutledge, Eleanor Bagot and Yvonne Winterborn, with PBs galore. The men’s duo of pentathlon legend Tads Ciecierski-Holmes and Thomas Craig again put in two gutsy swims, against some very impressive Oxford swimmers.
In the women’s 50m breaststroke, both Hattie Emmett and Chloe Davey were back in action, this time joined by Emily Oliver. Some very impressive swims in what was one of the tightest races of the day saw Chloe bring home a 2nd place finish. In the men’s race, Sihan Yu, Aidan Reilly and Levi Oravecz were in action, with Sihan swimming a storming race from the outside lane to take the win, closely followed by Aidan and Levi.
The much anticipated 50 freestyle races were the last individual races of the day, with Anna Basford, Hana Tallentire and social secretary Lily Sandell battling it out, with Anna dipping under the 30 second mark for the first time. In the men’s race, Campbell Wolford was back in action, joined by Alex Williams and Tom Budden. Some excellent times from all were not quite enough to match the incredibly quick swimmers from Oxford.
Next up, the relays! Whilst Oxford were in the lead, it was all still to play for, meaning that competitive spirits were still high. Our women’s medley quartet of Annabel, Hattie, Pippa and Chloe stood up and put in an excellent race, narrowly losing out to the Oxford team. Our second women’s medley quartet was full of seasoned veterans of the varsity swimming competition, with Yvonne and Emily making a return to the pool, joined by Hannah Richardson and our women’s captain Sarah Chapman. Our men’s medley teams of Jacob, Aidan, Nathaniel and James Jennings (quartet A), and Ben, Sihan, James Healy and James Dawson again gave Oxford an excellent race, but narrowly lost out on a victory.
Down to the final two races of the day, the 4x50m freestyle relays. Two women’s quartets consisting of Hana, Anna, Sally, Izzy, Rosa, Emily Ridewood, Emma Jennings and Lily again swam incredibly well, with our A quartet breaking the coveted 2 minute mark comfortably. Over to the men for the final races of the day, and two closely matched quartets brought home a 2nd and 3rd place finish.
Whilst the final points of 115 (Oxford) compared to 55 (Cambridge) suggested an Oxford victory by far, the races on the day were incredibly close, and we gave Oxford an incredibly good run for their money. It is incredibly impressive to reflect on the growth of the squad over the last year, and with this upward trajectory, a win at Iffley Road next year seems eminently possible!
We are incredibly grateful for every member of the team for giving it their all, turning up to training, and working as hard as they have. A special mention to our coach Chris Greenhalgh without whom none of our seasons successes would have been possible, as well as to the whole of the City of Cambridge Swimming Club for supporting us with training and enabling the racing to take place. A thank you to the whole CUSWPC Committee for organising such an incredible varsity match.
Sarah Chapman and James Jennings (Seconds’ Captains 2024 – 2025)
