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Match report by Simon St-Amant, edited by Elizabeth Bratton
The CUBaC men made their way to Loughborough last Wednesday to take on Loughborough's fourth team. The stakes were high as a loss could spell disaster in their hopes of clinching the league title away from the University of East Anglia who are currently ahead by 3 points with 5 matches to go.
The recent history between CUBaC and Loughborough 4 is rich; the men's last two BUCS matches have been played against Loughborough (23rd and 30th of November 2022). The first encounter saw Loughborough champion as they clinched a 5-3 win over the Cambridge men to end their Conference Cup dreams, while the second saw Cambridge recover with a convincing 8-0 win. The stage was set for a thrilling BUCS match.
At the reins of his small but mighty chariot, Zack drove most of the team to the impressive Loughborough badminton hall, while Dib and Simon made their way by train followed by a pleasant taxi ride with a badminton-enthusiastic driver. Haunted by the previous year’s Loughborough train fiasco (during which players may or may not have only just made the last train back to Cambridge by the skin of their teeth), Simon was relieved to learn the match would start an hour earlier than last year. The men quickly made their way onto the court, eager to play. The line-up: Vidun and Zack in singles, Alex with Simon, and Dib with Sai in doubles.
Vidun came out swinging, achieving a swift victory in two sets, ready to coach Zack playing on the adjacent court. Defeated 17-21 in the first set, Zack bounced back in the second set winning 21-9, before confirming his victory in the third end 21-18. Dib and Sai, facing tough opponents and a “non-saggy net like in the USC”, lost valiantly in straight sets. Next to them, Alex and Simon, coming off a 23-21 win in the first set and a disappointing second set, were able to secure the game with a convincing third set (not without a couple of scream-inducing rallies.) As things stood, the Cambridge men were up 3-1.
The second batch of games saw the Cambridge men quickly secure their victory over Loughborough 4 as Vidun and Zack both won their second singles in straight sets. Alex and Simon gave it their all, but lost in three sets. As for Dib and Sai, although unsuccessful, their second match turned out to be a warm-up for the real event of the night: Dib vs Sai in singles. Although Sai had Zack’s dashing shoes on his feet, he had to admit defeat with a 26-28 loss against Dib and his powerful smash.
Final score: 5-3 for Cambridge against Loughborough 4 and 1-0 for Dib against Sai. The celebratory Maccies was well deserved.
