Ritvik Bharamgoudar played the first match, he was the 5 seed against Alfie Dancer - the firstgame went to the Swansea player Alfie who seemed like a clear winner. After a break and Swansea heckling their confidence, Ritvik made a sudden comeback for the second game and upped the competition. Throwing off Swansea, for the rest of the game he took control of the tempo and had Alfie exactly where he wanted with some tactical drop shots sending him running. Cardiff took a comfortable 3-1 win starting off the squash on a high.
Josh Birch played the second game as the third seed against Simon Wright. Birch, notorious for his quick aggressive play, came right in as expected hitting the ball hard and making his opponent run – Despite some tense moments where Swansea appeared to be in the lead Josh pulled a series of strong returns finishing with the second 3-0 win for Cardiff. Third into the court, the 4th seed two left handers, Yuji Westmacott took on James Aggett, driving the atmosphere up a notch with a very fast paced match. With similar playing styles they put on a show, both bringing out trick shots through the legs and behind the back. With an increasingly competitive audience on the edge of their seats Westmacott bagged Cardiff yet another 3-0 win. Luca Bianchi played Freddie Goymer Brown in the second seed match. Luca played a steady game executing a series of lob shots and keeping Freddie on the move. His game won us another 3-0 with an excited crowd and one match to go. Our 1 seed Josh Audsley finished the men’s in a tough game against Luka Middleton. Middleton played an impressive game and took the first win for Swansea. We think Josh felt sorry for them..! A 3-1 loss for Cardiff but an overall win for the Men’s! An elated crowd ready for the much-anticipated Women’s. Ellis Miller 1st seed took on Swansea’s left-handed Lucinda Cross - after a 1-0 loss on the first game, Ellis came back with a bite, keeping the game tight to the sidewall catching Lucinda with drop shots and speed winning her the second game. The girls offering each other a helping hand in a mid-match pause reminds us that we really are all here for the team spirit! A tense and close third game resulted in a 3-1 loss for Cardiff and an energetic start to the women’s half. Cardiff 2nd seed Megan Evans played Swansea’s Rebecca Mcpherson in a good-spirited match. Evans looked in control the whole game taking home an impressive 3-0 and in the third match Cardiff’s Teya Jones took on Joly Stevens in the 4th seed winning 3-1 and setting a strong pace for the final matches! Eva Ford won 3-0 against Millie Campden in the third seed and penultimate match of the day and finally, in a particularly good watch, Cardiff’s Tara Radia in the 5th seed played some of the best squash she has played all season and won a close 3-2 against Swansea’s Ben Turner. This led us into a massive 8-2 win overall, Cardiff Uni Squash teams first overall win in over 10 years!! A close-knit team of players made it feel even better watch as they all had each other’s backs and supported each other’s games as if it was their own.
Thank you, Swansea, for turning up!