April 6, 2026
- CURTC Retain the East Anglian Pennant 2025/2026
- Interuniversity Tournament 2026!
- Riya Bharwad wins the LRTA Under 21 singles at Radley
- Godsill and Glasscock (almost!) win the Doubles Double
- CAMBRIDGE WIN AWAY AT MIDDLESEX!
- National League on Friday (17th)
- East Anglia Cup, 28/6/25 at Newmarket
- East Anglia Cup+ 2025 @Newmarket
Four men go to Manchester
Jimmy Campbell led a four-man crew off to his home town of Manchester last weekend, April 12/13 2013. The first match on Friday night was an epic show-down between Jimmy and Jules Camp, which ended up going Jimmy’s way, despite him losing the second set 1-6. Jules was apparently feeling slightly under the weather after travelling to Basel to be disappointed by his football team. Camp pulled himself together for Saturday, however, and earned a good victory against Mark Seymour-Mead 6-4 6-3
Alastair Kwan was up next and decided to play off level against a young Robert Shenkman, whose handicap was 4 points better than him at 26. The first set involved some quality tennis and Kwan just managed to overcome his tenacious opponent 6-5. This broke young Shenkers resolve and Kwan raced through the second 6-0 to seal an impressive victory.
Jimmy then took to the court for a long awaited grudge match against Andrew Mossford. Andrew has recently had some injury problems, meaning he couldn’t give his all on the court and in his own words, ‘probably went for way more balls than I should have done.’ He still put up some good resistance and after 1 hour 15 mins of a real battle, Jimmy managed to come through 6-2 6-3.
Lucas Birrell-Gray was up last against 34 handicap Graham Heap. Another one who fancied a challenge, they decided to play 15 owe 15, meaning Lucas was playing off an effective handicap much lower than the 50 he is on paper. Lucas produced his best ever tennis, looking very assured and solid on court to come through 6-5 6-3.
A thoroughly enjoyable weekend with some great victories. Only let down was the boys bailing on going to the pub in favour of watching the golf!!!
Jules and Jimmy in Manchester
CURTC beat the freeze in Leamington
On Saturday 23rd March, a team of 5 braved the snow and adverse weather reports to make the trek across country to Leamington Spa. It was worth it. As expected the hospitality was warm (although the heating wasn’t working) and a splendid lunch was laid on.
On the sporting front the match started well for Leamington when William Todd took a tight match against Gerald Smith. Christie Marrian pulled things back for Cambridge with a straight sets win over newcomer Kevin Higgins. Spectators were treated to some pre-lunch entertainment when James Levy took the match against Keith Beechener and gave Leamington the lead once again. After lunch Peter Morrison and Robin Faux ensured a victory for Cambridge with wins against John Yarnall and Adam Stokes respectively. All 5 matches were straight sets wins, Cambridge taking the tie 3-2.
Home Comforts at Leamington Spa
Keith Beechener
20-29 Tournament sees students on top
March 24th, 2013
After the first three rubbers in this year’s 20-29 tournament all ended with the same score, 8-6, the organiser feared the championship would go down to a ‘rock/paper/scissors’ shoot out. The match between William Russell and Andrew Petrie went to the radically different score of 8-7, and contained so much power hitting that Real Tennis may yet qualify as an ‘extreme sport’. In the end the event went the way of the handicapper, with Alex Evans beating Jimmy Campbell 8-4 in the final match and securing the only unbeaten record.
Results were:
William Russell 6-8 Alex Evans
Jimmy Campbell 8-6 Andrew Petrie
William Russell 6-8 Jimmy Campbell
Alex Evans 8-4 Andrew Petrie
William Russell 7-8 Andrew Petrie
Alex Evans 8-4 Jimmy Campbell
Winner: Alex Evans
Last year’s winner William Russell hands on the trophy to the new champion, Alex Evans
Category 20-29 tournament: Alex, Andrew Petrie, Jimmy Campbell, WilliamCURTC take on RTC in National League Division 6
A Div 6 team of Alastair Kwan, Julian Stafford and Tom Marriott took on Nicola Doble, Jon East and Fraser Shorey of RTC last weekend, and triumphed 3-0. Two of the matches were straight sets wins, Alastair 6-0 6-1 and Tom 6-1 6-4, Julian lost his first set but took the next two to ensure a Cambridge clean sweep.
Jon East RTC, Julian Stafford
National League Division 4 at Hampton Court
Cambridge took its Division 4 team to the surroundings of Hampton Court for their latest National League fixture. At this time in the season it is important to pick up as many wins and points as possible as the semi finals loom large in the next month and, with this team in a strong position, it was important to take a victory to move up the group table.
First up Jimmy Campbell, himself playing in Division 5 as well, was standing in for CURTC’s Div 4 team in this fixture and he justified his selection. Taking on David Blizzard, Jimmy lost the opening couple of games but once he started serving to better length and reading David’s return of serve better the match soon levelled up and Jimmy pushed on to take the opening set 6/3. Despite his own vocal disapproval for the way he was playing (Jimmy has a tendency to think he is playing badly if he doesn’t smash grilles and dedans like a certain Mr Fahey…) the match never really looked in doubt as he certainly started moving around the court better and won the match with a 6/3 6/2 scoreline.
Next up was captain Jules Camp, still with an outside chance of claiming the division’s MVP award. This was clearly in mind as he stormed the first set 6/2 with a more aggressive approach than usual, but it paid dividends as he then claimed game after game to race into a 5/1 lead in the second. A moment of concentration lapse meant he lost the next game, despite having match point, but made no mistake at the second time of asking, closing it out 6/2 6/2. The overall match was won but every singles counts for points so the last match was by no means a dead rubber.
Finally Andrew Petrie, in his second match of the season for this team, took to the court against RTC’s Simon Edmond, who was also a stand in. Andrew’s aggressive style of play worked well early on, but a few too many errors meant Simon was able to claim the first set 6/3. The second was a different story, as Andrew started hitting the ball with more accuracy and for a run of 3 or 4 games everything came out of the middle of his strings as sweetly as it could. Unfortunately at 5/5 in the set Andrew missed dedans on important points and Simon won the game and match 6/3 6/5 to get Hampton on the board. We are always hosted well by RTC, and enjoy the delightful cooking of David Blizzard very much – many thanks to him for looking after us!
Alastair Kwan takes 30-39 Trophy
The CURTC 30-39 Category Tournament was played on Sunday 17th March 2013.
Two keenly contested groups fought it out for semi-final places. In one group Alastair Kwan dropped only 2 games in winning all three of his matches while Julian Stafford, Paul Brown and Gary Weller won a match apiece. The second semi-final place was claimed by Julian Stafford who won most games overall in his three matches.
In the second group John Firth took the top spot by winning all three of his matches. The runner-up was decided in the final group game where James Thomas beat Paddy Ward.
The semi-finals were both taken by a score of 6-1: Alastair Kwan against James Thomas, and Julian Stafford against John Firth.
In the final, Julian Stafford took the first game but then fell 1-4 behind. He took one more game but the superior play of Alastair Kwan took the set, match and tournament by 6-2, despite some thrilling rests that could have gone either way.
Category 30-39 finalists: Alastair Kwan, Julian Stafford
Cambridge win the 2013 Field Trophy
This year’s Field Trophy final was held at Moreton Morrell. The Jesmond team cunningly travelled the night before and managed to get a couple of hours of practice on the Moreton court in the morning, but this didn’t help them in the first match of the day, which went to CURTC’s second string doubles pair of Jules Camp and Ed Kay 6/1 6/0. Ed played some incredible volleys at the net and Jules mopped up everything that sprayed around behind him.
The first string singles followed, and Alex Evans had the longest, closest and most tense match of the day. In the first set there was nothing to separate him and his opponent and the opening game lasted ten minutes. Jesmond’s Charlie Harries-Jones eventually took the set 6/5, but Alex dominated from the service end in the second set, serving railroads long and tight against the wall to stop Charlie chipping galleries and taking the set 6/0. The third set, however, mirrored the first, with both players now covering the court very well and picking up everything out of the corners, forcing their opponent to play that extra shot. Charlie managed to get in front as Alex missed targets at the vital moments and, at 5 all, the match had the finish it deserved. Alex then broke a string (definitely not what you need at such a crucial time!) and had to use an unfamiliar racket; he saved two match points, but couldn’t save the third as Charlie took the last set 6/5 and claimed the match for Jesmond.
The second string singles went our way, as Ed Pearson, a former student at Cambridge, always looked to be in control, cutting the ball off and putting away his volleys. This aggressive style worked very well as he got CURTC back in front with a 6/0 6/2 win. The last singles of the day saw Jimmy Campbell, making his debut in this competition, take on Michael Raven with virtually no handicap difference on paper. Michael started strongly, going 3/0 up very quickly, and while Jimmy started to play his cut shots to better effect, Michael showed his strength in the corners and closed the set 6/2. Jimmy started the second well and looked like he might force the match into a third set at 4/4, but Michael won a long 9th game and took the last, 6/4. With the match score at 2/2, it was the grandstand finish the gathering crowd wanted and the trophy would go to the victors in the first string doubles.
On paper, CURTC’s Duncan Colquhoun and Andrew Petrie looked the stronger, and they started out well, but the pair from Jesmond were not prepared to give anything away. Duncan and Andrew’s aggressive style had mixed success, working well when they kept the ball low, but they were punished if they peppered the penthouse. The set eventually went Cambridge’s way 6/4. Duncan and Andrew then rushed into a 5/1 lead in the second set, but Jesmond hit back, point by point, claiming the next 4 games to take the match to 5 all. Cambridge’s captain, Jules Camp, was said to be looking very tense and pale at this point, driven by his side’s inability to wrap it up, but thankfully Duncan’s experience shone through as his best returns of the match came at the right time and put pressure on the Jesmond pair; after gaining the serve, Cambridge closed out a tight set 6/5 to win the title.
Many thanks to all who participated, Moreton for their excellent hospitality, the pros Tom and Mark for marking, Pol Roger for their continued support of the tournament and all those in the crowd who made the atmosphere reflect the quality of the match.
Field Trophy Winners 2013
Varsity Seconds 2013
The Varsity Seconds match was played over two days at CURTC this year. The Cambridge men provided a masterclass in dispatching the opposition, winning all their matches in straight sets and only conceding 18 games in total over the six matches. Ed Kay, Oli Watson, Jimmy Campbell and Alastair Kwan played confidently and never let the Dark Blues get the upper hand.
It was a different story for the ladies’ team of Helen West, enetia D’Arcy, Ameera Patel and Catherine Sweatt. Their handicap disadvantage and lack of match experience showed, but they all put up a strong fight, and the 0-6 final score in Oxford’s favour did not reflect some very close matches, a lot of deuces and great determination. The closeness of the play bodes well for next year.
Jimmy Campbell in the Varsity Seconds match
Ameera Patel in the Varsity Seconds match
National League Division 4 v Moreton Morrell
As we near the end of the National League season, teams are looking to secure their place in the semi final and final. A win for the CURTC Division 4 team against Moreton would guarantee a spot in at least the semis, but every point is crucial if the team is to make it through to the final directly, with home court advantage.
The first match on was the number two string singles with captain Jules Camp taking on Moreton’s Tom Bomford. Tom was the victor when these two met previously fixture at Moreton, so revenge was in the air, and Jules raced away with the first set 6/0! The second started in the same manner, with Jules grabbing a 4/1 lead early on, but then he got cramp in his hand (perhaps due to a change in style – Jules was going for many more main wall dedans than usual because they were working well) and he lost the second set 6/5. But the fight was still on and, despite having to resort to serving bobbles, Jules kept going for the attacking shots and closed out the match 6/4 in the last set.
Andrew Petrie was up, next facing Lloyd Pettiford, who is very familiar with the Cambridge Green court. Initially, games were won in turn by each player, but Andrew brought his ‘A-game’ and punished anything loose, rarely hitting the penthouse, and won the first set 6/4. The second was a set of two halves; Lloyd started stronger, racing into a 4/1 lead. The next couple of games were shared and at 5/2 it looked like a third set was on the cards. However Andrew dug deep and clawed his way back into the set. At 5/5 it really could have gone either way, but a couple of volley dedans and attacking nicks from Andrew saw him finish his great comeback and take the match 6/4 6/5.
The final, first string singles saw a rivalry that has developed over recent times and will no doubt continue, as CURTC’s Alex Evans took on Moreton’s captain Tom Lewis (another Moreton player used to the Cambridge courts, having played here in several Inter-University Tournaments). The head-to-head record was in favour of Tom, but with only one handicap point between them, it was always going to be close. The first set saw a very aggressive game from both players, Alex finding the corners of the dedans with accurate forces and Tom’s volley return limiting Alex’s advantage at the service end, but it was Tom who won more of the big points to take a 5/3 lead. But Alex wasn’t giving in and kept getting the ball back until he had a chance to hit a winner. Inevitably, the first set went to 5/5 and deuce, and it was impossible to call who would win the set. Alex kept the faith and sneaked it 6/5. The second was a completely different story; quality tennis but Tom seemed to win all the big points and raced to 6/0. Alex came back hard in the final set, keeping up the pressure and extracting more and more errors from Tom, finally coming through 6/2.
This 3/0 whitewash of Moreton guarantees Cambridge a spot in at least the semi finals, and with one more match to go there is every chance of topping the group and being rewarded with a straight final spot and home court advantage. Watch this space!
Gary Weller wins 40-49 Category
The 40-49 category tournament was played on the weekend of 23rd and 24th February 2013. In the first group Jon Dawson powered his way through to take the first semi-final place with Keith Beechener clinging to faint hopes of best runner-up. In the second group David Pimblett took the honours with a clean sweep but things didn’t go the way of the handicapper in a couple of matches – Christie Marrian (winner of the 50-59 tournament the previous weekend) returned victories over Glenn Nicholls and John Trapp. In the final group Mark Perriton, the man in black, swept everyone aside in winning the group. Gary Weller took the runner-up spot and won a play-off to enter the seni-finals.
Gary seemed to have used up all his resources when he quickly fell behind 0-5 in the first semi-final against David Pimblett, but he took the match 6-5 and became our first finalist. In the second semi-final Jon Dawson and Mark Perriton fought the battle of the squash giants, frequently trying to out-boast each other. Mark Perriton took the match 6-3 but six of the nine games had been taken to 40-all.
Mark Perriton and Gary Weller in the final. Both had battled their way through four sets of tennis in the day and Gary had suffered a defeat against Mark in their Group match. In addition Gary had to contest a play-off and a tough semi-final which nearly saw him off. Despite all this Gary took early control of the final and eased into an early 2-0 lead. They traded games for a while and Mark pulled level at 4-4. Gary then stepped up a gear and took the next two to win the match 6-4 and take the tournament title.
2013 category 40 handicap tournament finalists: Mark Perriton, Gary Weller
Keith Beechener
Varsity Match at Lord’s
On 22nd and 23rd February 2013 Cambridge University fought the latest Varsity encounter against Oxford.
The men’s varsity match went down to a deciding doubles at Lord’s this year. The team – James Watson, Jules Camp (captain), Alex Evans and Freddie Kalfayan – came out of Friday’s play leading 2-0, having taken the first doubles match in straight sets and the second in a three-and-a-half hour titanic five-set struggle. But with four singles matches on Saturday there were no foregone conclusions.
Freddie Kalfayan won the first of the singles matches, but Oxford took the next three, levelling the score. Despite Freddie playing some unbelievable scoring volleys in the deciding doubles playoff, and James’ vast experience (including National League Div 2 champion in 2012), the Oxford pair of Johnnie Beale and Miles Jackson stayed solid and came out on top 6-3, 6-5.
The Ladies’ team had a big handicap disadvantage, but both Emily Brady (captain) and Imogen Whittam took their matches to 3 sets. Newcomer Karen Pearce, playing only her fifth competitive match, lost in straight sets, but shows a lot of promise for next year. Emma Samia-Aly, the 2012 captain, won in straight sets against the 2012 Oxford captain, Maggie Henderson-Tew. The two ladies’ doubles matches on Saturday morning both went to Oxford in straight sets, but as is often the case, the score didn’t reflect the closeness of the matches, with a lot of games going to several deuces and the final outcome hinging on just a few points here and there.
The club Pros were delighted by the effort and level of application of all our representatives and especially pleased that they all contributed to the successes of the event.
Varsity Ladies match at Lord’s
The 60+ Tournament
On Saturday and Sunday 2nd/3rd February 2013 twelve members contested the 60+ Handicap Category Tournament at CURTC. Three keenly fought groups produced clear winners in Nicholas Worsnop, Bernie Carpenter and Emily Brady, and a deserved best runner-up in David Hope.
On Sunday the opening game in both semi-finals was won by the eventual losers and in the final Emily Brady beat Bernie Carpenter by 6-2 to take the opening Category Tournament of 2013. A good day’s play for Emily, winning five sets of tennis in 5 hours on Sunday.
60+ Tournament results:
Group A
John Bailey 2 – 6 Nicholas Worsnop
David Hope 6 – 5 Richard Harper
Nicholas Worsnop 6 – 4 David Hope
Richard Harper 6 – 3 John Bailey
John Bailey 5 – 6 David Hope
Nicholas Worsnop 6 – 4 Richard Harper
Group A Winner – Nicholas Worsnop
Group B
Barney Couch 1 – 6 Bernie Carpenter
Simon Goodfellow 2 – 6 Charles Rowland-Jones
Bernie Carpenter 6 – 1 Charles Rowland-Jones
Simon Goodfellow 0 – 6 Barney Couch
Barney Couch 6 – 0 Charles Rowland-Jones
Bernie Carpenter 6 – 1 Simon Goodfellow
Group B Winner – Bernie Carpenter
Group C
Gillian Moore 2 – 6 Mike Whibley
Emily Brady 6 – 1 Richard Bowers
Richard Bowers 6 – 3 Gillian Moore
Mike Whibley 3 – 6 Emily Brady
Emily Brady 6 – 1 Gillian Moore
Richard Bowers 0 – 6 Mike Whibley
Group C Winner – Emily Brady
Best Runner-up – David Hope
Semi-Finals
Bernie Carpenter 6 – 2 Nicholas Worsnop
Emily Brady 6 – 2 David Hope
Final
Emily Brady 6 – 2 Bernie Carpenter
Category 60+ Winner – Emily Brady
2013 category 60+ handicap tournament finalists: Emily Brady, Bernie Carpenter
2013 Category 60+ handicap winner Emily Brady
Field Trophy team make the Finals
Having been given a bye through to the semi-finals, Cambridge’s Field Trophy team were determined to put on a good show against a strong Holyport team. The second doubles pair of Ed Kay and Jules Camp kicked things off against opposition that included a former ladies world champion! It was the Cambridge pair, however, that remained steady, sealing the first match with a 6/3 6/4 win.
Next was Freddie Kalfayan against Holyort’s James Bloore, who had some 6 handicap points better on paper. Despite a few tight few first games, it was James who took the first set 6/2. The second was a different story, as Freddie started hitting his volley return of serve with pace and cut (arguably the best in the club!), either forcing an error or gaining the short chase and defending the service end to storm into a 5/0 lead. A broken string seemed to affect the set, with James pulling back to 4/5, but Freddie regained his penetrating length at the right time and closed out the set 6/4 with an amazing reste. This was perhaps Freddie’s best performance to date, bodes well for the varsity match.
Alex Evans was in a similar position at second singles as he too faced an opponent who, on paper, looked the more likely winner. However, it was an in-form Alex who dominated from the service end and took the match 6/4 6/3.
With the tie now secured, the crowd wondered whether the quality would subside, but that was certainly not the case. Our first doubles pair of Duncan Colquhoun and Charles Harcourt, both very experienced in this competition, faced a pair who was out for pride. Our boys took a tight first set 6/5 before letting a few errors creep in and losing the second set 6/3. They came back fighting, regained their shot quality and the last went their way 6/3.
The last match would be an old Cambridge v Oxford rivalry as former CURTC student Ed Pearson took on former Oxford graduate Horatio Cary. Again, Holyport looked the strong favourite with some 8 handicap points advantage, but it was Ed who played some incredible tennis, constantly on the attack and winning the first set 6/2. The second set was much tighter and even though Ed had match points at 5/4 up, Horatio hit some fantastic backhands down the main wall to nick the set 6/5. Horatio now had the momentum and was starting to read the court much better, and ultimately proved why he is a 12 handicap by winning the final 3 games and the match with incredible retrieving and shot creation.
Final match score CURTC 4-1 Holyport. But make no mistake, this was a tremendous performance by our team, who now face Jesmond in the final to be played at Moreton Morrell on 10th March. Thanks to Peter who marked all 5 matches to the usual high standard we are used to!
National League Division 2 Updates
Scott and James deliver against the MCC
Friday January 25th saw some exciting tennis on the Blue Court, as Scott and James took on the MCC in a National League Division 2 match. James’ opponent, former Cambridge University Ladies’ Captain and world number 2 Karen Hird, only took one game, but this score did not reflect a lot of closely fought points. Scott played Mark Mathias, and scored a tremendous 6-0, 6-0 victory, taking his handicap well into single figures.
The doubles saw MCC fight back, but they were unable to cause much trouble for the unstoppable Cambridge pair, the final score of 8-3 to Cambridge indicating a job well done.
Scott and James in action again on Feb 1
Scott and James took on Queens in their latest National League Division 2 match on February 1st, this time playing away. Despite the tricky Queens court, they came through 2-1, Scott winning his singles and the pair taking the doubles. Scott’s handicap is shrinking fast, soon it might disappear. CURTC are now second in Division 2, 7 points behind Royal, and 7 ahead of the third placed Seacourt.
CURTC Ladies vs Newmarket Jan 20, 2013
The Cambridge Ladies Real Tennis squad scored a decisive victory in their first competitive outing of the season at Newmarket on Sunday January 20th, with the four completed matches all going Cambridge’s way. Immy Whittam got the day off to a cracking start with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over her opponent. Number 1 seed Emma Samia-Aly took her match 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Emily Brady (Captain) completed the hat-trick with a decisive 6-3, 6-0 win. Karen Pearce, playing in her first ever real tennis match, rose triumphantly to the challenge and she too won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
It was up to Kate Kirk, last year’s number 4 seed in the Varsity match, to complete the whitewash. In a departure from the script, she soon found herself 1-5 down in the first set, but getting the hang of her opponent’s game, she pulled the score back to 5-5. Unfortunately, that’s where the match ended. A tricky shot and an awkward turn and Kate was out of the game, with a knee injury that might scupper her chances of representing Cambridge at the end of February.
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