Blues Varsity Match Report 2024

Picture the scene. Oxford, the 2nd of March, both shades of blue gathered at the Rosenblatt Swimming Pool for the annual Varsity match, as Oxford battled against Cambridge for aquatic supremacy once again. After a year of strong recruitment, exceptional dedication to training, and some exciting swims at BUCS and BUSL to whet the appetite, it was set to be a day for the history books. It was a tough fight, where everyone gave their all, but ultimately the Dark Blues came out on top. And what a decisive win it was, the biggest score in a decade, the second most points of all time, and a clean sweep of all of the trophies, most notably reclaiming the Women’s title. Oxford well and truly continued our dominance with a win of 114-66 [Open/Male: 58-32, Women: 56-34].

Oxford were off the mark fast, as the Dolphins secured an equally dominant win over Cambridge’s Marlins. This squad’s dedication and racing prowess has set a high standard for the Blues all year, and inspired us all as we watched from a packed poolside. A huge win to start a super Saturday. 

The walk-out, a little piece of tradition that has maintained for many years, had new life breathed into it with live bagpipes leading our Dark Blues across poolside and out to war. Before long, the racing was underway with the 200IM. For the women, fresher Nani Jackson and Molly Aspinall stepped up, securing a solid 2nd and 3rd place respectively in an extremely competitive race. In the open category, a typical display of athleticism from Jonathan Rutter saw the first Oxford win of the day, with David Pugh fighting until the end to finish 3rd. We were ahead, not to be caught again. 

Next up was the 100 Backstroke, triggering a wave of Oxford landslides, with Women’s vice captain Charlotte O’Leary breaking our first record of the day with a 1:02.06, and Aggie Burns battling for 2nd. Floppy-haired fresher Liam Brennan and newly-hairless Open captain Jackson Spry kept up this momentum, cruising ahead of the tabs and finishing in a one-two, with both in the 56’s.

This success was quickly followed by the 200 Freestyle and a debut swim for first-year Milo Holland which saw him claim an impressive victory, with ex-Women’s captain Ellie Browne not far behind in 3rd. This was followed by a similar success story for the open side with fresher Kamran Din finishing just behind President Max Anderson-Loake, who was himself locked in a final showdown with Jaques Bonsell, in which the retiring tab just pipped our Aussie heartthrob. 

The 100 Fly saw yet another one-two finish in both the Women’s and Open races, as still-undefeated Sophie Lawrence took home the win with a blues time, and Women’s captain Eva Ponting finished closely behind in a PB, while our American Fresher James Smith was narrowly out-flown by our ex-captain Andrew Hong, who had himself just flown in from the US especially to represent the Crown. 

A short break and straight back into the toughest race, but for two of OUSC’s toughest swimmers, Milo and Sophie, the 400 Free was light work, taking maximum points again, with the only real race between the Oxford athletes. The open category was no different, with plucky fresher Ioan Cressey-Rogers narrowly missing out to seasoned professional Max. These two long-distance-swimming freshers are really going far…

Next came the 100 Brs, where Open and Women’s categories were once again mirror images of each other, with points shared evenly and our most experienced breastroking legends taking a fresher under wing. Ex-captain, Iron Man, and OUSC stalwart Zoé Faure-Beaulieu finished second with Nani just behind in third. Meanwhile, Scotland’s finest son, Tobermory Mackay-Champion, cruised to another varsity victory by a staggering four seconds, a champion one last time, accompanied by Jacob Hudson, who brought up the rear in a hard-fought race. Some big shoes to fill for these first years.

The grand finale was approaching and Oxford were feeling buoyed by the successes so far.

The 100 Free is always an exciting race, and this year was no exception, with exhibition swims from all athletes involved. After leading the whole way, Molly was robbed of a first place finish by Charlotte’s unbelievable last-gasp underwater phase, to take first and second for Oxford in well under 59 seconds. The Open category then provided another great comeback, results reversing from last year, as Jonathan and Jaques ended the individual races in a stylish sub-50 second photo finish- Jonathan on top. This meant Oxford had avoided a net loss of points on any individual race, tearing the tabs to tatters.

As we reached the relays, it was clear that Oxford was already on track for a significant win. However, we aren’t a group that is easily satisfied, we wanted to finish in style. We did just that, as this year saw Oxford sweep all four relays with new records for both the Open and Women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle. The only one of these let slip last year was the Women’s medley, but Charlotte, Zoé, Eva, and Ellie made sure that this didn’t happen again. From the moment Liam, Tobermory, and James dove in they knew they had the edge over the Cambridge counterpart, but this wasn’t enough for our Open medley relay anchor Samual Nicholls, who hunted down the man in front of him and almost lapped a floundering tab team. The freestyle relays followed a similar pattern, with Caterina Vanelli-Coralli leading out Milo, Mollie, and Sophie to the OUSC Women’s first ever sub 4 minute 4 x 100 relay. The Open freelay didn’t disappoint either, with an average split under 51 seconds for Max, Kamran, Andrew, and Jonathan. 

Varsity 2024 was a resounding success for the Dark Blues, for Oxford sport, and for the sport of swimming as a whole. It is important to note that our dominance over our friends in light blue was not due to a lack on their part. Over twenty blues times were swum by our athletes and record-breaking performances were conjured up to ensure victory in every race possible. For this gargantuan effort, we are incredibly proud of each and every one of our OUSC swimmers, both Blues and Dolphins. Alongside a triumphant display across the board, a special mention must go to one of our standout performers, breaking her own record and ensuring a huge number of points for the team, Charlotte O’Leary was aptly honoured with the coveted Varsity MVP trophy. 

This exceptional display of sporting prowess would not have been possible without the huge effort from all of our volunteers and officials, without the roars of the riotous crowd turning up in great numbers, and without the hard work of our OUSC committee for putting on another grandstand event. Special thank yous must go to Zichen Liu, our head coach, for his efforts to prepare the team throughout the year; to our captains, Eva and Jackson, for bringing us all together; and most of all for our president, Max, for his tireless work and sleepless nights to make a stage for our club to show off in the biggest way. We’ll see you next year at Parkside.

Find the full list of results including times here!

List of Full Blues:

• Jonathan Rutter
• Charlotte O’Leary
• Liam Brennan
• Jackson Spry
• Milo Holland
• Max Anderson Loake
• Kamran Din
• Sophie Lawrence
• Andrew Hong
• James Smith
• Ioan Cressey-Rodgers
• Tobermory Mackay-Champion
• Molly Aspinall
• David Pugh

List of Half Blues:

• Elizabeth ‘Nani’ Jackson
• Caterina Vanelli Coralli
• Aggie Burns
• Eleanor Browne
• Zoé Faure-Beaulieu
• Eva Ponting
• Samual Nicholls
• Jacob Hudson