OXFORD WIN 14th LADIES' VARSITY GOLF MATCH

                Cambridge (light blue) and Oxford (dark blue) teams at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club

The 14th Ladies’ Varsity Golf Match between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge was held at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club on Tuesday 22nd March. Oxford narrowly won the match, which was decided by three morning foursomes matches and six afternoon singles, by 5 points to 4, ending the three-year Cambridge winning streak and taking their overall lead in the tally of matches to 9-5.
The weather was sublime with a temperature of sixteen degrees, brilliant sunshine and almost no wind. Both Cambridge and Oxford fielded very international teams with players from the USA, Sweden, Malaysia, and France, as well as from all corners of the British Isles.
Min Yee Tseu (The Wisley GC) and Angharad Porteous (Bamburgh Castle GC) captained the Oxford and Cambridge teams respectively. In the lead up to the match, both teams played warm-up fixtures against ladies’ teams from clubs across southern and eastern England, including Sunningdale, Walton Heath and The Berkshire.
The match began at 8.30am with a large crowd gathering at the first tee to watch the opening shots. There were six fine tee shots, especially considering the inevitable nerves and size of the audience. Oxford took the first point of the day winning the opening match and Cambridge levelled things with a point in the second.
The crucial third point looked a certainty for Oxford, as they were 5-up after 11 holes. Yet, a remarkable comeback from the Cambridge pair of Lucy Akrill and Brittany Jones saw the match extended to the 17th hole. Oxford put the brakes on a four-hole losing streak when Alex Walvis, playing arguably the shot of the day at the par 5 16th hole, put her second shot to a couple of feet from the flag. Hence, Oxford led the match 2 - 1 at lunch and also won the reserves’ match.
The top of the singles order saw Oxford and Cambridge’s best two players drawn against each other. Oxford stalwart Gillian Kinnear proved too strong for Kim Bergman in the top match, which began in fine style with Kinnear firing her second shot on the 1st to two feet from the flag. The next match saw the battle of the captains, in which Cambridge’s Angharad Porteous comfortably took victory.

Following this, Oxford’ s Nicole du Plessis, playing in the final match, secured a convincing win, leaving her team in need of only one more point. Three matches remained on the course, in which Cambridge were up in two and Oxford led the other. Fittingly, Amy Bilderbeck of Oxford, playing in her final match and having been on three successive losing teams, sank the match-winning putt on the 13th hole in her match over Lucy Akrill, after playing some superb golf. Although the match result was now determined, the remaining two matches on the course were played out with continued competitiveness.
Cambridge won both matches, courtesy of Rebecka Ahl and Genevieve Gotla. Therefore, the final match score was a close run affair with Oxford edging Cambridge 5-4.

MATCH DETAILS

Oxford University 5, Cambridge University 4


Foursomes (2-1)
Gillian Kinnear and Amy Bilderbeck bt Kim Bergman and Rebecka Ahl 5 and 3.
Nicole du Plessis and Sarah Willis lost to Angharad Porteous and Genevieve Gotla 3 and 2.
Min Yee Tseu and Alexandra Walvis bt Brittany Jones and Lucy Akrill 3 and 1.


Reserves Match
Sixtine d’Angelin bt Iona Stevenson 9 and 8.

Singles (3-3)
Kinnear beat Bergman 6 and 4.
Tseu lost to Porteous 5 and 4.
Willis lost to Ahl 2 and 1.
Walvis lost to Gotla 3 and 2.
Bilderbeck beat Akrill 6 and 5.
Plessis beat Jones 8 and 7.

Match Result: Oxford beat Cambridge 5 – 4