Melbourn won 20-3

The Seconds were hoping for better fortunes against the Uni 3rds than in their previous two matches where they had been overmatched.
The initial signs were not promising though as Sean Hamilton (4) was all twisted around whilst comprehensively losing his opening game against Nicholas Choustikov. The problem here was unusual – that Sean was trying to do the right things! Or at least the right things generally, but unhelpful with this particular match-up. And that was hustle out of the back corners after retrieving to try and regain position on the ‘T’. However the vast majority of Nicholas’ attacks were towards the back corners and what kept happening was Sean would be rushing forwards as the ball fizzed past him back to where he had just come from! D’Oh… So, horses for courses, Sean was instructed to stay deep. This was never natural and Sean rarely looked comfortable doing it (you could see the worry about leaving the front corners undefended to drop shots (which weren’t happening!)), but he managed to make it effective enough to claim a 7-15, 15-11, 15-12, 15-13 victory.
Things were smoother for Mark Asker (3) next door against Nick Chornay, at least for two games as Mark’s huge wingspan and powerful drives kept Nick penned back behind hm. To his credit the Uni player’s head never went down and in game three he really challenged Mark as things became close. Fitness might have been an issue if it had gone to 2-1, so Mark was visibly relieved when he got through the third 15-13 to complete his 3-0 win (15-4, 15-8 in the first two – I did say they were comfortable).
Roger Woodfield (5) followed Mark on to court 1 to take on Matt Levine. And the pattern of the match was extremely similar to what had preceded it, Roger starting well on top but gradually being figured out. The infamous deadly drop shots were working really well in game 1, but as the match progress Matt began to predict they were coming and get more back. However Roger is a tough-as-teak match-player and he seized on whatever loose balls Matt offered him to keep himself a point or two ahead through the second and third games to close out a 15-8, 15-12, 15-13 win.
Court 2 was not a happy hunting ground in opening games for Melbourn as Colm O’Gorman (2) mirrored Sean by losing his first against Mansoor Ahmad comprehensively. Colm had started ice-cold, dropping 10-2 down at one point if I remember right, and was generally looking nothing like his normal springy self. Instead we got a heavy-legged and overly defensive performance, Colm’s court position in the first only getting up towards the ‘T’ in the latter stages. However these last few points did give hope as Colm was reducing arrears with this move lively approach, too late to claim the first but setting a platform to take the second and three by a good distance. Closing it out in four would have been too easy so Colm didn’t, losing the fourth before dredging up the energy to win the fifth and finally close out a 10-15, 15-7, 15-6, 12-15, 15-8 win.
That game was still going on when Jan Brynjolffssen (1) and Molly Woods hit court 1. The opening game started very well for Jan as he found himself dominating the front court, opening up a 11-2 lead. It was all a bit too easy initially, which encouraged a period of slack play that Molly demonstrated she was well equipped to take advantage off, closing to 11-8 before Jan refound his form to close out the game. The second was more focused, Jan keeping the pressure on throughout. However Molly was not going to go without a fight and she upped her level impressively in the third, which was suddenly close. Rallies became drawn out as both players sought openings, with there rarely more than a point or two between the scores. At the death though Jan produced a solid rally ending with a backhand volley kill to go 14-13 up, and then got a forced error on the first matchball as Molly couldn’t dig a ball out of her deep backhand corner, which had been a profitable area for the home player throughout. The game scores were 15-8, 15-5, 15-13.
Skipper Woodfield remarked “Although the University team is bottom of the league table, we knew we would all have to focus and play well to ensure a successful outcome. Everyone did just that, showing good concentration and determination, the 20-3 win was well deserved”