Oxford v Cambridge is not all about the Boat Race.  Most other sports have a varsity match and the one for table tennis was held at Oxford on Saturday.  They take turns at being host.  It is very organised with lunch before the match for umpires and teams and dinner in a local restaurant after the match. The Iffley Road athletic track is world famous as the site of the first sub 4 minute mile.  The cinder track has long gone but there is a sense of occasion as one walks across the track from the sports centre to the table tennis venue.

Cambridge won the Men’s First Team match 10-0 and Oxford clawed back a little by winning the Men’s Second Team match 6-4 Cambridge were equally dominant in the Ladies match winning 8-2.  The standard is always high at these matches – Jessie Zhou from Cambridge was the losing finalist in the Women’s Singles at the BUCS Individuals in February.

Mike Payne (March 13, 2014)